IAN WEST
1st THREE BORDERS FED TAUNTON
by Keith Mott
The Federation held a Taunton race in mid-June and it was good to see the birdage pick up a bit after the weather problems in the first half of the season. It was also good to see the wind turn around from the east to south west and give the 1,100 birds entered an easier fly over the 125 mile course home. The first half of the season saw us have strong east winds, with rain, rain and more rain, which took its toll of bad losses, with the consequence of plummeting birdage.
Ian West of the Esher club won the Federation by a country mile with his good two year old blue chequer widowhood cock ‘Deon’, a son of ‘Ladies’ Girl’, winner of 1st open L&SECC Guernsey (OH) in 2004 and the champion sprinting cock, ‘Wayne’s Boy’, the winner of 1st club, 1st Federation Lulworth (2384 birds), 2nd club, 5th Federation Lulworth (1269 birds), 1st club, 6th Federation Exeter (1108 birds), 2nd club, 7th Federation West Bay (1737 birds), 4th club, 17th Federation West Bay (1748 birds), 1st club, 20th Federation Lulworth (1629 birds). What a brilliant line of winners.
The first ten in the Three Borders Federation result from Taunton were: 1) M/M Ian West 2201: 2) G. Morris & son 1978: 3) Paul Arnold 1965: 4) A. Stoner & son 1964: 5) Bobby & Danny Carter 1961: 6) Terry Goodsell 1959: 7) D. Ware 1956: 8) D. Ware 1955: 9) Trussler Brothers 1946: 10) Colin Crook & Andy Iddenden 1938.
Although Ian flies in the Esher Club, he lives several miles away in Kingston and is a small team man with big success. He races only 11 cocks on the widowhood system and says he would like to race hens, but his job as a postman limits his time with the pigeons, so he keeps it small and simple. He used to keep small birds and finches, and his loft is his old aviaries, which are well ventilated, converted for the pigeons.
Ian pairs up his racers in February and the racers never rear a youngster, being put on the widowhood two weeks before the first race, when the hens and their eggs are taken away. The cocks get very little training and he says they had only eight 15 mile tosses in the last two seasons, being trained while sitting their eggs, prior to going on the widowhood system. Ian says he uses the first Federation races to get the racers fit and races the old birds inland only, not being interested in long distance Channel racing. The cocks are not broken down, being fed on a good widowhood mixture, and are exercised around the loft for an hour twice a day. Ian has 12 pairs of stock birds, which are Janssen Van Loon and Staf Van Reet, and a team of 15 young birds are bred for racing each season. They are not put on the darkness system and are raced only lightly to the perch.
Ian started up in the sport only in 2000 and tells me his friend, the late Ken Besant of New Malden, was a great help in getting him started. In the 2003 season the West loft won the Inland Average in the very strong Hersham Club and his biggest thrill was winning The Ken Besant Memorial Trophy with a pigeon that Ken had bred for Ian to start him up. The West loft’s Three Borders Federation winner at that time was the two year old blue chequer Van Loon widowhood cock ‘Wayne's Boy’ and he was bred from pigeons obtained from Steve Clacston and Frank Butler. Ian's father is the good old Kingston fancier Dave West, who flew a brilliant Channel pigeon in the 1970s and I can remember him winning the Bergerac race in the very strong Kingston Club the season after we won it. The good ol’ days! Dave won the longest old bird race with his good blue chequer hen ‘Charter Flight’, which recorded 5th Open SMT Combine. Looks like Ian is following in his father's footsteps!
Ian won the L&SECC Guernsey (1) old hens classic in the 2007 season, when I liberated the 421 birds at 09.25 hrs in to a light East wind. The old hens were released with the 1,715 classic young birds and Ian’s game blue hen put the best over all velocity that day. That West classic winner, named ‘Princess Taia’, was bred from the very best of the old K. & R. Besant of Kingston bloodlines, being obtained from Ian’s good friend Ken. She is bred down from several of the Besants' best racers, including Champion ‘Besant’s Bishop’s Pride’ winner of 1st open NFC Bordeaux, 1st Federation Weymouth, ‘Showman’, winner of 13th open NFC Pau, 1st Federation Weymouth and ‘Versatile Lady’ the outstanding widowhood hen and winner of 1st Federation inland, plus 11th open NFC Pau. On her build up to her classic win, ‘Princess Taia’ had two club races from 118 miles and one from 230 miles, then had nothing for six weeks only a short training toss from Guildford on the Monday before the Guernsey classic race. The training toss almost turned out to be a disaster, as the sky turned black and it started to rain after Ian liberated them, but the birds got through and turned up at the loft in just over the hour. She was sent paired to another hen and sitting four eggs, previously being celibate all the season, and was specially mated up for the old hens classic, three weeks before. Ian told me his hens exercise brilliantly around the loft and being kept celibate stay in excellent condition all season. Ian’s second hen on the clock in that same race was his good Staf Van Reet mealy named, ‘Natalie’s Pride’, and she has won several premier prizes including 2004: 57th open L&SECC Guernsey (old hens), 2007: 50th open L&SECC Guernsey (1) (old hens), 11th open L&SECC Guernsey (2) (old hens).
Ian West is from a good pigeon racing family, with his father, Dave, being an outstanding winning fancier in the Kingston club about 35 years ago. Ian is carrying on the West winning ways and has won the Three Borders Federation twice and L&SECC twice in recent seasons. Ian's first London & South East Classic Club winner was in the 2004 young bird season, when members sent 2,142 youngsters and 564 old hens to Guernsey. The convoy was liberated on the Saturday morning at 10.00hrs in a north-west wind, in what seemed to be perfect racing conditions. The race turned out to be a very hard event and some members returned their clocks empty. Ian won the Old Hens Classic, clocking at 13.30hrs with his two year old blue chequer pied hen, sent paired to another hen and sitting four eggs. Ian told me this game pigeon had been only lightly raced and was bred from two gift stock birds from John Keywood of Hersham. She is of course his champion hen, ‘Ladies Girl’ and is bred down from the very best Jan Huybregts bloodlines.
Well there you have it, Ian West of Kingston, who now joins the small unique band of fanciers who have won the mighty London & South Easy Classic Club twice and Three Borders Federation twice. I can be contacted on telephone number: 01372 463480.
TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT (www.keithmott.com)