Ken Walters

If you ever have met Ken Walters of the Gawler River Club you will never forget a genuine sportsman with a great love for competition. If you are a mate of his you cant go wrong.

Big Ken is a bachelor, a plasterer by trade and he has fulfilled his dream by setting up his own piece of pigeon paradise at the old Arunga Park trotting Stud at Two Wells.

He has about 100 acres with trotting stables and plently of room for his new pigeon loft and stock cages. He also grows his own barley. The new Gawler River Club is domiciled on his property.

Ken, along with his brother and sister, raced pacers in the past and their best horse was a star mare called Zamboo Anger.

He originally flew from the family home in Edwardstown and he had success with birds from Con Thalboume and Keith Lines.

With plenty of space, Ken has tried a number of breeds in recent years including some imports from Belgium and Ireland.

But his cock bird winner was the product of a Gawler River squeaker sale.

His friend Ray Fewings donated a bird for sale. Ken, being a generous club supporter, bought it and it showed up in its first season, winning an East race.

Ken set it up for the Cocks Special as a two-year-old and the bird put in a super effort.

It is bred on the belgium model. On one side father-to-daughter, the other side being a complete outcross. That's how the Belgiums do it but you must be dealing with top pigeons.

On the father-to-daughter side, its a Eitzen cock mated to its own daughter, the 1996 Morundah SAHPA winner. The outcross is a Marchant hen who was 35th Cooper Pedy when the winner clocked 900 m.p.m

Ken had a great year in 2003, with a 2nd SAHPA and his investment in pigeon racing is about to bear fruit.

The falcons drove him mad early but he's winning now and his new loft makes pigeon training a pleasure.