The Pigeoncote breed highlight

The show racers began being crafted over 100 years ago, and it's another masterpiece of the American breeder's skill in cultivating to an ideal. Racing ability was traded for pure form.

The entire pigeon is wedge-shaped from head to toe, standing around nine inches tall, and weighing just over a pound. The cocks are slightly larger than the hens by an ounce or two. There is no feather ornamentation of any kind. The head is smooth, broad, and stout, in an unbroken curved oval. It measures about 1.5 inches in length, without a prominent forehead or stop above the nose wattle. The wattle is heart shaped on a medium length and medium thick beak, smooth in texture and free from coarseness. The eyes are a dark red chestnut color, with small, smooth, neat, and finely laced, dark or plum colored ceres. The tail is rather short having, the usual 12 tail feathers but lying so tightly upon one another as to appear as a single feather. The legs are short to medium length, dark in color, and have no feathering below the hocks. The birds stand rather horizontal, keeping the tail well off the ground.

From the very beginning, the ordinary flying Homer was crossed with an Antwerp to get the substance, the Scandaroon to get the length of head and curve of the top of' the skull, and the Cumulet to get the delicate cere around the eyes. The American Pigeon Journal displayed the Show Homer, bred by Neuerburg on its cover in May 1927.

Showing began during the late 1920s and 1930s, on the east coast, but it was not until the early 40s that a standard was drawn to guide the breed's development. Breeders on the West Coast, including Twombly, also began developing the breed and by the early 1950s, Show Racers were being shown at the famous Pageant of Pigeons show, The breed's further development had firmly become national in scope. Earl Dean, of Wichita, is credited with establishing the rare colors now found in the breed.

Colors now run the full range from the originals of blue/black and ash reds, to Dun, Silver, Splashes, Grizzles, Opal, Andalusian, Almond, Recessive Reds and Yellow, Yellow bar and check, Indigo bar and check, and White bar

The The National Pigeon Association recognized the breed during the 196's standardizing the name and adopting a national standard of perfection. The standard has remained largely unchanged since that time

Frank Barrachina, expedited the breed's expansion into Europe. It was recognized in Europe at the 71st National Poultry Show in Nuremberg in 1989. By 1998 in Germany, 38 exhibitors exhibited 408 show racers in 23 color varieties and the breed is also known in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

Standard of Perfection