Australia s International Racing Pigeon Magazine From Michael West The culmination of the racing season in Melbourne was held on the weekend of 4 th of December when 180 birds were released from St George, a distance of over 1200 Km (700 miles) The birds were assisted for the first 100 or so miles when they ran into a head wind which certainly tested the mettle of all the birds that were entered. Those experienced in these distance races were predicting that the birds would arrive between two and three a clock on the second day. Last year s winner Doug Ince was waiting with previous winner Jeff Weaver and myself when the phone rang. It was the 1999 Tassie Fed winner Peter McDonough on the line to say that he had just clocked at one minute to three. It was a blue checker hen, one of his five entries but she had with her another hen that Peter quickly realised was one of Godfrey Steven s entry because it had a different colored ring. Banging his roof the pigeon took to the air and made its way to Godfreys. Sure enough the pigeon landed at Godfreys but refused to go in and he had to wait over half an hour before the pigeon would trap. Another pigeon arrived at the Stevens loft quickly followed by another. The phone was running hot as John Yates reported that he had just clocked and at 4.45 a small blue checker hen landed at the loft of Doug Ince to complete an amazing couple of hours.by night fall nine birds had arrived with Tim Owens, 1 st 700 miles for Doug Ince 1998 who has won 3 races at the distance finding one in his loft when he arrived home from work. Yet again this amazing family of distance birds showed the way with the first seven birds being all the Ince bloodlines and the eighth being half Ince. Peter McDonough is to be congratulated with his comeback to pigeon racing over the last two seasons. He took out a second Fed 500 and 3 fed 600 in 1998 and followed it up with a 1 st Fed at the Tassy race and Fed placings in the 500 and 600 and finally 1 st 700 in 1999. He started with about 80 birds and proved once again that quality is so important when racing the distance races. Godfrey Steven continues to set the benchmark in these races with his 2 nd and 3 rd placing Page 2 - April 2000 Australian Racing Pigeon Journal Vol 8 No 4.pmd 2 2/14/2009, 1:10 PM
Australia s International Racing Pigeon Magazine following on with his 5 th 700 in the first 700 for the year. Having won 5 X 700 races he is always the one to beat. John Yates continued his good form with his placing and architect of this winning strain, Doug Ince completing an amazing year by competing in the entire VHA old bird program plus the 2 X 700 s and the Bourke race held by the Bendigo. He took out 2 nd Fed 4 th National from 400 miles and was a pipped by legendary fancier George Vella for 2 nd fed 500. He had three more birds on his landing board by 7.30 the next morning from the 700 and having 9 by the end of the third day getting 50 % returns from this tough race. Both Peter s winner and John Yates birds were out of eggs that Doug 4 th 700 miles 1998 gave to these fanciers. While racing 700 miles,or for that matter 600 mile races may not be every fanciers goal in pigeon racing there is no doubt that it provides the ultimate challenge. Some fanciers love the short and middle distance races and that s great. Some fanciers love to go after the aggregates and enjoy the challenge of the week in and week out competition and then there are those who love the challenge of the distance. Each one of those is important in their own way and I think that it is important that each is supported and encouraged. However, there is one more dimension to pigeon racing which is not a high priority for some but one that demands patience, perseverance, foresight, time and single mindedness and that is the development of a family. It is a skill that is slowly being lost, as fanciers demand that success is instant. Over the remainder of the year I hope to try and encompass some of the wonderful performances of this family and give an insight into the formation of the family and how after 60 years they are still performing at the highest level at all distances. I know this will be of interest to many fanciers who have this family of pigeons in their loft. This strain has been responsible for the many wins of outstanding fanciers such as Godfrey Stevens, John Yates Colin Walker, John Burns and numerous others. I might add that this task is not without its difficulties because of their widespread success and for the number of wins that have been achieved by this family.. I am certain that the performances of these pigeons have sometimes been overlooked and that their success has been taken for granted. With every success that the imports have had, this family of pigeons has matched them and as the races get longer this family of pigeons has been far too strong for the recently imported pigeons. However Doug Ince believe that the flyers of today have a much better chance of success than he did because they have access to the very best of the distance Australian birds and with judicious selection can develop their own family by utilising the best of the imports. These results have already occurred and Norm Douglas Fed 400 winner a few years ago is just one example of the Australian Racing Pigeon Journal April 2000 - Page 3 Vol 8 No 4.pmd 3 2/14/2009, 1:10 PM
Australia s International Racing Pigeon Magazine imports being mated to the Ince birds to gain success. The family itself is still continuing to breed Fed winners every year and the amazing part of this family is the multiple birds off different pairs that breed outstanding fed birds. The Beginnings In 1941 Doug Ince commenced racing and one pigeon took out 4 club races and gained 2 nd, 7 th and 9 th Federation. And in 1944 flying with the Ivanhoe club Doug achieved in 9 consecutive races, 8 X 1sts and one 3 rd placing. At the time he was 15 years of age and competing against prominent and experienced flyers. So the scene was set and his passion for improving the strain began. He was inspired by the old English strains flying 500 and 600 miles. He could not see why birds in Melbourne could not achieve the same. There was great scepticism by many of the leading fanciers of the day as they did not believe that flying 600 miles could be achieved. What followed was 60 years of dedication, disappointment, joy and amazement as the family evolved into what it is today. An overview of the performance of this strain of pigeons is that by the end of 1999, this family had won 1 st place in over 350 Open and Federation races and thousands of open Federation Positions. The basis of this great family was a blending of the old Harrison, family with the Putman, Jurion Delaney, Weilman and Lang Millar. I will introduce fanciers to some of the key pigeons in the strain and will come back to them later on. A key pigeon at this time was a Harrison cock a blue chequer VHA-50-7163. This pigeon was the sire of The Champ VHA-57 18526. In 1958 The Champ competed in 8 Young Bird and Old Bird Races and was clocked in 7 of them to gain 23 rd Open Fed 150 miles, 21 st 150 miles, 15th Fed 150 miles and 6 th Fed 230 miles. The Champ was to become as dominant as any pigeon in the strain as he was responsible for directly breeding the famous Unr nrung Hens as well as being Grandsire of John Yates Mildur Mildura Fed Winner inner. The Mildura Fed winner was Grandmother to three 500 miles fed winners and two second place 500 mile Fed birds and numerous others. This line extends through to Gravel Eye 1, Gravel Eye 2 and Gravel Eye 3, Emmelle, The Crosby Hen, the Ash Cock, The Hilton Hen, the Soapy Eyes, The Silks, the Mean Eyes, Everest and many others. At the same time he was developing the Harrison side of the family Doug was utilising the progeny of a Jurion cock of Sid Moore VHA-50 7164 and its offspring 4 th Cobar and the Giant that he purchased. The Giant was mated to the Bourke Hen of Bob Eaton, which was O Brien, Harrison, and Delaney. This bred the Odd Eye Cock. Doug mated this to the Red Frill ill. This in turn bred Trio, and the Red Pied cocks that played a major role in John Yates and Bob Eaton birds. Doug was looking for an intermediary between these two lines and bought a hen that was to become known as the Dubbo Hen (VHA 55-18875). She was mainly the old Putman family. When mated to a Wielman Cock of Reg Stock it produced Nor orth h Pride ide VHA-62-22817 winner of the 1963600 miles race. He then mated the Dubbo hen to a son of the 4 th Cobar hen and this Produced Nomad Nomad This hen was then mated to a Pied Cock, which produced Book Bookaloo aloo VHA-63-12166. 1 st 600 miles in 1964. Two years later Bookaloo was mated to a cock that took out 1 st 300 and this pair produced Wendy endy VHA-65-6325 that won 1 st 600 mile in 1966. In 4 years Doug had won 3 x 600-mile races. This blending basically dominated the family during the 60 s and 70 s. Not until the Hunch Pair (BBC 7829532 & BCH 75-38216) were introduced in the late 70 s did any other pigeons make a significant impact on the family. Page 4 - April 2000 Australian Racing Pigeon Journal Vol 8 No 4.pmd 4 2/14/2009, 1:10 PM
Australia s International Racing Pigeon Magazine This pair both predominantly Harrison pigeons from two different with a touch of the Bookaloo through the cock. He did not use these birds straightaway, as he wanted to see how they reacted in his loft. The first time he mated them up he produced the Bird of the Year (VHA-11067). Dip 2 nd 500 miles and Double Dip her daughter, which was 1 st 300 and 1 st 500 for Godfrey Stevens in the same year in the VHA are descendants of this pair. As an aside Double Dip would have also been highly placed in a 400 as she landed with three other birds only to be missed being clocked. No pigeon in the history of the VHA has performed at such a high level. Yet very little was written about this wonderful pigeon. The Hunch Pair descendants have won at every distance race at Federation level in Melbourne as well as the 700-mile races. The intermediary had worked and the basis of this winning long distance family of Long distance pigeons started to evolve. It is also important to note that John Yates started his family based solely on Doug s pigeons and as a young boy obtained pigeons from Doug that took him on to a fantastic record of 4 x 1 st 500 miles in the VHA as well as numerous wins from 300 miles right through to 700 miles. Secondly Godfrey Stevens bought out most of Doug s stock in the 70 s and almost overnight turned in some fantastic performances. He has dominated distance racing in Melbourne ever since and with his resources has developed the family to a new level. No Gimmicks Doug has a firm view on the rearing and health of his pigeons. There are no medications, no gimmicks, only a high pea diet, plenty of fresh water, baths and where possible open lofts. Young birds need to develop a natural immunity to diseases. This is being more and more recognised by vets who once may have advocated medication to ensure healthy pigeons. Anyone who has visited the lofts of Doug, Godfrey or John knows that their pigeons always look well. The proof is off course that pigeons cannot fly 700 miles consistently if they need to be medicated. Secondly, a family of pigeons that do fly 700 miles have a constitution that overcomes any health problems naturally. Selection is based on being tested on the road. The continued improvement of the family is based on the family flying the extreme distances and more than once. Finally, before I finish the first part of the story, it is important to note that Doug Ince simply wants his family of pigeons to be recognised for what they have achieved. He is not saying they are any better than anyone else s and he is the first to recognise the performances of other outstanding pigeons and pigeon families as well as the imports which he sees as a natural progression in the sport. He also recognises the part that previous and present flyers had in the original development of the family including Syd Moore, Bob Eaton, Max Gilbert and others and after 60 years in the sport he is not so bold that he knows all, on the contrary, he is still unravelling the mysteries of his own family of pigeons. As he has said, 60 years has meant he has made more mistakes than most but with every mistake he has learnt something new about his family which has progressed that little bit more. Personally, I believe the greatest skill that Doug has, and this will be supported by many who know him, is his ability for observation. He has an uncanny memory when it come to the family. It is the elusive sixth sense that enables him to blend the right pigeons as so many times he has suggested parings to other fanciers that have led to success. Finally, as part of a database that I am establishing I am recording the success of this family by other fanciers. If you wish you can e-mail me at west.michael.w@edumail.vic.gov.au with the result, the pigeons details etc. Australian Racing Pigeon Journal April 2000 - Page 5 Vol 8 No 4.pmd 5 2/14/2009, 1:10 PM
Australia s Independent Racing Pigeon Magazine Part 3. By Michael West The other evening while the family was out, I poured a nice glass of red wine and sat down and watched a video of well-known and respected fancier from NSW, Graeme Davison. The thing that stuck in my mind was his comment that he was a practical man and this was a great advantage when racing pigeons. His results obviously speak for themselves and he enjoys his pigeons and the results that follow from his great expertise. It made me think of why we become involved in this passion of ours. When my wife and I go out she introduces me to her friends and sympathetically says not to take to much notice of me as I suffer from a disease. Puzzled looks are followed by He keeps racing Pigeons. I guess that sums up most pigeon fanciers. As I read articles from all over the world and get the opportunity to correspond with fanciers through the internet one quickly realises that like everything else the pigeon fraternity is quickly becoming globalised and one wonders what effect it will have on our sport. My guess is that there will be radical changes over the next twenty years and some of those changes will be out of our control and like most new things not all of them will be for the betterment of the sport. 2nd V.H.A. Fed 500 Miles But I suppose that particular statement is subjective in any case. I sometimes read with concern as some people write about what they think is important about pigeons and pigeon care. The cynic in me sometimes thinks that there are vested interests in these claims. My article on Doug Ince is coming from a direction of the evolution of a strain of pigeons. It is about a lateral thinker who was not formally trained but whose passion for pigeons led him to explore a multitude of other interests. My title talks about a Classic family. The results of this family show just that. They are successful in classical races. Races where there are only a Peter McDonough s 1 st 700 Miles handful on the day, clocked in the night, clocked in head Page 40 - July 2000 Australian Racing Pigeon Journal Untitled-1 40 2/14/2009, 1:16 PM
winds, but also they display their versatility. Last season for example Doug was second in the VHA in the 400 mile National race which was an unusual race with quick velocities a n d scattered returns. In Australia s Independent Racing Pigeon Magazine The Godfrey Stevens built Aviary the 500 mile VHA Fed where his BBH came with Georges Vella s pigeon to win 2 nd Fed 500 or Godfrey Stevens 2 nd and 3 rd 600 clocked on the day, or Peter McDonough 1 st 700 clocked at 3.00 on the second day or his 1 st Launceston winner and so on. Even the original 600 miles winners were successful on three different lines. Ascendancy Breeding. Doug is a great believer in this concept. Breeding is about constantly improving. Many fanciers make the mistake of trying to breed back to good pigeons. If one studies Doug s family of pigeon one quickly sees the development of his pigeons. The original pigeons while good in their time were no IRON LADY way comparable to today s pigeons. Carefully study the photos of the family over the years and see the improvement. Unfortunately, one can t gain a complete appreciation of the improvement without actually handling the pigeons. Doug sees this as one of the significant improvement in his family over the years. The biggest lesson that Doug has received has not been from pigeon fanciers but from nature. Everything that nature does is practical. There are no shortcuts in nature. His fascination for nature led him to read Darwin s theory of adaptation and the Australian Racing Pigeon Journal July 2000 - Page 41 Untitled-1 41 2/14/2009, 1:16 PM
Australia s Independent Racing Pigeon Magazine creation of a species. He genuinely believes that we have a long way to go before we reach the pinnacle of breeding the perfect pigeon. The evolution of the racing pigeon has been going on for about 150 years. A mere drop in the ocean. That is why he has been so determined not to medicate his pigeons. As much as possible he has tried to allow nature to take its direction. When he sold many of his stock to Godfrey Stevens for personal reasons it allowed him to pursue his ideas much more fully. He was very keen to ensure that the stock pigeons were as fit as they could get while in captivity. Godfrey constructed a 100foot aviary The result was that they have 15 year old hens breeding multiple fed birds. Tom Silk once remarked to Doug that what he was doing was unique. As he pointed out, no one had really tried to do what he has done over such a long period of time and with such results. In discussions with both Silvere Toye and Jim Biss, Doug made the point that his family was evolving quicker than European families because he was breeding of proven yearlings. An example is his 700-mile winner, which is mated to the Yearling cock that was 7 th 700 that was off a cock that was 11 th 700 the year previous. All pigeons line bred back to the original pigeons. In addition they have won in all conditions and at all distances and just as importantly from all different lines of flight. What s Art Got To Do With It Doug s relationship with art grew out of his passion for pigeons. In his quest to discover more about ancestry and evolution he started to read about former great civilisations. He saw the development of civilisations as a relationship to the development of man s intellect. He appreciated how art reflected the development of man s intellect and his observation of pigeons led him to an appreciation of art. Doug sees STILL GOING MIDGE good art being about balance and confirmation. Putting colours Page 42 - July 2000 Australian Racing Pigeon Journal Untitled-1 42 2/14/2009, 1:16 PM
Australia s Independent Racing Pigeon Magazine Pedigree of Still Going 8th & 11th Fed 700 Miles together that instinctively react on your senses. You don t have to analyse a painting or a piece of art but you react almost immediately. The artist is clever enough to put together colours, forms and shape that appeal to your subconscious that you can t always explain. Over time the two passions complemented each other. He wanted to develop an intelligent, beautifully conformed and balanced pigeon that would fly in all conditions and distances. The following pigeons completed three 700-mile races in a 12-month period. Iron Lady. She placed 18 th and 19 th open 700. There were only 19 home out of 550 on the 2 nd day. The sire was a grand son of Bourke Express and Trio. Iron lady was off 12 th Fed Hobart which in turn was off the $1000 cock which was a great producer. The Second hen is Midge VHA 96-50566. She flew 700 three times in 12 months and also flew Burke 540 miles being second bird clocked in a head wind. She was also clocked three times in 1997 at 350, 500 and 700 miles. She was clocked 9 times in two years. The grandsire was the Ash Cock and her grandmother was 1 st 700 for Godfrey Stevens. The Ash Cock was off the Crosby Hen and Gravel Eye 2 The third hen is Still Going. VHA 97 16340. She was placed 8 th and 11 th 700 and flew two 700 mile races in her first year and a 3 rd in her second year. Her mother was The Wyandra Hen which was 8 th Wyandra 760 mile in a head wind. The Wyandra hen was off 1 st Fed 450 mile for Doug Ince. Her sire was a full brother to Double Dip which was Bird Of the Year and won 1 st 350 mile and 1 st 500 mile. Still Going has three other sisters that were 11 th 700, 6 th 700, 8 th 700 and 7 th 700 mile. Doug will again race Still Going this season.these are but a few of the wonderful pigeons from this family. Doug estimates that between Godfrey and himself they would have over 100 pigeons that have flown the 700-mile race in stock. In the next article, I will look more closely at the Hunch Pair which were to have a significant impact on the family of pigeons. Finally thank you to all those fanciers who have sent me information about their results from this family. You can still contact me at west.michael.w@edumail.vic.gov.au. Australian Racing Pigeon Journal July 2000 - Page 43 Untitled-1 43 2/14/2009, 1:16 PM