“ON THE ROAD” WITH KEITH MOTT.
Three Borders Federation (Honiton Race).
The Three Borders Federation held it’s first of Honiton race in mid-May and Dom McCoy, the Federation convoyer, liberated 580 birds at 07.30hrs in to a north / north east wind situation. A couple of days before to the race the Federation race advisor, Paul Arnold, informed the committee that the weather was going to be bad on the Saturday, so the birds were marked on Saturday night for a Sunday race. Well done to Paul, the Federation enjoyed a great race with good returns! When I was convoying the north east wind wasn’t my favourite racing condition, as on the day the wind is quite often can be a bit chilly, but having said that the birds always have a good work out in the head wind. On the day of the Honiton race Dom sent through some smashing photos on WhatsApp of the liberation site and the sky was almost cloudless with bright sun shine. He reported the convoy cleared the Honiton liberation site in good time.
Members enjoyed a great steady race and Vic and Lou Emberson of the Banstead took first blood for the Esher club by winning the race and recording 1st, 5th, 9th Federation. I spoke to Vic Emberson after the Honiton race and he told me, ‘Lou has missed our first pigeon success of the season, as she is in Spain giving her 90 years old mother a lovely holiday. The birds had a good fly with the wind being in the north, but they came well and the first three were very close together. The pigeon that won 1st Esher club, 1st Federation from Honiton was a yearling Ceulemans dark chequer cock, now named ‘Dark Bolt’ and the week previous he was first pigeon home, and would have been in first ten of the Federation result, but the clock mall functioned. His Ceulemans sire is one of the best in our stock team, being the sire of eight 1st Federation winners and was bred Mr. Christmas of Kent. Thanks for all your good work, Keith’. The Frank and Sue Carson partnership of the Ashridge club are enjoying a great season so far, with them winning many premier position including 1st Federation Wincanton and now 2nd Federation Honiton. The partner’s son, John is a good pigeon fancier in his own right and he told me, ‘dad and mum’s 2nd Federation Honiton winner is a yearling widowhood cock bred by Darren May of ‘May Pigeons’ and he week before he recorded 6th Federation Yeovil’. Brilliant Pigeon Racing!
The first ten in the Honiton Federation result were: 1) Vic & Lou Emberson 1337: 2) Frank & Sue Carson 1337: 3) M/M S, Gasson 1335: 4) Terry & Sue Leonard 1326: 5) Vic & Lou Emberson 1325: 6) M/M Holden & Pratt 1325: 7) M/M Holden & Pratt 1325: 8) T. Baughen 1323: 9) Vic & Lou Emberson 1317: 10) Terry Goodsell 1315.
Vic Emberson had pigeons as a child, but really started racing in 1988 at the Banstead lofts. His late uncle is, Fred Emberson, who has been an outstanding channel racer in the London area for many years and he was a great help in getting Vic started in the sport. The Emberson loft has won the Federation countless times through the years; including five times 1st Three Borders Federation in the 2022 season and has recoded 1st open National several times, including 1st open NFC Fougeres (old hens) in 2004. Vic and his wife, Lou have won many major prizes in National racing in their years in the sport, but rated highly their performance in the 2005 season by recording 1st open BICC Alencon National. Vic’s recent account of the Alencon race was; “On the day of the BICC Alencon race the wind was strong westerly and we were expecting the winner to be in the East Section. On arrival, the cock came out of the east, confirming our belief that the winner would be in that section, but what a pleasant surprise we had when we were informed we had the leading pigeon, which was named ‘Valiant Leader’. This cock was half-brother to our 2000: 1st open Alliance of Specialist Clubs Millennium National race and car winner, ‘Alliance Leader’ and was also related to ‘Ellie’, our 2004 NFC Fougeres old hens winner”. A great family of winning pigeons!
Vic and Lou are always the ones to beat in any race they compete in and enjoyed a wonderful season in 2023 winning in the Three Borders Federation: (Old Birds) 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd Federation Wincanton, 21st, 22nd Federation Honiton, 1st, 2nd, 17th, 18th, 19th, 29th Federation Okehampton, 5th, 12th, 13th, 16th, 17th, 18th Federation Yeovil, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 14th, 15th, 19th Federation Bodmin, 9th, 11th, 14th, 15th Federation Honiton, 1st, 2nd, 21st Federation Honiton, 2nd, 19th, 20th, 25th Federation Yeovil, 1st, 5th, 6th 10th, 14th,16th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 22nd, 23rd, 24th Federation Honiton, 7th, 9th Federation Okehampton, (Young Bird) 19th Federation Wincanton. Vic and Lou also lifted several averages and trophies in the Three Borders Federation in the 2023 season. Brilliant pigeon racing by this lovely couple from Banstead!
Vic Emberson races 20 cocks on the widowhood system and pairs up in mid-January with the Federation sprint races in mind. The racers are put on the widowhood system after the first round of youngsters and are broken down from Saturday until Tuesday morning during the racing season. Vic mixes his own corn and the main family kept is Staf Van Reet because he likes sprint racing. The widowhood cocks are not trained during the racing season, just exercised around the loft twice a day to keep them fit. The partners have two very smart self-built lofts and the stock birds have a nice wire flight, to get out into the weather. The race team are trapped through ETS traps and sputnik traps. Vic’s wife, Lou, and his sons, Carl and Neil, have been great workers with the pigeons through the years and he says a lot of his success years ago were down to their help, but now races on his own. Vic’s late uncle was the racing ‘ace’, Fred Emberson, who resided near Canterbury in Kent, but prior to that was one of the leading long distance racers in the London area for a great many years. The origin of Fred’s family of racers were, four birds obtained from A. H. Bennett, including a son of Champion ‘Andre’ and Fred told me all his birds could be traced to these original stock birds. Another good introduction was two late breds, gifted to him by his nephew, Vicky Emberson of Banstead, and these were bred from pigeons obtained from Lol Green.
The late Fred Emberson of Godmerston.
The late Fred Emberson, resided near Canterbury in Kent, but prior to that was one of the leading long distance racers in the London area for a great many years. Fred was a fancier who joined an elite band of long distance specialists who had won the London & South East Classic Club Pau / Tarbes Merit Award, which was awarded to any pigeon that records three positions in the first fifty of the open result of the longest old bird race. This certificate was very hard to win and Fred won it in 2009 with his beautiful six year old blue chequer pied hen, ‘Links Show Girl’, and she recorded: 2007: 23rd open L&SECC Pau, 2008: 22nd open L&SECC Tarbes and 2009: 28th open L&SECC Tarbes. Fred named his latest champion 550 miler; ‘Show Girl’ and I must say she really was a show girl, being a super hen in the hand with soft feather and beautiful eye. The 2010 season was very hard and had proved to be a ‘bumper’ time for the L&SECC Merit Award, with several pigeons winning the award at Tarbes that time. Fred told me at that time that he had been waiting 25 years to win the Merit Award when he won it in 2009 with his Blue Chequer Pied ‘Links Show Girl’. He had enjoyed another great Tarbes Classic the following season and won another Merit Award with his Blue Chequer WF hen ‘Links Confidence’, a fantastic long distance racer and winner of 2007: 43rd open L&SECC Pau, 2008: 15th open BICC Tarbes, 2009: 1st SE section, 13th open Tarbes: 2010: 17th open L&SECC Tarbes. Fred waits 25 years to win a Merit Award and then wins two in two years!
Fred’s loft was 100% geared to natural long distance pigeon racing and told me he had never raced the Widowhood or Roundabout systems. The loft was 18ft long, with three compartments, two for the old birds and one for the youngsters. Fred’s self-built loft had open door trapping and he used granules on the floors. Fred kept seven pairs of racers and three pairs of stock birds, and these were all paired up the first week in March. He told me he couldn’t remember the last time he sent to an inland club race and maintains he preferred to give the birds a 50 or 60 mile single up. He was not fussed which way the birds are trained and quite often took them the opposite direction to the continental race point, as long as they got a good fly. The Emberson racing pigeons were fed on 50% Irish Mixture and 50% Diet all produced by Natural, and the stock birds were fed on Countrywide young bird mixture, which was nearly all Maple Peas. Fred maintained that all pigeons are individuals, racing best to whatever suits them and recalled his good blue chequer white flight hen, ‘Links Confidence’, winner of 1st SE section, 13th open L&SECC Tarbes (550 miles) in 2009, was sitting 14 day old eggs and was slipped a small baby on marking day. The typical build up for his old birds for the main long distance events was three or may be five training tosses, one mid-distance race from somewhere like Tours and then into Tarbes. Fred had an open loft right through the racing season and of course had had his problems with the Sparrowhawks, with the worst time being the time when he lost nine pigeons in ten day period. Fred told me the Sparrowhawks always pick out and kill the best ones!
Fred was very proud of his record racing in long distance events over the years and quite rightly too, it was fantastic! At club level between 1981 and 1999 he won in the longest old bird race, nine times 1st Bergerac, twice 1st Bordeaux, once 1st Marmande and five times only birds on the day. In the London & South East Classic Club he had won long list of premier positions, the highlights being: 4th, 6th open Dax, 6th, 14th, 20th, 21st open Pau, 7th, 26th open San Sebastian, 13th, 23rd, 28th open Tarbes, 4th Narbourne Inter Open, 4th, 12th, 15th, 20th, 27th, 30th, 40th, 46th open Bordeaux and Bergerac. Fred had won the L&SECC South East section four times from La Ferte Bernard, Bordeaux, San Sebastian and Tarbes. Other great positions won were: 4th open BICC Dax, 13th open BICC Pau, 15th open BICC Tarbes (twice), 7th open BBC Palamos, 36th open BBC Palamos and 46th open BBC Palamos. A fantastic record in the very best long distance events!
The origin of his present family of racers were, four birds obtained from A. H. Bennett, including a son of Champion ‘Andre’ and Fred told me all his birds could be traced to these original stock birds. Another good introduction was two late breds, gifted to him by his nephew, Vicky Emberson of Banstead, and these were bred from pigeons obtained from Lol Green. Fred brought in the odd cross from time to time, but was disposed of very quickly if they don’t work out. The stock birds were paired up the same time as the race birds in March and quite often would be mated to a race bird, so it had a safe mate throughout the season. When Fred brought in a new stock bird he liked small birds and also liked to see the wing tip touch the dark bar on the tail. He bred approx. 20 young birds each season and very rarely raced them in their first year, as there were far too many youngsters lost in young bird races. Many years ago he visited the NFC Pau winning loft of A. H. Bennett and Albert never raced his youngsters, so Fred tried the same system, and maintained, not racing the babies make absolutely not difference to them in later life. Fred stressed that although they don’t race, the young birds got plenty of good training with lots of tosses off the south coast. On the odd occasion that he had raced a youngster or two, they went straight in to the National or Classic and were never put on the darkness system.
Fred said the best pigeons in his loft at that time were: Blue WF ‘Links President’ winner of in 2009: 15th open BICC Tarbes: Blue Chequer WF ‘Links Confidence’, a fantastic long distance racer and winner of: 2007: 43rd open L&SECC Pau, 2008: 15th open BICC Tarbes, 2009: 1st SE section, 13th open Tarbes, 2010: 17th open L&SECC Tarbes: Blue Chequer ‘Links Just Reward’, winner of 2004: 65th open L&SECC Bordeaux, 2006: 28th open L&SECC Bergerac, 2008: 78th open L&SECC Bergerac, 31st open East of England Bourges, 2009: 13th open BICC Pau, 4th Narbonne Inter Open, Blue Chequer Pied ‘Links Show Girl’, the 2009 L&SECC Merit Award winning hen, 2007: 23rd open L&SECC Pau, 2008: 22nd open L&SECC Tarbes, 2009: 28th open L&SECC Tarbes.
Fred first recollection of pigeons was when he was in his pram and his father had some birds in a little cope hanging on the wall and he used to sit and watch them. In those days the family lived in Sutton and at ten years of age the young Fred scrounged birds from the local fanciers and set up his first loft. He joined the local Sutton club and in his first race won 3rd club Christchurch, and following week broke his novice status by winning 1st club Dorchester. Soon after that he had to do his National Service in the army, so the pigeons had to go, but restarted again when he got married in 1957. Fred maintained it is very hard to race pigeons in the National and Classic where he lived in east Kent, because he thought the birds come in from the Continent at the Portsmouth area and ‘dog leg’ in to the east side of England. His pigeons never come in from the south when racing the National or Classic, always from the west or north. Fred said his nephew, Vicky Emberson and wife Lou, were great workers for the sport and were outstanding sprint fanciers, winning the Federation consistently every season. Fred felt very strongly about the Hawk problem which is killing our sport and said, ‘the powers that be protect the Sparrowhawk and something should be done to change their policy, as not only are they killing pigeon racing, they are wiping out all the song birds that live in our gardens’.
That’s it for this week! Well done to Vic and Lou Emberson on their Honiton Federation win! If you win and want a write up in this space, contact me on telephone number: 07535 484584 or email me on: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT (www.keithmott.com)