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West of England Tumblers – Page 41 – Purebred PIGEON
Breed of the Issue - West of England Tumblers
Largest
West ShowsEver
By Bob Christman
L
ate 1990s and the early 2000s were the heyday of
West shows with the five largest showings of Wests
ever have taken place during those years. All five
of these shows had over 500 birds shown. They also all
took place in Southern California which was the hotbed
for the Wests at the time. The shows encompassed three
Pageant of Pigeons and two NPA Grand National shows.
The largest of these was the 2001 Pageant of Pi-
geons with 611 Wests shown. This show was judged by
Jim Bishop and Terry Bishop. Champion was a tortoise
shell pattern young hen shown by myself, Bob Christman
and Reserve Champion was a red self young hen shown
by Brian McCormick. The other two categories were won
by a black baldhead old cock shown by Brian McCormick
and red mottle young hen shown by Bruce Rodegerdts.
The next largest West show was the 2000 Pageant
of Pigeons with 607 Wests shown. This show was judged
by Jim Krebaum, Jr. Champion was a black self old cock
shown by Terry Bishop and reserve champion was a
black self young cock shown by myself, Bob Christman.
The other three category winners were a black baldhead
young cock shown by Brian McCormick, a red shield mottle shown by Bruce
Rodegerdts and an almond pattern old cock shown by Terry Bishop.
Next up is the 2005 NPA Grand National show with 526 Wests shown.
The show was judged by Tony Cardoza and Frank Morgan. Champion was
an Andalusian baldhead old cock shown by Brian McCormick and reserve
champion was a yellow whiteside old hen shown by Bob Christman. The
two other category winners were a white self old hen shown by Bob Christ-
man and a tortoise shell pattern young hen shown by Bob Christman.
Next is the 1998 NPA Grand National with 507 Wests shown. Bob
Shoemaker judged this show. Champion was a red mottle young hen shown
by Bruce Rodegerdts and reserve champion was a silver bar baldhead young
hen shown by Terry Bishop. The other two category winners were a black self
young cock shown by Jim Cooper and an Andalusian old cock shown by David
Paglia.
Last of these five shows was the 2003 Pageant of Pigeons with 506
Wests shown. This show was judged by Jim Krebaum, Jr. Champion was a
silver baldhead old cock shown by Bob Christman and reserve champion
was a red whiteside OH shown by Dean Holcomb. The two other category
winners were a black self old cock shown by Brian McCormick and an Anda-
lusian pattern young cock shown by Brian McCormick.
Of interest was that the champions of these five shows represented
all of the four categories recognized in the Wests. Two of the champions
were from the baldhead category, one from the mottle category, one from
the self category and one from the pattern category. Of additional interest,
the five champions were five different colors. One of the great things about
Wests is that so many different colors are competitive in our shows. •