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“ON THE ROAD” WITH KEITH MOTT - 08-10-24

“ON THE ROAD” WITH KEITH MOTT.

Three Borders Federation (Honiton Race).

The 2024 racing season has finish and I must say, I can’t believe how quick that time has gone! The time has flown past! It has been a brilliant season, with Saturday team of Dom McCoy and Paul Arnold producing some great sport for the Three Borders Federation membership. And of course, as per normal it’s a big ‘thank you’ to our wonderful secretary, Bryan Poulton for all his good work. The last race was flown from Honiton in mid-September and turned out to be probable one of the hardest races of the season, certainly the hardest young bird race of the season. The young birds had a 135 mile fly from Honiton and Dom McCoy liberated at 10.30hrs in to a North East wind situation. The birds had a stiff fly home in the head wind and the returns were patch throughout the day, but at the end of the race member reported good returns. Vic and Lou Emberson of the Esher club recoded their third Federation winner of the 2024 season, by winning the race and recording 1st, 25th Federation.

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The first ten in the Honiton Federation result were: 1) Vic & Lou Emberson 1208: 2) Stuart Emans 1203: 3) Stuart Emans 1202: 4) Stuart Emans 1202: 5) Stuart Emans 1193: 6) Fred Kimpton 1190: 7) Stuart Emans 1188: 8) T. Baughen 1187: 9) T. Baughen 1187: 10) Bob Harper & son 1186. This was the last of the season and two clubs have the same points for the ‘Federation Points Trophy’ with 62 points, so the Ashridge club and the Mitcham & Morden club are joint winners. Congratulations to them both!

I had a conversation with Vic after the Honiton race and he told me, ‘it is a very pleasing end to a good season to record our third Federation winner, which is not easy with some great fanciers in its membership. Our winner was a Leo Van Rijn / Herman Ceusters blue hen, which we have named, ‘Annie’ and she was sent to the race sitting ten day old eggs. We don’t pair our young birds up, we race to the perch, but if they want to pair up we put a few nest bowls in the young bird section for an incentive. They all use the same bowls and I think she was sitting on five eggs when she went to Honiton! She had every young bird race this season and was just behind the first birds home every time, but in the last race it seen she got her right conditions, a bit more distance and a head wind, and she won the Federation. Vic’s youngsters didn’t have a lot of pre-race training this season and he was surprised when they came so well and won the Federation twice. Vic puts his 50 young birds on the ‘darkness’ system when they are weaned from their parents and they come off just before their racing starts in later July. They are fed on a good widowhood mixture at the same time once a day and get as much feed as they want. The young birds are raced to the perch, but if they want to pair up, Vic lets them for a bit of racing incentive. He is not over interested in the young bird races, but works hard with them to set them up for successful racing in later life. Vic races 20 old 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. Well done to Vic and Lou for their three first Federations this season! Brilliant Pigeon Racing!

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Vic Emberson is a nice lad and is very popular in the Surrey pigeon racing fraternity, with him and his wife, Lou, both being good worker for the sport over many years. He is from a good pigeon racing family, with his uncle being the Surrey channel racing ‘legend’, the late Fred Emberson and Vic’s son, Neil is an outstanding pigeon racer in the Kent area. Vic 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 Emberson 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.

Congratulations to Stuart Emans who has enjoyed a brilliant season racing in the Three Borders Federation. He recorded many premier positions, including four times 1st Federation and has finishes up winning the ‘Individual Points Trophy’, and is the 2024 Federation champion. Stuart is a fireman by profession and has a very busy family life, and has only a very limited time for his pigeon racing. He is smashing man and with his very limited time for his sport, to win this trophy is a great and deserving achievement! Although Stuart has won the Federation four times this year, he said his wonderful Gerald Delaney blue hen, ‘Jade 821’, has been so brilliant in the 2024 season and given him a lot of pleasure, winning 2nd Federation Okehampton, 3rd Federation Wincanton, 5th Federation Wincanton and 15th Federation Honiton. A strong contender for Federation ‘pigeon of the year’, I think! This is Stuart’s  2024 performance in the Federation: (Old Birds) 3rd, 18th, 19th, 20th Federation Wincanton, 5th, 6th Federation Wincanton, 1st, 2nd Federation Okehampton, 15th Federation Honiton, 10th Federation Wincanton, 13th, 22nd Federation Honiton, 13th, 23rd Federation Wadebridge, 1st Federation Honiton, 12th, 13th, 15th Federation Truro, (Young Birds) 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th Federation Wincanton, 14th, 18th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd Federation Wincanton, 1st, 2nd. 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 25th Federation Blandford, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th Federation Honiton. Brilliant pigeon racing!

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That’s it for this week! Well done to Vic and Lou Emberson on their Wincanton 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)