Review

"ESSENTIAL FOR EVERY FANCIER'S LIBRARY! CLASSICS!"
December 19, 2008
Reviewer: Gareth Watkins
It's that time of year again yes, Christmas, which fortunately usually coincides with the release of the next installment of the Jim Jenner classic series of pigeon DVDs Secrets of Champions. In the fourth disc, Jim and his all star cast of pigeon greats go into great detail on loft design, loft capacity and ventilation. Each aspect is dissected at great length and you have the views of such legends as Frank Tasker, Geoff Kirkland, Ron Williamson,Willy Thas and Paul Haelterman plus numerous other top class fanciers, who discuss their views on each aspect. This is explained in plain English with many loft illustrations.

One of the most pleasing aspects of this series is the fact that Jim Jenner and his cast are not trying to sell you anything in the way of products, but all are concerned about educating the fancier in good animal husbandry and the nuts and bolts associated with the professional management of a team of racing pigeons. Time and again the dvd gives examples of ordinary back garden lofts in which top class performances have been gained. There is no finer illustration of this than the 2008 winner of the Barcelona International, raced by Danny Vangenende. This little chequer hen was racing to a run of the mill back garden loft to beat a field of 23,000 birds entered by the best fanciers in Europe. Another excellent example is that of possibly the UK s finest exponent of National racing, Geoff Kirkland. Geoff s new lofts at Stoke on Trent are certainly not palatial and yet they are typical examples of well designed lofts based on the principles of no overcrowding, no drafts, no dampness and access to the early morning sun. The lofts featured cover England, Scotland, Ireland, Belgium and the USA and each fancier interviewed emphasised the same points - NO overcrowding, dampness or drafts .These emphatic statements were backed up by the usual impressive cinematography associated with Jenner films which clearly illustrated how each fancier featured, had developed his winning loft design. I was particularly impressed with the American lofts and their well thought out designs to counteract the fluctuations in day and night time temperatures whilst maintaining excellent internal loft environments. Once again Jim Jenner has come up with a winner a DVD that, along with the previous three films in the series, should be an essential part of every fancier s library. They truly are classics. Congratulations Jim on a fine body of work. --British Homing World

Where to start with Jim Jenner's latest episode in the Secrets of Champions series of films??
Think you know it all and can't learn anything??
I suggest you think again, after six weeks of filming in Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, Belgium and America followed by countless hours of editing/cutting and production of 3D Computer animation, Jim has produced A MASTERPIECE that will allow us all to re-evaluate if the loft at the bottom of the garden or on your allotment is as perfect as it looks.

Fanciers as accomplished as Frank Tasker, Ronnie Williamson, Gregg Bros & McCandless, Geoff Kirkland, Walker & Wilson, Kinnear & Son, Chris & Denise Sutton, Willy Thas, Alain and Dirk Van den Driessche and the International Barcelona 2008 winner Danny Vagenende and Alex Bieche allow you to have a view of how their loft is constructed and how the ventilation works and also what changes they needed to make to perfect their winning lofts.

Without the perfect loft, your pigeons will not achieve optimum health and therefore are unable to perform to their full potential.

At 3 hours and 21 minutes in length you certainly get your money's worth and I am already considering what needs tweaking/fine tuning within our loft environment to let our team of pigeons step up a gear to achieve their full potential.

In this time of recession Jim also has a couple of interesting uses for droppings at the end of the film in his special features section alongside showing how to turn a horsebox into a mobile pigeon loft!

Anyone considering building a new loft or changing their current loft would do worse than invest in this film as it may save you making some very costly mistakes or could give that flash of inspiration that means the difference between 1st National or middle of the pack.

I will be watching this time and again and making detailed studies of how my current loft functions.

Thanks again Jim and all the fanciers who gave their time to share their knowledge and roll on "Secrets of Champions V". --Stuart Fawcett, Pigeon Forum

The award winning film maker Jim Jenner is back with his hard hitting honesty in SECRETS OF CHAMPIONS IV. This installment covers what all winning lofts have in common. The subjects of air exchange, dampness control, temperature and loft design are thoroughly covered with 3-D graphics and personal visits to champion lofts around the world. Jim explains how simple it is to turn your loft into a stable of champions.

In this author's opinion the entire SECRETS OF CHAMPIONS series is the best 10 hours you could ever spend. This film is the most practical presentation of all aspects of the racing pigeon hobby. Jim allows you to sit down with champions all over the world and get friendly, candid advice that would be difficult to obtain in any other forum.

SECRETS OF CHAMPIONS is the most practical presentation of new methods and cutting edge technologies that are winning today. The road to victory is not paved with new fads, big prices, or potions but with common sense ideas and practical advice.

This film series will save you years of work and countless headaches in the racing pigeon hobby. After watching the series you will come away with a new perspective on your birds, your system, and your loft. The ideas you learn from SECRETSwill stay in your mind forever. The SECRETS OF CHAMPIONS series truly is a road map to victory. --Richard Puccini

About the Director

Jim Jenner is an American documentary writer/directorwho is considered the leading filmmaker on the pigeon sport. This is his seventh film on the pigeon racing hobby.

• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ G (General Audience)
• Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.6 x 5.35 x 0.63 inches; 3.39 ounces
• Director ‏ : ‎ Jim Jenner
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Multiple Formats, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 3 hours and 30 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ November 1, 2008
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Frank Tasker, Geoff Kirkland, Ronnie Williamson, Gregg Bros./McCandless, Jules Mannaert
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Paccom, Inc.
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1