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Alan’s proud of his racing pigeons
For over 30 years Alan Mason has been heavily involved in pigeon racing and at 66 years young is as keen as ever in his role as chairman of the Fishguard & Goodwick Racing Pigeon Club.
Alan keeps about 80 birds in his back garden in Trecwn and they are beautifully cared for in their specially constructed lofts, with just under half of them as young birds reared by Alan and his grandson, Paul Sinnott, who started out as a teenager and now, six years on, is as keen as granddad. They also buy in stock to improve their breeding lines and Alan and Co often attend the January pigeon sales, held in Blackpool, where they buy in new stock birds from the thousands up for sale there.
Carefully nurtured birds
Ask Alan about his birds and he will take you into his loft and show you what he looks for in a bird which has potential and others that have already proven themselves in races from as far afield as Folkestone and Tunbridge Wells – and even from Lillers, Metz, Reims and Saverne in France. He’ll explain about the breeding season, and how careful he is to get the best matches in terms of parentage, the care that’s taken in feeding them corn, peas and beans from the field, and the way that he trains his young birds to come back straight into the loft as soon as they reach home from a race The fact that they will be eager to see their mate and must be hungry after such exertions, are other factors in getting the bird back in quickly!.
Nail-biting wait
Put quite simply, pigeon racing involves taking all the birds to a central point to be registered and have the competition ring put on their leg, then taken to a pre-arranged destination, very often more than 200 miles away, and all released at the same time, subject to good weather conditions. Then it is the first bird back to its home loft, registered on the specially sealed clock, which is taken to headquarters and checked. The winner is obviously the one back in the quickest time and Alan was able to confirm that he would expect a good bird back at an average of between 40 and 50 mph, unless there is a strong headwind.
“Waiting for a bird to arrive is very nerve-racking but once it’s on the roof then it’s a case of getting it in quickly. There can be a real sense of anticipation and if it is back quickly then the adrenalin certainly rushes. Then there’s the wait to take the clock to the meeting place – and if we win it’s brilliant!”
Big wins – and some
set-backs with peregrines
Alan has had his share of success, not least with a pigeon he named ‘Johnny Mace’ after his late son. It won first in Fishguard, and achieved the same position in Pembrokeshire, West Wales and all of Wales during the 1998 season – and its picture adorns the wall in the lounge at home, along with the silverware he has won. More recently he had a smashing bird last season which won him more than his share of prizes but when he started to put it through its paces this racing season it didn’t return to the loft and he assumes that it was killed by a peregrine falcon. The peregrine is much maligned by pigeon men, especially in the valleys, but Alan is philosophical about losing a bird in such a manner because he knows the falcon is only seeking food!
Warm welcome guaranteed
Ask Alan about his local club and he would say that it is strong but would love to have some new recruits, especially youngsters. He always had birds as a nipper and if anyone started they would receive every encouragement – and some good young birds to give them a flying start (no pun intended!).
Alan is chairman of the Fishguard and Goodwick Pigeon Club, with his wife Edwina as Hon Secretary, Wyn Adams as Hon Treasurer, Keith Couzens as Race Secretary, plus other hard workers like Lee Todd, Gareth Williams, Roy Davies, Harry Evans, John Evans and the Austin Brothers. They meet most Friday evenings and hold a monthly meeting at the Glendower until the Phoenix Project allows them to return to the meeting room there.
“We are a happy bunch and we enjoy our sport as much as anyone else and we are as competitive as any other sport. We always look out for newcomers and if they join us they are guaranteed a warm welcome. I’ve had 30-plus years with my pigeons and they provide a real interest for us.”
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