“ON THE ROAD” WITH KEITH MOTT.
The history of the R.P.R.A. Southern Region Show (Part One).
I have been associated with the RPRA Southern Region Show for many years and have derived great pleasure judging at this great annual event through the years. This great event is one of my favourite one day shows, which is now held at the Hazlemere Community Centre, near High Wycombe. The show moved to the Community Centre in 1996 and it has proved to be a first-class venue for this major event, having two large halls for the show and charity pigeon auction. My good friend, Ron Lacey, former President of the R.P.R.A. Southern Region, had run the show for many years and prior to that Val and Tony Viccars were the show secretaries. I have attended the show most years, since it started at Ascot Racecourse in the late 1970’s and in recent seasons have booked the judges for the racing classes for Ron. Years ago I used to show and won many firsts with my racing pigeons, which I always considered a good achievement, with the ‘red hot’ competition at the Region show. After Ascot the show moved briefly into Basingstoke and then went to Slough for ten years, being run by the late great Bob Arnold. I always remember Bob telling me that he had been in pigeons all his life, being taken tenderly into a pigeon loft at the age of ten days old, by his father, in 1920. Bob was a wonderful man and put a lot of hard work into the Southern Region Show through his many years as show secretary.
Valerie Viccars lived in High Wycombe and was a good worker for the sport for many years and when she took over as show secretary the Region Show moved into its present home at the Hazlemere Community Centre. At that time, I was looking forward to visiting the High Wycombe lofts of Tony and Valerie Viccars for some time and I finally achieved the visit on a cold, frosty, Saturday morning, in the depths of winter. Tony raced in the local club with outstanding success, but the purpose of my visit was to see Val’s show racer team, after her outstanding performances in National shows. Val was born in Uxbridge, Middlesex, and lived there until she and Tony got married, when they moved to the High Wycombe area, where Val was a secretary for a firm of solicitors. They visited the ‘Old Comrades’ Show at the N.E.C. Birmingham and Val was immediately interested in the show birds on display. They got talking to one of the judges, Reg Price of Worcester, about the sport and the Show Racers, and he agreed to sell Val two pairs of stock birds. A couple of weeks later they picked them up from Reg and paired them up in one of the sections in Tony’s racing loft. The following year Valerie met up with top show man, Bill Meader of Rainham, Essex, and his colleague, Tommy Jones, who gave her a great deal of help and advice and provided her with some excellent stock birds. Bill and Tommy, and their wives became very close friends of the Viccars.
In 1985 Val bought her own Show Racer loft off the late Ted Hills of Tonbridge and Tony built on to the original loft and finished up with six sections. Four sections had wire bays, each with a concealed bath which drained to the outside of the loft keeping the inside nice and dry. Val was a member of the Midlands Show Racer Society of Shipton on Stour, where she won the Points Trophy for several seasons and was the Society Champion. The Society was run by Angela and Alan Noyce who did an excellent job of organising five club shows each year, followed by the Championship event in January. Val’s local show was the R.P.R.A. Southern Region Show, which she attended most years and in 1989 she won B.I.S. with a young Mosaic hen. In 1992 she achieved B.O.S. at the London Show at Edmonton, with a three-year-old Silver Mosaic hen. She won several firsts at the Old Comrades and in 1994 had two firsts, one of which won Best Young Bird in Show. The Viccars pigeons won first and best through the wires at the Louella Classic in 1990 and at the first R.P. Southern Classic at Bournemouth, she won two firsts, with her good Grizzle hen winning reserve Best in Show. To finish off a great 1996 season Val won two firsts in the Inter Society classes at the B.H.W. Blackpool Show and with other cards, she picked up the trophy for Most Points in the six Inter Society classes. Valerie was the secretary of British Show Racer Federation for several years, with John Robilliard as chairman and Doug McClary president.
My good friend of many years standing, Ron Lacey, took over the job of show secretary a lot of years ago from Val and Tony who had to step down because of ill health and I must say, Ron did a brilliant job over a very long period and after his retirement, the present show secretary is Peter Gretton, who took over in 2015. Ron told me he was President of the R.P.R.A. Southern Region for 14 years until he had to pack up through ill health. He has been in the sport for over 60 years and likes only long-distance racing. Ron has 13 natural pairs of mainly Hartog and Vandy pigeons, which says are never parted, with the nest boxes being closed to stop them breeding in the winter months. The old bird racers are lightly trained up to 30 miles and are fed a good mixture, which includes 50% beans. He had raced north road all his life until turning south road with the club a few years ago and has won 1st Federation Lerwick, with the bird on the day. Ron’s 30 youngsters are raced natural to the perch and have won the Young Bird Average several times in recent seasons. The young birds are trained up to 30 miles, the same as the old birds, and race the whole programme. Ron says he is a small team fancier and keeps no stock birds. He maintains that he would cut out all the big money in pigeon racing and the sport looks like it’s falling because there aren’t so many fanciers, but he thinks it’s as good as it’s ever been!
1988: This very success RPRA Southern Region Show was held in the November at Slough and I think I’m right in saying that only about two racing pigeons have won ‘Best in Show’ in the 40 year history of the Region show and this was the first time. Terry Haley of Watford won the premier prize with his outstanding blue chequer racing cock; ‘Zippy’ and he had won a lot of top positions racing. As a yearling in 1987 he won the longest old bird race from Thurso (492 miles), recording: 1st club, 5th Thames Valley Federation, 18th Combine (2,367 birds). The following year, when he won ‘Best in Show’ at the RPRA Southern Region Show, he won the first old bird race of the season, recording 1st club, 1st Thames Valley Federation Leicester (1,818 birds) and won the Federation by 13ypm. A fantastic pigeon! Terry has been very successful at racing and showing his pigeons for many years and has won at all the major National shows in the UK, including: BHW Blackpool Show and RP ‘Old Comrades’ Show. He has had many pigeons selected for the Great Britain team for the Olympiads over the years and has won best bird in the British team at least three times. The ‘Watford Wizard’ has judged at various major shows and was proud to be chosen to judge for Great Britain at the recent Olympiad in Poznan in Poland.
2000: The entry for the RPRA Southern Region Show was outstanding, with all the pens full in the Hazlemere Community Centre and the late Norman Perry of Port Talbot won ‘Best in Show’ with a beautiful mosaic hen. Norman Perry passed away in April 2016 and he was a member of the long list of top fanciers from South Wales, and through the years I and many others have given him many first at National shows. Norman Perry and his wonderful Show Racer team were ‘world class’, winning ‘Supreme Champion’ at the BHW Blackpool Show three times. He won Best in Show at the BHW Blackpool Show in 2012 and his wonderful Mosaic hen went on to be ‘Supreme Champion’, which was a wonderful performance. At the 2009 BHW Blackpool Show Norman won ‘Supreme Champion’ and when I met up with him in the Winter Gardens on Saturday morning; he told me he was very proud that he had won.
I first met Norman, when I was judging at the RPRA Southern Region Show and he won ‘Best in Show’ with a Mosaic Chequer hen, bred from pigeons obtained from his good friend, Ron McCarthy of Rhymney. Norman has since gone on and won ‘Best in Show’ at the Southern Region Show (twice), BOS at the RP Old Comrades Show and the top honours of ‘Supreme Champion’ and ‘Best in Show’ at the BHW Blackpool Show for the first time in 2005. Norman had been in the sport since he left school and had kept Show Racers for about twelve years, being a north road racer before that. He changed over codes, to showing pigeons because his job as a postman didn’t allow him the time to race his birds properly. He was very keen on the long-distance racing and won Lerwick twice. He paired his 25 pairs of show birds the weekend after the BHW Blackpool Show and kept mainly the very successful Ron McCarthy bloodlines. He had nine pairs of stock birds and bred about 50 babies each season, retaining half these for the show pen. Norman’s set up was made up of three lofts, with flights and the birds were fed on a Young Bird mixture. His club was the Monmouth Show Society and he entered only club events and three National shows each season.
2006: I first met Mike Horner back in November 2006, when he won Best in Show at the R.P.R.A. Southern Region Show and I was there at the High Wycombe event judging. To say he was overjoyed at his performance would be an understatement. This was his best performance ever with his Show Racers and he was over the moon! His team for the Southern Region Show were exceptionally good that year and in the light of that he fancied his chances. Mike and Theresa Horner won Best in Show (645 birds) with their four-year-old Mosaic show racer cock, ‘Barny’, and he had plenty of previous good form, having won in the show pen twelve times. He won Class 7. (Coloured Cock or Hen) at High Wycombe and also lifted two trophies, ‘Best Show Racer’ and ‘Best in Show’.
Mike has been in pigeons, in one form or the other, all his life and is from a racing pigeon family, with his father and grandfathers being pigeon racers. He had racing pigeons up to the late 1970’s and flew in the Godalming & Dist. F.C. (Surrey Federation) with all the old greats of that time including, Stan Edgington, Paul Bridgewater, Alec Martin, Ron & Chris Cox and Eric Cannon. In those days he got lot of help from Pat McFadden, the secretary of the Godalming club at that time and raced the Channing of Wales family of pigeons. Years ago, Mikes also kept a few Show Racers obtained from Bill Meader of London. He started up with the Show Racer properly on marring Theresa in 1980, with birds from Tony Williams, which were reds and mealies, and later some stock from Mr. & Mrs. Colin Carter of Churchdown. Mike’s latest champion, ‘Barny’, was bred from these original bloodlines.
2007: With many premier National shows being cancelled during the month of November, because of the ‘bird flu’ restrictions, we considered ourselves very lucky that the sport was given the all clear at the end of the month and the RPRA Southern Region Show took place on the 1st December. Ron Lacey, the show secretary, phoned me with good news that the ban had been lifted, a week before the Region event and we were both jubilant that our favourite one-day show had been reprieved. After the big disappointment of having the November National shows cancelled, because of the ‘bird flu’ problem, the RPRA Southern Region event held at High Wycombe turned out to be one of the best ever, with 600 plus birds entered. I normally judged the Show Racers at the Region Show and I remember that year there were four of the best show men in the Show Racer world standing watching me handle their birds, in the form of John Robilliard, Colin Carter, Ron McCarthy and Norman Perry, winners at that time of seven times Best in Show at the B.H.W. Blackpool Show between them. I love a challenge!
The ‘Watford Wizard’, Terry Haley judged ‘Best in Show’ and awarded it to a wonderful three-year-old Show Racer red hen owned by Mike and Theresa Horner of Alton. I spoke to a triumphant Mike Horner after the show and he was overjoyed at winning Best in Show for the second year on the trot. He had named his latest winner, ‘Cilla’, and told me at that time she had won ten firsts in the show pen. Both her parents were two very successful breeding reds and were obtained from Colin Carter in 2003. The day after the Southern Region Show, Mike showed at the Southern Counties SR Society show held at Gravesend and ‘Cilla’ won Best Opposite Sex, being beaten by her half-brother, who won Best in Show. This champion hen went on the to be ‘BOS’ at the RPRA Southern Region Show the following year and at the end of her brilliant showing career she had 33 firsts in premier shows and many times ‘Best in Show’. ‘Cilla’ one of the true champions of the show pen!
2008: The RPRA South Region Show event held at High Wycombe turned out to be one of the best ever, with 640 plus birds entered. There was the usual auction of gift birds and the funds raised by the show and auction sale were donated to the Handicapped Children’s Pilgrimage Trust. I auctioned the 25 gift birds, which raised £522 and I must say they were one of the best daft of birds we have had at the Southern Region sale. We didn’t seem to mention Ron Lacey’s band of stewards and workers in my annual write ups, who year in and year out work tirelessly to put this great show on. I don’t know their names, but we always ‘tip our hats’ when we meet up each November and it’s them same ol’ faces every year working so hard on this great event. Well done to you all! I took my granddaughter, Sasha, aged eight, to the 2008 show for her second time and needless to say being pigeon mad, she thoroughly enjoyed the occasion. I was highly delighted when ‘Jock’ and a few of the other old stewards remembered her mum, my daughter Caroline, who judged at the RPRA Southern Region Show in Slough a couple of times in the 1980’s.
A 13-year-old lad named John Harrod from Lowestoft in Suffolk won ‘Best in Show’ with a beautiful young Show Racer red cock and I happy to say it was one of my class winners. In fact, I judged two classes of Show Racers and young John won both of them! This champion red was bred from a long line of premier winners, with the South Region win being his third red card and was son of John’s 2007 Southern Counties SR Society Open Show ‘Best in Show’ red chequer cock. Just after Christmas of 2007 I was invited to judge at the Southern Counties SR Society Open Show held at the Gravesend Rugby Club and I must say, the turn out on the day was a credit to the Society, with 356 birds being exhibited in the very spacious hall. The whole event was a wonderful spectacle! We judged about 12 classes each, but the real buzz came at the end when my brother, Phil, Gordon Marsh and I had judged the winners for the ‘Best in Show’ awards, and the result was announced. John Harrod won one of my classes and ‘Best in Show’ with his red show racer cock and entering a team of 20 birds that day, had won a hat full of prize cards. The sire of this near perfect red youngster had won several major cards including 1st at the Dunoon Show in Scotland and BIS at the Gainsborough Show. John told me at that time that he has all colours in his show racer team, but his reds, which were obtained from his father’s friend, were particularly strong in quality and won well whenever he exhibited them. He said his best previous performance to date was BOS at the RPRA Southern Region Show in 2006 and has won four firsts at the BHW Blackpool Show. Fantastic performances put up by this young lad!
2009: The month of November saw us make our annual drive up the M40 to High Wycombe for the RPRA Southern Region Show, which is one of the high lights of the show calendar in the South of England every winter. That year’s show held at the Hazlemere Community Centre once again turned out to be one of the best ever, with 610 plus birds entered. There was the usual auction of gift birds and the funds raised by the show and sale was donated to the Diabetic Association. I auctioned the 30 gift birds, as I did most years, and which raised £300.
Ron McCarthy of Rhymney won ‘Best in Show’ with a wonderful Silver Chequer Hen and she was a daughter of his Champion ‘Blue Boy’, winner of ‘Best in Show’ at the BHW Blackpool Show in 2006. Ron told me this brilliant blue Show Racer cock had won a first at Blackpool for the last three years and had now bred a ‘Best in Show’ winner at the RPRA Southern Region Show. Ron had won ‘Best in Show’ at the 2009 BHW Blackpool Show for the record fifth time with a wonderful young dark chequer Show Racer cock, now named ‘Colin’s Cracker’ and he was bred by Colin Carter of Churchdown. He was bred from a cock loaned from Ron McCarthy which was also the sire of Ron’s Champion ‘Blue Boy’ winner of ‘Best in Show’ at the BHW Blackpool Show in 2006 and the dam of ‘Colin’s Cracker’ was Colin’s good dark hen, winner of many firsts, including ‘Champion Hen’ at the Edinburgh Show, plus was dam of many winners. Ron McCarthy’s good wife, June, passed away in March of 2008 and she was greatly missed at that year’s Blackpool event, as she had never missed a show and always enjoyed Ron’s success. Ron McCarthy had one of his best Blackpool Shows ever, also winning BOS, four fists and lifting ten BHW Trophies. On one of my ‘Many Miles with Mott’ video tours of South Wales, I visited the premier Show Racer fanciers, Mr. & Mrs. Ron McCarthy of Gwent. In Ron’s 50 years in the sport, he has won many top positions, including B.I.S. Cardiff Charity Show, B.I.S. Show of the West, B.I.S. Birmingham Mail Show, B.I.S. Midlands Show several times, B.I.S. R.P.R.A. Southern Region Show several times, B.I.S. B.H.W. Blackpool Show (a record five times), Supreme Champion at Blackpool and Supreme Champion Young Bird Southern Classic Show. A fantastic loft performance in classic shows!
Steve Wheatley drove all the way down from Middlesbrough, in the North East of England, to enter a team of pigeons in the 2006 RPRA Southern Region Show and made it very worthwhile by winning ‘Best Opposite Sex’ with his good mealy. The Wheatley family at that time had a wonderful record in both racing and showing pigeons, winning eight times Best in Show’ NEHU Show in Newcastle, twice ‘Supreme Champion’ at the BHW Blackpool Show and three times ‘Supreme Champion’ at the RP ‘Old Comrades’ Show. The partners had won the Federation many times through the years and 1st open Up North Combine Andrezal (456 miles) in 2008.
Well that it for this week! I hope my readers have enjoyed looking back at some of the history of the RPRA Southern Region Show; we will have part two next week. I can be contacted with any pigeon ‘banter’ on telephone number: 01372 463480 or email me on:
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TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT (www.keithmott.com).