CROOK & IDDENDEN

of Epsom

by Keith Mott

I have known and been friends with Colin Crook and Andy Iddenden for many years and in all that time we have been associated I have never visited their loft in Epsom. We recently put that to rights, when on one sunny Sunday morning in October, I made the 12 miles drive to Colin’s garden, situated in a wonderful part of Surrey near to Epsom Downs Race Course, to see their brilliant team of pigeons. I must say the loft and garden were very smart and a credit the two lads!

Colin and Andy had enjoyed a brilliant race from Yeovil (1) in 2013, recording 1st, 3rd, 24th Three Borders Federation, winning with their champion blue cock ‘Frank’, and then this brilliant cock went on to win 1st Federation Yeovil (2) at the end of the season. Colin and Andy won the Three Borders Federation ‘Ken Besant Memorial Trophy’ in the 2011 season for ‘best pigeon of the year’ and won it for the second time in 2013 with ‘Frank’. This wonderful Gaby Vandenabeele sprint cock has won 23 Federation positions including six times 1st Federation and twice 2nd Federation, being beaten twice by loft mates on the ETS. Other positions won the Federation by ‘Frank’ are: 3rd, 7th, 9th, 9th, 10th, 10th, 10th, 14th, 14th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 16th, 18th and 23rd open. He has won ten times 1st club, plus 1st, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd South Downs Premier FC and was sent to the Classic only once to win 34th open L&SECC Falaise. ‘Frank’ was Three Borders Federation ‘Pigeon of the Year’ in 2011 and 2013. As Andy Iddenden says, a once in a life time pigeon! Frank and Susan Carson bred ‘Frank’. This game cock raced to Frank’s loft as a young bird and yearling and when Frank packed up for a while in 2008, the pigeon was gifted to Crook & Iddenden, to set the place alight with brilliant performances. Frank and Susan brought their Gaby Vandenbeele pigeons from Mark and Dickie Evans in 2003 and 2004, direct out of their champions including the great ‘Shadow’.

Colin  and Andy of the Esher club were runners up for the Three Borders Federation ‘Individual Points’ Trophy and won the Federation three times in the 2012 season. I don’t know how many times I’ve written in past seasons that these two brilliant pigeon racers have been runners up for the Federation Points, but it seems they are second up every year! In recent seasons I have written a lot about this brilliant partnership, but Colin and Andy  have been one of the most consistent winning lofts in the Federation over the last half a dozen years or so. Their performance in the Three Borders Federation in the 2012 season was: 1st, 2nd, 8th Federation Wincanton (1,701 birds), 1st Federation Wincanton (1,748 birds), 22nd Federation Honiton (820 birds), 1st, 2nd, 19th, 25th Federation Yeovil (1,506), 11th Federation Honiton (1,286 birds), 4th Federation Yelverton (1,086 birds), 10th Federation Taunton (1,077 birds), 10th Federation Honiton (1,017 birds), 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th Federation Yeovil (859 birds), 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14, 15th Federation Blandford (1,286 birds), 18th, 19th, 20th, 23rd, 25th Federation Newton Abbot (1,145 birds), 13th Federation, 17th SMT Combine Yelverton (1,415 birds).

Andy and Colin have 70ft of loft space at the Epsom garden, with the 12 pairs of stock birds housed in a 12ft section with a flight and the rest of the loft being for the racers. Trapping is all designed for ETS timing for the old birds and for the youngsters and the whole ‘L’ shaped structure is cleaned out every day. The old birds are raced on the widowhood cocks and celibate hens systems and the whole loft is paired up on Boxing Day, so the first round of eggs from the stock birds can be floated under the racers. The widowhood cocks start the year by rearing a pair of youngsters and their mates are taken away while sitting the second round of eggs. They are re-paired five weeks before the first Federation race, then are given about six 20 mile training tosses and are put on the widowhood system two weeks before racing begins. The racers are fed on a first class widowhood mixture and are not broken down, not even for the short sprint races. The lads like to show the hens for a long time on marking night, could be as long as an hour, with the cock bird on the bowl and his mate outside the box. They are never allowed to tread. On their return from the race the cocks get their hens for two or three hours, depending how hard the race has been. Colin and Andy enjoy all Federation racing from 80 miles through to 450 miles, but have a go at the odd Classic race from time to time. Andy told me the 24 cocks stay on the widowhood system all the time and are never repaired for the longer races. The main families kept are Paul Arnold / Staf Van Reet and Mark & Dick Evans / Gaby Vandenabeele pigeons, which have been very successful.

The Epsom partnership race about 60 young birds every season, putting the 40 first rounders on the ‘Darkness’ system and leave the 20 second rounders natural. The youngsters are put on the Darkness on weaning, being closed down from 17.00hrs until 08.00hrs every day, and are taken off the system on the longest day in mid-June. The young bird team get lots of training tosses up to 35 miles before the first Federation race then get two tosses a week once the season starts and all race the full racing programme. Colin told me; recently the partners started with 50 babies and never lost one training before the first race. They are raced to the perch, but if they want to pair up they are allowed too and nest bowls are put into the section.

The 2011 old bird season proved to be one of Colin Crook and Andy Iddenden’s best to date recording: 6th, 7th Federation Wincanton (1865 birds), 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th Federation Yeovil (2230 birds), 1st, 2nd, 9th, 14th, 15th, 16th Federation Kingsdown, 15th Federation Newton Abbot (1625 birds), 23rd Federation Newton Abbot (1476 birds), 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 12th, 16th Federation Kingsdown (1321 birds), 14th, 19th, 20th Federation Kingsdown (1090 birds), 14th Federation Taunton (1080 birds), 23rd Federation Yeovil. The partner’s brilliant yearling mealy Staf Van Reet widowhood cock won the Federation two weeks on the trot in 2011 and from Kingsdown beat his loft mate on the ETS by only a second. The partnership were runners up for the Three Borders Federation Individual Points Trophy in the 2011 season and won the Three Borders Federation ‘Ken Besant Memorial Trophy’ for ‘best pigeon of the year’ with their good blue cock, ‘Frank’. He recorded to win the championship: 2nd Federation Kingsdown, 2nd Federation Yeovil (twice beaten by loft mates), 7th Federation Wincanton, 14th Federation Wincanton, 16th Federation Kingsdown, and 23rd Federation Newton Abbot.

Colin and Andy’s wonderful performance racing in the Three Borders Federation in 2010 were: (OB) 14th, 18th Federation Wincanton (1,584 birds), 1st, 2nd, 6th Federation Wincanton (1,916 birds), 25th Federation West Bay (2,163 birds), 17th Federation West Bay (2,016 birds), 14th Federation Exeter (1,135 birds), 2nd Federation (758 birds), 2nd SMT Combine Messac, 8th Federation Kingsdown (1,233 birds), 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th Federation Kingsdown (1,089 birds), (YB) 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th Federation West Bay (1,292 birds), 1st Federation (923 birds), 1st SMT Combine Yelverton. Chris Slight and Trevor Taylor of the Esher club won the SMT Combine from Messac in June 2010 with their champion yearling Staf Van Reet black hen, ‘Non-Returnable’, which was bred by Crook & Iddenden. In the same race Colin and Andy were 2nd Three Borders Federation, 2nd open SMT Combine, being beaten by the black hen that they bred and gifted to the partners from Esher. The icing on the cake for Colin and Andy was to win 1st open SMT Combine from the last and longest young bird race, flown from Yelverton in mid-September and finish off a brilliant season in great style!

Colin and Andy’s 2010 Yelverton SMT Combine winner was their ‘darkness’ Staf Van Reet blue chequer hen, ‘The Combine Hen’, and she was bred from stock birds obtained from Paul Arnold of North Cheam. Her sire is their good dark pied cock, ‘Keith’, and he is a grand son of Paul’s champion breeders, ‘Santa Vos’ and ‘The Guvnor’. She was a member of Crook & Iddenden’s 50 bird strong young bid team in 2010 and had one Federation and the two L&SECC Guernsey races on her build to her Combine win. She was never paired up and flew natural to the perch. A nice twist the story is she was lost off top of the loft when very young and returned home with an orange plastic ring on her leg, just before training started. Colin says he has never taken the ring off and she still wears it today! The partners had so my star birds in the 2010 season it’s a bit hard to pick out individuals, but one must be the widowhood grizzle cock, ‘The Dove’, and he won several premier prizes in 2010 including 2nd open SMT Combine Messac. A few years ago Paul Arnold brought in some Roland / Janssens pigeons to try and bred Colin a pair of white grizzles. The hen of the nest pair is the dam of ‘The Dove’ and also the grizzle widowhood cock, ‘Dusty’, winner of 1st Three Borders Federation Wincanton and 1st South Downs Premier Honiton in 2010. These two brilliant racers have different sires, both being Paul Arnold Staf Van Reets.

The partnership enjoyed an exceptional 2006 racing season, with highlights being 1st Federation West Bay, 1st, 2nd, 9th Federation Lulworth. Colin and Andy were racing eight hens on the widowhood system and they tell me these hens were whacking the widowhood cocks every week. Colin says they have the system tuned just right and all their premier positions, including the two Federation winners, were won with widowhood hens. The West Bay Federation winner was the Staf Van Reet mealy pied hen, ‘Lady’, and she was home to win the Federation from Lulworth, but wouldn’t trap and finished up 9th, being beaten by two loft mates. Her sister, ‘Busy Lizzy’, recorded 2nd Federation from Lulworth. The hen I really liked was, ‘Dark Lady’, another Staf Van Reet and she recorded 1st Federation Lulworth. These three great hens were all from the Paul Arnold bloodlines.

Colin and Andy both who flew in partnership with their late fathers. The Crooks, Colin and his dad Harold, were part the highly successful Crook, Waldron & Martin partnership, which won many premier prizes North Road racing, including 1st open Combine Thurso and 1st Federation Berwick. Colin has raced on his own in recent seasons and has won 2nd open Federation three times. Andy Iddenden has raced in the Esher club for several years, gaining major success, racing in partnership with his late father “Bunny” Iddenden, who was a well liked and respected fancier. Whenever you competed against the Iddendens in racing or the show pen, they were always hard to beat and their best performance was 1st, 2nd, 3rd open Federation. Because Colin and Andy are very good friends and both having young families, so lack time for the pigeons, they formed the Crook & Iddenden partnership several season ago. They started with some outstanding success by recording 1st and 6th open London Federation (806 birds) Blandford, their first young bird event of the 2005 season. Their Federation winner was a natural Staf Van Reet blue pied hen, now named “Doreen” after Colin’s mother, and she was bred by the premier Surrey fancier, Paul Arnold. “Doreen” was a second round youngster, so didn’t go on the Darkness system. She, with two other young hens were paired to a 19 year old cock, each having two hours with him every day and on the marking day for the Blandford race, all three were let in the section with the cock and left to fight over the nest bowl.

Both the partners enjoy the pigeon shows in the winter months and a few years ago Colin had a small team of Show Racers bred from pigeons obtained from Doug McClary and Jimmy Fitzpatrick. He was successful, winning firsts at several major shows, but packed them up after a couple of years because he couldn’t stand the travelling, which it entailed to compete in the big shows. Colin says he is very anti-PMV vaccination and maintains the pigeons should only be jabbed once in their life and that is when they are young birds.

Well done to the lads, on their brilliant 2013 season!  I can be contacted with any pigeon banter on telephone number: 01372 463480 or my new email address This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT (www.keithmott.com)