Jayne Mitchell, originally born in Yorkshire, now living in Lancashire, England, was introduced to the pigeon sport in 1990 by her late partner, Martyn Mitchell, a legendary stock man and well respected National winning fancier.  They have enjoyed successful racing in both the UK and Belgium, and have designed and built some of the most modern lofts in the world.

While they lived in the UK, every year they would visit top fanciers in Belgium to introduce the best stock to the Mitchell loft.  The winning lines for UK racing at that time were Gaby Vandenabeele, Silvere Toye & Maurice Casaert, known as “Woodland Targas” and “Super Carreras”.  With these lines, they achieved one of their top results *** 2 x 1st Nationals *** yearlings & old birds with their 1st, 2nd, 3rd Midlands National FC victory.  Jayne still gets goosebumps recalling the day – the long wait – the anticipation – for her, this is everything that pigeon racing is about.  They also created a partnership with Cooper Brothers of Kidderminster and raced with great success as “Cooper Mitchell”.  Between them every year >50 x 1st prizes were won, with countless 1st National, Classic, Amalgamations and Open winners bred over the years.  Their birds were put to the test and enjoyed great success by many of the top lofts in the UK.

In 2003 the couple created a spectacular racing and breeding loft in West Flanders, Belgium, and became a real force there – flying against the best in the world, winning many very top prizes.

Many said that Martyn was seen as being well ahead of his time, and always advised people to have patience … he said “it is not your system that will not bring you the results, it is the changing of it” … “it is not the lack of expensive pedigrees in your loft, but it is the reliance on them rather than the performance of your birds” … “it is not the time you spend in your loft, but the peace and quiet that you create in it - this will bring you success”.

Jayne has the advantage, and continues to enjoy the best contacts and first hand knowledge about the racing, championships and fanciers in Belgium. Basketing pigeons in the same Club as some of the most famous and successful fanciers was a dream come true for her … “to be the best, you have to beat the best!”.  She cherishes her friendships built with pigeons and, when selecting stock, for her, it’s as much about the fancier as it is the pigeons.

In the stock loft today are:-

*** TMP Carrera *** family of modern Belgian sprinters … with the benefit of introductions from the latest superstar of the speed in Belgium!  Martyn’s philosophy was always to follow closely the top winning fanciers in Belgium, and buy from their best pigeons, blending from champion to champion.  Today, Jayne continues the same wisdom with the “TMP Carreras”, blending them with pigeons from 1st National Brive 2022 winner Eric Vermander, who is responsible for countless top champions around the world.

*** Gino Clicque *** pigeons of Belgium (7 x 1st Nationals including 2 x 1st National in 2022).  The TMP Breeding Loft houses breeding pairs of direct Gino Clicque pigeons including sons, daughters and very close relatives of his main champion lines the pigeons, ie the TOP of the TOP !!!  Although scoring at the top in the Middle and Long Distance National racing, this family of pigeons are certainly good for all distances … winning 1st prizes from the beginning of the season to the end.  The collection of National Ace Pigeons, National winners and Zonal/Provincial stars of Gino Clicque is immense. Pigeons such as Piraat, Super Prince, Golden Prince and Prince Rudy have a legendary status that reaches far beyond the Belgian border. New generations of National Ace Pigeons have kept Gino at the top … the most noteworthy achievements in 2022 are the 1st Int. Agen Yearlings against 16,932 b and 1st Fastest Libourne against 6,309 b.

*** TMP Platteeuw *** family … winners of 10 x 1st Nationals in the last few years. A true all round pigeon base capable of winning the first, middle and last races in the season. Kurt Platteeuw admits himself that he benefitted hugely from his pigeon chats with Martyn and Jayne, and many of the top pigeons of Platteeuw are bred from their stock.  The TMP Platteeuw lines are also heavily based on the 1st KBDB Ace Pigeon Short Distance “Cannibal”.

The TMP ethos is to create a winning breed of pigeon which will prove successful for all types of racing and fancier. TMP only promote products which are proven to keep birds healthy and ready for all seasons. This combination, with a wealth of knowledge of the pigeon sport, gives customers confidence in the TMP loft.

Jayne’s lofts are supplied by by Ecco Sheds & Lofts, fitted throughout with Hermes automated breeder boxes with perch conversion kits.  In an L-shape configuration she has 8 sections with a wide corridor throughout.  She is super happy with the quality of youngsters produced with the Gold Bird range of products, used for the past three years.  Her system focuses on maintaining healthy digestion and good fertility, and ensuring youngsters reach their optimal development.

The pigeons are fed with Beyers mixes “Premium Super Breeding” & “Premium Vandenabeele”.  Breeding mix whilst young are in nest, and Vandenabeele while sitting between rounds.  Every bag is top quality, and the stock birds and youngsters are in great condition.  Beyers Grit Extra and Beyers Deli Multimix are in ready supply.  Every box has their own pot of maple peas, topped up daily - naturally low in fat but packed with protein & fibre.  Baths are accessed in the aviaries, with open windows to maintain a fresh environment.  Artificial daylight tubes control longer daylight, with slow dim up and down to create sunrise & sunset, ensuring birds settle before it goes dark.  The atmosphere in the loft is warm and light – Jayne says “the birds should not only have strong lineage, but also the right mental state to rear champions”.

People often ask Jayne if she will start racing again, but for the moment her favourite part of the sport is breeding for others, and having the freedom to visit lofts to watch the racing.  For her, the perfect day is sitting in Belgium on a sunny day watching National birds race home … heaven … and if it’s a 1st, well, that’s the icing on the cake.