Three Borders Federation Bodmin Race 2025

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Three Borders Federation: Season News 2025  (Bodmin Race).

Every week so far this season the Ashridge ‘master’, Terry Goodsell has been in the first few in the Federation result, just ‘knocking on the door’ to winning the Federation. The Three Borders Federation were at Bodmin (210 miles) for the sixth old bird race of the 2025 season and finally Terry hit the top spot, recording 1st, 2nd, 8th, 10th, 15th, 19th, 24th, 25th Federation. The convoyer, Dom McCoy produced a good steady race when he liberated the 463 birds at 07.00hrs in to an east / south east wind situation and many members remarked after the event that they had enjoyed a great steady race, but returns were a bit patchy on the day. Terry won the Federation with his good celibate blue cock, ‘White – Bucks’, which was bred by Steve and Leslie White, who live believe it or not, in Bodmin. This game cock is part of a batch of six youngsters Terry obtained from the White partnership and he told me, five of those birds have now scored in good races for him. ‘The Master’ told me, he thinks this is his 28th Federation winner in the last ten years! Brilliant pigeon racing, Terry!

The first ten in the Bodmin Federation result were: 1) Terry Goodsell 1281: 2) Terry Goodsell 1279: 3) Nick Dudley 1274: 4) Stuart Emans 1262: 5) Tony Baughen 1260: 6) Peter Clements 1253: 7) Tony Baughen 1245: 😎 Terry Goodsell 1238: 9) Tony Baughen 1234: 10) Terry Goodsell 1234. This was race number six of the season and at this point the Ashridge club are leading for the ‘Federation Points Trophy’ with 23 points, with the Mitcham & Merton club being R/U on 22 points. Thanks to ‘Hire and Higher Bouncy Castles Sweets and Treats’ who are now sponsoring the Three Borders Federation.

I’ve known Terry Goodsell of Morden since the mid 1970’s when he was put up brilliant performances in the Surrey Federation and SMT Combine with his widowhood cocks, and I featured him in the fancy press many times. He was a brilliant fancier then and he is still a brilliant fancier today, winning countless 1st Federations through the years! He now races his pigeons to his loft in Morden and he has enjoyed many wonderful racing seasons in the Three Borders Federation, and has won 28 1st Federations in the last ten seasons, and has been the Federation champion by winning the ‘Individual Points Trophy’ three times in recent years. Terry Goodsell’s pigeons were raced on the widowhood system, but came off the system in 2018 and now races cocks and hens on the celibate system. He only breeds off his stock birds and the racers are never paired up. Although he has won the Federation this year with a cock, he says the hens defiantly race better on the ‘celibate’, and would race only hens if he could. The racer are only trained up to the first race, then they are get two one hour exercise session around the loft every day through the season. The stock birds are paired up after the BHW Blackpool Show in January and the families raced are mainly Soontjens and Janssen of Arendonk, with the Janssens being obtained from the Ponderosa Stud in Holland and Fountainhead Stud. New families introduced in recent from the Ponderosa UK Stud are the Heremans-Clusters and Koopman- De Weerdt. He maintains the Janssen are good right through the programme to 455 miles, although the Soontjens are very good up to 250 miles. As far as his pigeon loft is concerned he is very keen to have warmth, a good dry floor, together with good ventilation, with no draughts in his lofts. He told me over feeding was the biggest mistake a fancier can make and was totally against fat pigeons at any time of the year. He says, many fanciers make the mistake of over exciting their birds and feed them too much hemp. Terry feeds the birds according to the temperature in the loft, using a good racing mixture, but with more carbohydrate when it was colder. The 2025 season has seen Terry win in the Tree Borders Federation: 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 24th Federation Wincanton (1), 3rd, 5th, 8th, 14th, 16th, 19th, 24th, 25th Federation Wincanton (2), 9th, 13th, 20th, 24th Federation Honiton, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th, 11th, 12h, 13th,14th,15th Federation Okehampton, 4th, 5th, 9th, 18th, 19th,20th, 22nd, 24th, 25th Federation Blandford, 1st, 2nd, 8th, 10th, 15th, 19th, 24th, 25th Federation Bodmin. After the first six races of the season, Terry is leading for the ‘Individual Points Trophy, with 39 points. Brilliant pigeon racing! Not everyone knows that Terry has been a very good gardener for most of his life and works on several show gardens. He loves gardening and says, ‘pigeon racing is my hobby, gardening is my passion! There you have it Terry Goodsell of Morden! Here we are all these years after my first loft visit and Terry is still racing in Morden, and winning the Federation positions out of turn. He must rate as one of the all-time great in the London area! I really enjoyed doing this one, Terry is a great worker for the sport and deserves all the praise he is given!

Two fanciers who deserve a special mention after putting great performances in the Bodmin race are Nick Dudley of the Mitcham & Merton club and Tony Baughen of the Ashridge club. Nick Dudley recorded 3rd Federation from Bodmin and continues his dream season! Nick Dudley lives in Carshalton and recorded 1st club, 6th Federation from Wincanton, breaking his ‘Novice Status’ recently. Nick’s first race winner ever was a blue cock, now nicknamed 'Errol’s Lad' and  was bred for him by a fancier in his club, Mr & Mrs Skeet & Keen. The dam of this cock is from double grandchildren of ‘Best Kittel’ and the sire is direct son of 2nd open MNFC Vire national from Frank and George Bristow. Tony Baughen recorded 5th, 7th, 9th, 13th Federation from Bodmin and he only broke his ‘Novice Status’, by winning his first pigeon race in the 2024 season. I spoke to Tony after the race and he told me, ‘my first bird on the ETS was a my Vandenbeele / Herman Ceuster blue hen ‘792’   and she was one of a kit of 24 gift youngsters at the start of the 2023 season from Kevin Pratt of Mitcham. The second bird on ETS from Bodmin was a daughter of ‘792’. These birds have worked well for me over the last two seasons and I’m really grateful to Kevin for the birds and the advice he has given me, he is a proper gent! I missed the Blandford race the week before Bodmin, as I was out of the country for the weekend and wasn’t sure whether to send because of the distance and the birds not having any work. I sent the Okehampton team and they came great’. Tony has come out with all guns blazing this season, recoding several top positions, including 1st club, 2nd Federation Honiton, 6th, 9th, 10th, 19th, 20th Federation Okehampton and now, 5th, 7th, 9th, 13th Federation Bodmin. Tony is from a pigeon racing family, with his father and grandfather both being very successful fanciers and now his son, Harry helps him out around the pigeon loft. Tony started up pigeon racing in 2021 with the help of his good friends Errol Skeete and Terry Goodsell. I think next time I write about these two gentlemen, they will be Federation winners! Well done lads! Full article to appear in the BHW shortly.

Text & Photos by Keith Mott (May 2025)