Page 2 - April 2000 Australian Racing Pigeon Journal ©

Australia’s International Racing Pigeon Magazine

From Michael West

1st 700 miles for Doug Ince 1998

The culmination of the racing season in Melbourne was held on the weekend of 4th ofDecember when 180 birds were released from St George, a distance of over 1200 Km (700miles) The birds were assisted for the first 100 or so miles when they ran into a head windwhich certainly tested the mettle of all the birds that were entered. Those experienced inthese distance races were predicting that the birds would arrive between two and three aclock on the second day. Last year’s winner Doug Ince was waiting with previous winnerJeff Weaver and myself when the phone rang. It was the 1999 Tassie Fed winner PeterMcDonough on the line to say that he had just clocked at one minute to three. It was a blue

checker hen, one of his fiveentries but she had with heranother hen that Peter quicklyrealised was one of GodfreySteven’s entry because it had adifferent colored ring. Banging hisroof the pigeon took to the airand made its way to Godfreys.Sure enough the pigeon landedat Godfreys but refused to go inand he had to wait over half anhour before the pigeon wouldtrap. Another pigeon arrived atthe Stevens loft quickly followedby another. The phone wasrunning hot as John Yatesreported that he had just clockedand at 4.45 a small blue checkerhen landed at the loft of Doug Inceto complete an amazing coupleof hours .By night fall nine birdshad arrived with Tim Owens,who has won 3 races at thedistance 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 birdsbeing all the Ince bloodlines and the eighth being half Ince.Peter McDonough is to be congratulated with his comeback to pigeon racing over the lasttwo seasons. He took out a second Fed 500 and 3 fed 600 in 1998 and followed it up with a1st Fed at the Tassy race and Fed placings in the 500 and 600 and finally 1st 700 in 1999. Hestarted with about 80 birds and proved once again that quality is so important when racingthe distance races.Godfrey Steven continues to set the benchmark in these races with his 2nd and 3rd placing

Vol 8 No 4.pmd 2/14/2009, 1:10 PM2

April 2000 - Page 3Australian Racing Pigeon Journal ©

Australia’s International Racing Pigeon Magazine

4th 700 miles 1998

following on with his 5th 700 in thefirst 700 for the year. Having won 5X 700 races he is always the one tobeat. John Yates continued hisgood form with his placing andarchitect of this winning strain,Doug Ince completing an amazingyear by competing in the entire VHAold bird program plus the 2 X 700’sand the Bourke race held by theBendigo. He took out 2nd Fed 4th

National from 400 miles and was apipped by legendary fancierGeorge Vella for 2nd fed 500. He hadthree more birds on his landingboard by 7.30 the next morningfrom the 700 and having 9 by theend of the third day getting 50 %returns from this tough race.Both Peter’s winner and John Yatesbirds were out of eggs that Douggave 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 thatit provides the ultimate challenge. Some fanciers love the short and middle distance racesand that’s great. Some fanciers love to go after the aggregates and enjoy the challenge of theweek in and week out competition and then there are those who love the challenge of thedistance. Each one of those is important in their own way and I think that it is importantthat each is supported and encouraged. However, there is one more dimension to pigeonracing 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 thatis 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 wonderfulperformances of this family and give an insight into the formation of the family and howafter 60 years they are still performing at the highest level at all distances. I know this will beof interest to many fanciers who have this family of pigeons in their loft. This strain has beenresponsible for the many wins of outstanding fanciers such as Godfrey Stevens, John YatesColin Walker, John Burns and numerous others.I might add that this task is not without its difficulties because of their widespread successand 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 andthat their success has been taken for granted. With every success that the imports havehad, this family of pigeons has matched them and as the races get longer this family ofpigeons has been far too strong for the recently imported pigeons. However Doug Incebelieve that the flyers of today have a much better chance of success than he did becausethey have access to the very best of the distance Australian birds and with judicious selectioncan develop their own family by utilising the best of the imports. These results have alreadyoccurred and Norm Douglas Fed 400 winner a few years ago is just one example of the

Vol 8 No 4.pmd 2/14/2009, 1:10 PM3

Page 4 - April 2000 Australian Racing Pigeon Journal ©

Australia’s International Racing Pigeon Magazineimports 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 ofthis family is the multiple birds off different pairs that breed outstanding fed birds.The BeginningsIn 1941 Doug Ince commenced racing and one pigeon took out 4 club races and gained 2nd,7th and 9th Federation. And in 1944 flying with the Ivanhoe club Doug achieved in 9 consecutiveraces, 8 X 1sts and one 3rd placing. At the time he was 15 years of age and competing againstprominent and experienced flyers. So the scene was set and his passion for improving thestrain began. He was inspired by the old English strains flying 500 and 600 miles. He couldnot see why birds in Melbourne could not achieve the same. There was great scepticism bymany of the leading fanciers of the day as they did not believe that flying 600 miles could beachieved. What followed was 60 years of dedication, disappointment, joy and amazementas 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, thisfamily had won 1st place in over 350 Open and Federation races and thousands of openFederation 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 keypigeons 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 wasthe sire of “The Champ” VHA-57 18526.In 1958 “The ChamThe ChamThe ChamThe ChamThe Champpppp “ competed in 8 Young Bird and Old Bird Races and was clocked in7 of them to gain 23rd Open Fed 150 miles, 21st 150 miles, 15th Fed 150 miles and 6th Fed 230miles.“The ChampThe ChampThe ChampThe ChampThe Champ” was to become as dominant as any pigeon in the strain as he was responsiblefor directly breeding the famous “UUUUUnrnrnrnrnrung Hensung Hensung Hensung Hensung Hens” as well as being Grandsire of John Yates“MildurMildurMildurMildurMildura Fa Fa Fa Fa Fed Wed Wed Wed Wed Winnerinnerinnerinnerinner”. The Mildura Fed winner was Grandmother to three 500 miles fedwinners and two second place 500 mile Fed birds and numerous others. This line extendsthrough to Gravel Eye 1Gravel Eye 1Gravel Eye 1Gravel Eye 1Gravel Eye 1, Gravel Eye 2Gravel Eye 2Gravel Eye 2Gravel Eye 2Gravel Eye 2 and Gravel Eye 3Gravel Eye 3Gravel Eye 3Gravel Eye 3Gravel Eye 3, EmmelleEmmelleEmmelleEmmelleEmmelle, The CrosbyThe CrosbyThe CrosbyThe CrosbyThe CrosbyHenHenHenHenHen, the Ash CockAsh CockAsh CockAsh CockAsh Cock, The Hilton HenThe Hilton HenThe Hilton HenThe Hilton HenThe Hilton Hen, the Soapy Eyes, The Silks,Soapy Eyes, The Silks,Soapy Eyes, The Silks,Soapy Eyes, The Silks,Soapy Eyes, The Silks, the Mean Eyes,the Mean Eyes,the Mean Eyes,the Mean Eyes,the Mean Eyes,EverestEverestEverestEverestEverest and many others.At the same time he was developing the Harrison side of the family Doug was utilising theprogeny of a Jurion cock of Sid Moore VHA-50 –7164 and its offspring 4th Cobar and theGiant that he purchased. The Giant was mated to the Bourke Hen of Bob Eaton, which wasO’Brien, Harrison, and Delaney. This bred the “Odd EyOdd EyOdd EyOdd EyOdd Eye Coce Coce Coce Coce Cockkkkk.” Doug mated this to the“RRRRRed Fed Fed Fed Fed Frrrrrillillillillill”. This in turn bred “TTTTTrrrrrioioioioio “, and the Red Pied cocks that played a major role inJohn Yates and Bob Eaton birds.Doug was looking for an intermediary between these two lines and bought a hen that wasto become known as the Dubbo HenDubbo HenDubbo HenDubbo HenDubbo Hen (VHA 55-18875). She was mainly the old Putmanfamily. When mated to a Wielman Cock of Reg Stock it produced “NNNNNorororororttttth Prh Prh Prh Prh Prideideideideide” VHA-62-22817 winner of the 1963 600 miles race. He then mated the Dubbo hen to a son of the 4th

Cobar hen and this Produced “NomadNomadNomadNomadNomad” This hen was then mated to a Pied Cock, whichproduced “BookBookBookBookBookalooalooalooalooaloo VHA-63-12166.” 1st 600 miles in 1964. Two years later Bookaloo wasmated to a cock that took out 1st 300 and this pair produced “WWWWWendyendyendyendyendy VHA-65-6325 thatwon 1st 600 mile in 1966.In 4 years Doug had won 3 x 600-mile races. This blending basically dominated the familyduring the 60’s and 70’s. Not until the “Hunch Pair “ (BBC 78 29532 & BCH 75-38216) wereintroduced in the late 70’s did any other pigeons make a significant impact on the family.

Vol 8 No 4.pmd 2/14/2009, 1:10 PM4

April 2000 - Page 5Australian Racing Pigeon Journal ©

Australia’s International Racing Pigeon MagazineThis pair both predominantly Harrison pigeons from two different with a touch of theBookBookBookBookBookalooalooalooalooaloo through the cock. He did not use these birds straightaway, as he wanted to seehow they reacted in his loft. The first time he mated them up he produced the Bird of theYear (VHA-11067).DipDipDipDipDip 2nd 500 miles and Double DipDouble DipDouble DipDouble DipDouble Dip her daughter, which was 1st 300 and 1st 500 for GodfreyStevens in the same year in the VHA are descendants of this pair. As an aside Double Dipwould have also been highly placed in a 400 as she landed with three other birds only to bemissed being clocked. No pigeon in the history of the VHA has performed at such a highlevel. Yet very little was written about this wonderful pigeon.The Hunch Pair descendants have won at every distance race at Federation level inMelbourne as well as the 700-mile races.The intermediary had worked and the basis of this winning long distance family of Longdistance pigeons started to evolve.It is also important to note that John Yates started his family based solely on Doug’s pigeonsand as a young boy obtained pigeons from Doug that took him on to a fantastic record of4 x 1st 500 miles in the VHA as well as numerous wins from 300 miles right through to 700miles.Secondly Godfrey Stevens bought out most of Doug’s stock in the 70’s and almost overnightturned in some fantastic performances. He has dominated distance racing in Melbourneever since and with his resources has developed the family to a new level.No GimmicksDoug has a firm view on the rearing and health of his pigeons. There are no medications, nogimmicks, 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 morerecognised 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 alwayslook well. The proof is off course that pigeons cannot fly 700 miles consistently if they needto be medicated. Secondly, a family of pigeons that do fly 700 miles have a constitution thatovercomes any health problems naturally.Selection is based on being tested on the road. The continued improvement of the family isbased 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 simplywants his family of pigeons to be recognised for what they have achieved. He is not sayingthey are any better than anyone else’s and he is the first to recognise the performances ofother outstanding pigeons and pigeon families as well as the imports which he sees as anatural progression in the sport. He also recognises the part that previous and presentflyers had in the original development of the family including Syd Moore, Bob Eaton, MaxGilbert and others and after 60 years in the sport he is not so bold that he knows all, on thecontrary, he is still unravelling the mysteries of his own family of pigeons. As he has said, 60years has meant he has made more mistakes than most but with every mistake he has learntsomething 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 manywho know him, is his ability for observation. He has an uncanny memory when it come tothe family. It is the elusive sixth sense that enables him to blend the right pigeons as so manytimes 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 familyby other fanciers. If you wish you can e-mail me at west.michael.w@edumail.vic.gov.auwith the result, the pigeons details etc.

Vol 8 No 4.pmd 2/14/2009, 1:10 PM5

Page 40 - July 2000 Australian Racing Pigeon Journal ©

Australia’s Independent Racing Pigeon Magazine

Part 3. By Michael WestThe other evening while the family was out , I poured a nice glass of red wine and sat downand watched a video of well-known and respected fancier from NSW, Graeme Davison. Thething that stuck in my mind was his comment that he was a practical man and this was agreat advantage when racing pigeons. His results obviously speak for themselves and heenjoys his pigeons and the results that follow from his great expertise. It made me think ofwhy we become involved in this passion of ours. When my wife and I go out she introducesme to her friends and sympathetically says not to take to much notice of me as I suffer froma disease. Puzzled looks are followed by “He keeps racing Pigeons.” I guess that sums upmost pigeon fanciers. As I read articles from all over the world and get the opportunity to

correspond with fanciersthrough the internet onequickly realises that likeeverything else the pigeonfraternity is quickly becomingglobalised and one wonderswhat effect it will have on oursport. My guess is that therewill be radical changes over thenext twenty years and some ofthose changes will be out of ourcontrol and like most newthings not all of them will befor the betterment of the sport.But I suppose that particularstatement is subjective in any

case. I sometimes read with concern as some people write about what they think is importantabout pigeons and pigeon care. The cynic in me sometimes thinks that there are vestedinterests in these claims.

My article on Doug Ince iscoming from a direction of theevolution of a strain of pigeons.It is about a lateral thinker whowas not formally trained butwhose passion for pigeons ledhim to explore a multitude ofother interests. My title talks about a Classicfamily. The results of this familyshow just that. They aresuccessful in classical races.Races where there are only ahandful on the day, clocked inthe night, clocked in head

2nd V.H.A. Fed 500 Miles

Peter McDonough’s 1st 700 Miles

Untitled-1 2/14/2009, 1:16 PM40

July 2000 - Page 41Australian Racing Pigeon Journal ©

Australia’s Independent Racing Pigeon Magazine

winds, butalso theydisplay theirversatility.Last seasonfor exampleDoug wassecond inthe VHA inthe 400 mileN a t i o n a lrace whichwas anunusual racewith quickvelocitiesa n dscatteredreturns. Inthe 500 mile VHA Fed where his BBH came with Georges Vella ‘s pigeon to win 2nd Fed 500or Godfrey Stevens 2nd and 3rd 600 clocked on the day,or Peter McDonough 1st 700 clocked at 3.00 on the second dayor his 1st Launceston winner and so on. Even the original 600 miles winners were successfulon three different lines.Ascendancy Breeding.Doug is a great believer in this concept. Breeding is about constantly improving. Manyfanciers make the mistake of trying to breed back to good pigeons. If one studies Doug’sfamily of pigeon one quickly sees the development of his pigeons. The original pigeons

while good in their time were noway comparable to today’spigeons. Carefully study thephotos of the family over theyears and see the improvement.Unfortunately, one can’t gain acomplete appreciation of theimprovement without actuallyhandling the pigeons. Doug seesthis as one of the significantimprovement in his family overthe years.The biggest lesson that Doug hasreceived has not been frompigeon fanciers but from nature.Everything that nature does ispractical. There are no shortcutsin nature. His fascination fornature led him to read Darwin’stheory of adaptation and the

“IRON LADY”

The Godfrey Stevens built Aviary

Untitled-1 2/14/2009, 1:16 PM41

Page 42 - July 2000 Australian Racing Pigeon Journal ©

Australia’s Independent Racing Pigeon Magazine

creation of a species. He genuinelybelieves that we have a long wayto go before we reach the pinnacleof breeding the perfect pigeon.The evolution of the racing pigeonhas been going on for about 150years. A mere drop in the ocean.That is why he has been sodetermined not to medicate hispigeons. As much as possible hehas tried to allow nature to takeits direction.When he sold many of his stock toGodfrey Stevens for personalreasons it allowed him to pursuehis ideas much more fully. He wasvery keen to ensure that the stockpigeons were as fit as they couldget while in captivity. Godfreyconstructed a 100foot aviary Theresult 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, noone had really tried to do what he has done over such a long period of time and with suchresults.In discussions with both Silvere Toye and Jim Biss, Doug made the point that his family wasevolving quicker than European families because he was breeding of proven yearlings. Anexample is his 700-mile winner, which is mated to the Yearling cock that was 7th 700 that wasoff a cock that was 11th 700 the year previous. All pigeons line bred back to the original

pigeons. In addition they have wonin all conditions and at all distancesand just as importantly from alldifferent lines of flight.What’s Art Got To Do With ItDoug’s relationship with art grewout of his passion for pigeons. Inhis quest to discover more aboutancestry and evolution he startedto read about former greatcivilisations. He saw thedevelopment of civilisations as arelationship to the development ofman’s intellect. He appreciatedhow art reflected the developmentof man’s intellect and hisobservation of pigeons led him toan appreciation of art. Doug seesgood art being about balance andconfirmation. Putting colours

“MIDGE”

“STILL GOING”

Untitled-1 2/14/2009, 1:16 PM42

July 2000 - Page 43Australian Racing Pigeon Journal ©

Australia’s Independent Racing Pigeon Magazine

together that instinctively react on your senses. You don’t have to analyse a painting or apiece of art but you react almost immediately. The artist is clever enough to put togethercolours, 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 18th and 19th open 700. There were only 19 home out of 550 on the 2nd

day. The sire was a grand son of Bourke Express and Trio. Iron lady was off 12 th Fed Hobartwhich 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 flewBurke 540 miles being second bird clocked in a head wind. She was also clocked three timesin 1997 at 350, 500 and 700 miles. She was clocked 9 times in two years. The grandsire wasthe Ash Cock and her grandmother was 1st 700 for Godfrey Stevens. The Ash Cock was offthe Crosby Hen and Gravel Eye 2The third hen is “Still Going”. VHA 97 16340. She was placed 8th and 11 th 700 and flew two700 mile races in her first year and a 3rd in her second year. Her mother was The WyandraHen which was 8th Wyandra 760 mile in a head wind. The Wyandra hen was off 1st Fed 450mile for Doug Ince.Her sire was a full brother to Double Dip which was Bird Of the Year and won 1st 350 mileand 1st 500 mile.“Still Going “has three other sisters that were 11th 700 , 6th 700, 8th 700 and 7th 700 mile.Doug will again race “Still Going” this season .These are but a few of the wonderful pigeonsfrom this family. Doug estimates that between Godfrey and himself they would have over100 pigeons that have flown the 700-mile race in stock. In the next article, I will look moreclosely 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 resultsfrom this family. You can still contact me at west.michael.w@edumail.vic.gov.au.

Pedigree of “Still Going” 8th & 11th Fed 700 Miles

Untitled-1 2/14/2009, 1:16 PM43