In
this week’s article we are going to feature two N.F.C. winning lofts that I
have visited in recent seasons.
Philip
and Maria Dunstall of Taplow.
The
partnership of Philip and Maria Dunstall have enjoyed some wonderful success
in recent seasons, racing in National and Classic events, with their young
birds. They had a brilliant season in Federation in 2000 and from the London
& South East Classic Club young bird Guernsey race had ten drop on the
loft together to record 2nd, 4th, 6th, 11th,
12th, 15th, 18th, 19th, 20th
and 22nd open. A brilliant performance! I visited the
Buckinghamshire loft in the winter of 1999 after the Dunstall’s had really
set them alight that season with their youngsters, including winning 1st
section E, 1st open National Flying Club Vire (5,850 birds); 1st
open Berks, Bucks & Oxon Federation Weymouth (3.403 birds); 2nd
section, 2nd open L.&S.E.C.C. Guernsey (1,723 birds), all with
young birds. The partner’s 1999 Young Bird National winner is a Hartog blue
hen named, Champion ‘Misty’. She is bred down from the ‘Green Ring’
lines, which have been very successful for the Dunstall loft. On her build up
to her Vire National win, Champion ‘Misty’, was trained with the young
bird team, put into Guernsey with the L.&S.E.C.C., to record 80th
open, then in to the National, after a few short training tosses. She was sent
to the Vire National playing around with some young cock birds. This game hen
was a darkness youngster and took 3 hours 40 minutes to fly the 185 miles from
Vire in France, to win the premier young bird event in English pigeon racing.
On the day of the Vire National, Philip was working and his wife, Maria, had
the job of clocking the bids in. She says, Champion ‘Misty’ took for ever
to trap on her arrival, flying backwards and forwards, from one loft to
another, trying to get a drink of water off the roofs. Little did Maria know
that she was clocking the National winner!
Philip’s
father, Frank, was a fancier. Once, while on holiday at Selsey Bill, he caught
a stray on top of the caravan and presented to Philip, who was only 4 years of
age and since then, Philip has always had pigeons, flying in partnership with
his father for many years, with outstanding success. The Dunstall’s are very
much a pigeon family, with Philip and Maria’s children taking part in the
hobby. Maria’s parents are Mr. & Mrs. Czaplewski, the highly successful
Slough racing partnership. Philip likes to race sprint and middle distance,
winning the Federation many times, although he has had good success in the
long distance races including; 1981: 17th open N.F.C. Pau (6,066
birds), 1982: 61st open N.F.C. Pau (6,928 birds) and 1994: 140th
open N.F.C. Pau (5,976 birds). He races 24 cocks on the widowhood system and
20 pairs on the roundabout system, with all the old birds being paired up at
the end of January, if the weather is good.
The
partners keep 80 young birds each season and they are all put on the darkness
system, when weaned, and off just before the first young bird race. Although
Philip is very successful with youngsters, he says he is not a great lover of
young bird racing, but likes to send them all the way to 190 miles. They are
not paired up, but if they want to, they are allowed during the racing season.
The babies are trained every day and fed twice a day on breakdown and
widowhood mixtures. The main family kept is Hartogs, obtained from Brian Hawes
of Hendon and Roger Lowe of Berkshire.
John
Byng & son of Portsmouth
Although
I didn’t race the 1995 Nantes National, I remember, it gave me a great buzz
to learn that a natural hen had won, what has become a National for widowhood
cocks. The winner was a class looking blue pied hen of Busschaert bloodlines,
owned by the Portsmouth partnership of John Byng & son. After several
phone calls, John Junior invited me down to video their National winning set
up and in freezing weather I made the one hour drive down the A3, from London.
On my arrival at the very smart loft, the first bird I was given to handle
was, Champion ‘Janet’s Gem’, the Nantes National winner. She was as
classy in the hand as she looked, being medium long cast, silky feathered and
with a wonderful rich eye. This great hen looked and handled as you would wish
a champion National winner to handle, real class! She won the Nantes National
with 11,663 birds competing, sent sitting 8 day old eggs and had one race from
Sartilly in the build up to the Nantes National race. Champion ‘Janet’s
Gem’ is down from ‘Parkside Superman’ lines, flew Guernsey as a young
bird and smashed herself up on the wires as a yearling. Her sire won 5th
Solent Federation (4,000 birds) Nantes and her grandsire, which was mostly
stock, won 1st open Folkestone.
The
partnership of John Byng Senior and John Junior was formed some 25 years ago,
when Busschaerts were obtained from J. Crowder and Busschaerts / Cattrysse
from A. Cogman. John Senior’s father was a good fancier many years ago and
won 2nd open N.F.C. Nantes to a house only six doors up from where
the partners race today. From the outset in the sport the Byngs have been
successful winning 1st, 2nd, 4th club, 10th,
13th Solent Federation (2,000 birds), 23rd open Amal.
(3,000 birds) Saintes; 1st, 2nd, 4th club, 1st,
3rd, 6th Solent Federation Guernsey (4,000 young birds).
John’s first loft was 12ft. long, quite different from their very smart
present day set up. The father and son are both bricklayers, having to travel
great distances to work sometimes, so they fly only natural, which fits in
well with the erratic work hours. Despite only racing on the natural system,
they prefer and excel in races up to 300 miles.
The
Byng’s very smart racing loft is 26ft. long, plus stock loft and flight, and
this consists of two sections for old bird racers, and two sections for the
youngsters. The loft houses 24 pairs of racers, six pairs of stock birds,
which are paired up on 4th. February and about 45 young birds,
which are raced each season. John Senior’s main job is the stock birds and
the youngsters, and he told me, the loft should have plenty of sunshine on the
front and a flow of fresh air. He also maintains it is important that the
stock loft should have a flight, so the inmates can get out into the weather,
rain or shine. The partners raced in the Purbrook Park R.P.C. and Hilsea I.H.S.,
and fly the west to east route. The whole loft is fed on a top brand mixture
and trapped with Red Band, and the Byngs use Gem Multivits, once a week, the
day before a race. They use Strike every Sunday, which they consider a must
and say in their opinion, it’s the best specitic on the market for racing
pigeons, maintaining it works overnight. The usual treatments are administered
before pairing up in February. The old birds get as much training as possible
before the first race, then two 25 mile midweek tosses through the season. The
partners mostly train from the New Forest, west to east route, which is about
a 25 mile fly. The babies get all stages up to 35 miles before the first race
and then as much training as possible through the racing season. The
partner’s very smart self built loft has open door trapping and is scraped
out every day.
As
well as winning 1st open Nantes National (11,663 birds), the
Byng’s had an excellent 1995 season, winning several firsts, including 1st
open Portsmouth Federation Plymouth. The partners Federation winner was a
Frank Aarts / Janssen blue hen, who won 5th open Salisbury Plymouth
Open as a young bird. Any bird that scores well in races up to 300 miles, are
never sent to the long distance events. The yearlings are sent up to 250 miles
and all young birds go across the Channel to Guernsey (113 miles).
Well,
only a few weeks until the National Flying Club A.G.M. and this is my last
‘NATIONAL FORUM’, as I have written to our secretary, Sid Barkel, and
resigned from all my N.F.C. offices. Thanks to the many fanciers who wrote,
emailed or phoned me asking me to reconsider, but there was never any chance
of that, as I really have had enough and made my mind up, to resign, several
months ago. I lost several thousand pounds, in lost wages, taking days off
work for N.F.C. business, but the money didn’t really come in it, I’m sick
of being on a committee, that has ‘mastered’ the art of shooting it’s
self in the foot, time and time again. I wish I could say, thanks, for all the
help I received in my year as N.F.C. Press Officer, but apart from a little
given by Bill Harris and Sid Barkel, I got none and produced nearly 40
‘NATIONAL FORUMS’, under my own steam. I would like to repeat what I wrote
a few week’s ago, my biggest disappointment this season, was the way the Pau
Grand National was so badly messed up and the people concerned should be
sacked. Until these people and their like, have gone from our club, the
National Flying Club will never move forward! I would like to wish all the
member of the N.F.C. a better 2004 season.
That’s
the ‘NATIONAL FORUM’ for this week. I can be contacted on Tel: 01372 463480
or Email: keithmott@btopenworld.comKeep cleaning out the feathers, it will soon be show time!
