KEITH & BETTY MOTT

of Claygate

2013 Update

The Keith & Betty Mott loft in Claygate has gifted a lot of youngsters to our friends and charity auctions in the 2013 season and our birds have produced several premier prize winners including 1st open Combine, 1st open Amalgamation, 1st Federation (twice), and 2nd Federation (Twice) this year. The loft has produced 1st open Combine two years on the trot and our birds have also produced 1st open Amalgamation Bourges (581 miles) two years on the trot.

The Mark and Dick Evans / Gaby Vandenabeele stock birds have really been breeding fantastic and have produced some brilliant racers, including 1st open Combine and 2nd Three Borders Federation in 2013. The key pigeon has been the Blue WF Hen GB 11 E 35922, ‘Myrtle Exile’ and she has produced premier winners with both our two M. & D. Evans stock cocks. Our four Gaby Vandenabeele stock birds were all bred by Mark & Dick Evans of Whitley Bridge and ‘Myrtle Exile’ is a granddaughter of the world famous Champion ‘Golden Gaby’, winner of 1st open National Orleans (12,875 birds). What a fantastic breeding hen! ‘Myrtle Exile’ has produced, being paired to our grandson of ‘Pre-Olympic’, a cock we gifted to our great mate, Terry Haley of Watford and he has won as a young bird in the 2013 season: 14th Spelthorne open Yeovil (650 birds), flew the L&SECC Guernsey Young Bird Classic (a really bad race), was then clocked from the NFC Carentan (France) Young Bird National to record 415th open (3,330 birds) and seven days later was turned 205 miles North Road to Aycliffe to win 1st club (by 20 minutes), 1st Thames Valley Federation, 1st open North Thames NR Combine. Another the same way bred that we donated to the Spelthorne Breeder / Buyer and purchased by Derek Reid of Spelthorne won 3rd club Wincanton for him, beaten by two loft mates on the ETS. ‘Myrtle Exile’ and our grandson of the two ‘Myrtle Lofts’ legends, ‘Shadow’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’, ‘Myrtle Supremacy’ are our original pair of stock birds from Mark & Dick Evans and have been mate together for most of the time we have owned them and a daughter of them produced two babies in 2013 to win 1st club, 2nd Three Border Federation Taunton (1139 birds), 4th club, 13th Three Border Federation Blandford (1050 birds) and 3rd club, 12th Three Borders Federation, 12th SMT Combine Yelverton (606 birds) for Colin Crook and Andy Iddenden of Esher. Looking at my  breeding book I noticed our beautiful daughter of ‘Lord of the Rings’, ‘Myrtle Sovereign’, when mated to ‘Myrtle Supremacy’ produced  a youngster this season that made the main Belgium race in Somerset One Loft Race for Brian Batchelor of Godalming, which is a good achievement in itself. Fantastic results in the 2013 season with only two pairs of Mark & Dick Evans / Gaby Vandenabeele stock birds!

Fred Dickson of Cramlington sent four birds to the Bourges (581 miles) race in 2013 and with the race turning out to be a very hard push home, the birds clocked in the Combine on the day of liberation could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Fred lives at the top end of the NEHU and clocked his good Eric Cannon blue chequer cock, ‘Northern Expected’, at 06.03hrs next morning to record 1st club, 1st Federation, 1st New North Amalgamation and 8th North of England Homing Union open result (2,355 birds). This wonderful round about cock has now flown Bourges (581 miles) three times and won 1st, 3rd and 4th Federation. A fantastic achievement! ‘Northern Expected’s’ half-brother, a 100% Eric Cannon blue chequer cock, recorded 1st club, 1st Federation, 1st Amalgamation Bourges in the 2012 season. ‘Northern Expected’ is a son of Fred’s champion ‘Five Times Bourges Cock’ which was killed by a Sparrowhawk earlier this year. ‘The Five Times Bourges Cock’ was bred from ‘Foxwarren Fred’, a red chequer cock bred by us at Claygate and he has proved to be one of the best 550 mile stock cocks we have ever owned and was bred from the very best of Eric Cannon’s wonderful long distance family.

‘Foxwarren Fred’ is the sire of many premier long distance champions including: 1st Federation Bourges (581 miles), 2nd Federation Bourges, 2nd Federation Bourges, 2nd Federation Bourges, 3rd Federation Bourges, 5th Federation Bourges, 8th Federation Bourges and is grand sire of 1st, 1st, 3rd, 4th, 4th Federation, 1st, 1st Amalgamation Bourges (581 miles) in the 2012 and 2013 seasons Later in the 2013 season Fred Dickson won with a yearling blue chequer cock bred by us and he recorded 1st club, 2nd Federation, 12th New North Amalgamation Arras (377 miles) in a strong north east wind. This game cock was a son of our good Eric Cannon stock hen, ‘Foxwarren Katie’ when mated to a son of our Number 1 Brian Denney stock pair, ‘Sasha’s Boy’ and ‘Lady Tuff Nut’. ‘Foxwarren Katie’ is a granddaughter of the Eric Cannon champions: ‘Culmer Marion’ winner of 1st open NFC Sartilly and ‘Culmer Channel Queen’ the NFC Pau Merit Award winner. ‘Sasha’s Boy’ is a full brother to ‘Dark Charm’ and ‘Dark Dancer’, with ‘Lady Tuff Nut’ being a daughter of the champion of all champions, ‘Tuff Nut’. Congratulations to Fred on his brilliant success in 2013! There were several other good winners bred from our birds in the 2013 season including: Clive Turner who recoded 2nd open London & South East Classic Club Bergerac (450 miles) with a pigeon bred from our bird and Mike Riddy, who won 2nd Godalming club (twice), and was well up in the Federation result from Truro (212 miles) with two of our Brian Denney young birds.

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 & PHOTOS BT KEITH MOTT (www.keithmott.com)