Pointing It Out To You!!! Cocker of the Year

Once upon a time, it was legal to show our roosters in 6 states across the USA. There were many great pits, Mid-America, Texoma, Copperstate, and Springbrook come to mind immediately. The toughest of those pits was Sunset Recreation Club. It was every roosterman’s dream to one day visit or perhaps have their birds shown at this highly competitive Club that was dedicated to excellence and the ones that went on to become Cocker of The Year of this pit were made into the legends of today.

At one time the rules to qualify for “Cocker of the Year” weren’t for the faint of heart. As Sunset only operated once a month, you had to participate in the main derby every month and all heels counted towards your percentage which meant you had to out-perform your competition in whatever heel that was scheduled.

As the derbies at this pit were 2-day affairs, on the first day all birds were matched and fought. Second day was a bit harder, and if you lost your first fight, it could be a very long day…and a longer month trying to get back in the rankings.

It takes a lot of birds to fight in that kind of competition; it takes a great breeder and a remarkable judge of good birds to go after that title. It takes a team at that level of professionalism. You have to have the right roosters first and foremost, the right conditioner, and the right handler.

Imagine if you will, being told that each month you will have to show anywhere from 8-10 birds, over a 2-day period birds, once a month during the season and you must participate in the heel that is dictated for that month, just to qualify for this coveted title and the grand prize trophy of a boxed set of scales engraved with that shiny plaque that tells the world of your accomplishments. (In the later years, they changed that to 2 Cockers of the year trophies; Gaff Cocker of the Year and Long Knife Cocker of the Year, still nothing to sneeze at.)

The men that bred these birds and orchestrated this accomplishment, should be revered for rising above the rest of the field. I know many men (and women) that chased that dream for years, and although all were great breeders and roostermen, they never had what it took to make it all the way.

I see people bragging all the time about their accomplishments at whatever pit they may attend on a regular basis, and I salute you. It is no small feat to get ahead of the competition at any level, but in order to be truly ranked among the greatest of the great breeders, tell me about your Cocker of the Year Trophy, because that is the true accomplishment. That tells me you are a documented professional that mastered the organization that it takes to fulfill a season long winning percentage.

This is what the laws against us have done and that is the biggest travesty of all, they took away our rights to show what great breeders really look like, they took away our heroes. They took away our fight reports. They took away our rights to know what was going on in all the states rather than just our local facilities. I know who wins a derby or two by reading Facebook or talking to my customers across the country, but I hear little about who won “Cocker of the Year”.

It’s easy to be a big fish if you are swimming in a really small pond, but to win on the “World’s Stage”, well that my friends is the mark of a great breeder. Great pits, and the people that ran them, they too deserve the accolades that come from operating on the “Grand Scale” and giving credibility and honor to our sport.