About Us - The Partners

Butch- Priscilla Shoop and Fred and Ms. Sky King.


Click the photo to enlarge. 		    Butch, of Denton, Texas is well known for both teaspoons of his patience. Priscilla is the absolute love of his life and supporter of his pigeon passion- although she has let it be known that there are certain "hell no's" about elements of pigeon husbandry. Recruiting does continue, however.

Butch is a Texas lawman of the first order. He is a Resident Major, with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. This means that he rides herd over 40 or more game wardens. Butch has seen and done
it all from poaching to murder investigations. He was at Waco during the Branch Davidian standoff and was the major in charge of the Hurricane Katrina rescue effort for the State of Texas. Wherever his ventures have taken him, he had left his imprint-often a cowboy boot print not necessarily in the mud. That, however, is another story.

Butch has developed his own family of birds. He calls these "Wegges." He admits there is some Cattrysse involved. A real base pigeon for his family is one pigeon named the "The Leon Cock." His pigeons are small to medium, largely blues to blue checks with an occasional red. Feather is soft, pliable with super cohesion in the primaries. Balance is slightly forward. The head is short. These birds     
are simply super short to long, young to old birds. Butch pays absolute attention to detail. Culling is severe.

Fred shares the Wegge family with Butch and has authored prized introductions from the same base and others such as Hekkenklack's from Jim Gabler. Fred flies under the name Sky King and Ms. Sky King. Jimmy Durante could really relate to Ms. Sky King (Marji) recalling his sign off for his shows.

Fred has the remaining gallon of patience left over from Butch. Fred is a businessman from the Grand Prairie, (Dallas) Texas area. His business, Fab-Tex Countertops, includes marble and granite tops. His business includes sales and installation of countertops for Home Depot and others in Texas communities and is expanding into communities in other states.

Fred is "pure energy". His business activities are considerable. His passion is racing the birds and his new venture Savannah goats that 		    
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he breeds on his lately acquired 556 acre ranch. He is meticulous to a fault with pristine hygiene in the lofts, grain and storage. He loves to best Butch in the races. He is always available for club, concourse jobs and other duties such as being on the board of directors of World of Wings.


Click the photo to enlarge. 		    Fred and Butch are the best of friends. Seeing them spar is a real treat. One is best not attack one or the other however because the relationship is not abusive but will turn so to an outsider.

Fred flies with the Dallas Combine with approximately 30 lofts. Butch flies with Denton-AU. Both compete in the North Texas Concourse with about 50 to 70 lofts. They have a recent history as Sky King, Ms. Sky King; B. Shoop, P. Shoop; Shoop & King and since 2005 Quest Syndicate with Don Barker of Austin, Texas.
Their results have been super and can be reviewed on the American Racing Pigeon Union website http://www.pigeon.ord (National Data Base Link).

Don Barker

Don is an Austin businessman. His company, Barker Roofing, has two locations and runs numerous crews. He has a thriving-going concern. Don brings to Quest a real sense of entrepreneurship. He thinks and makes things happen "outside the box". This includes his pigeoneering. He has studied nutrition and formulated his own mix with Canadian grains. This has been successful for himself his club and Quest Syndicate. He supplies the feed mixture to the Ace Pigeon Race- that race is another of his ideas.     
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Don is a student of breeding champions. His inauguration for this came from his early days with racing pigeons in the 60s. He experimented breeding a grizzle hen to a son over 9 generations. Don feels that inbreeding or line breeding strategies can be disastrous if not done correctly. Every offspring must fly- be tested. Otherwise, one is looking at a likely "pig in a poke." Don was away from the sport from 1968 to 1992. During that time he was in the cattle business. He imported cattle from Switzerland and applied his performance ideas to that venture with success. Don does line and inbreed on the basis that each resulting baby must perform. Don is much like Butch in being a strict culler.

Don races in the I-35 Combine and Austin, Texas Racing Pigeon Club. The club house is on his property. Don is a very good competitor and enjoyed a good 2006 old bird season.

Don's passion is breeding for the one loft race with mega $. He has joined with Quest Syndicate in sending birds to the Europa Race- England, Million Dollar South Africa Race, North Sea-Sylt in 		    
Germany and the Tenerife-Canary Island races in Spain. The Quest Syndicate has a comprehensive presence in numerous United States one loft and other races such as the World Ace Pigeon, Vegas Classic, World Trade Center, Esposito's East Coast Challenge, Denton Challenge, San Diego Classic, Triple Crown Classic, Snow Bird, CBS Mercedes, Texas Shootout, U.S. Open, Flamingo International and others.


Click the photo to enlarge. 		    Quest Syndicate seeks return of its good out of area performers and along with its own birds considers these for future stock. This is part of the journey told by Don.

Don feels strongly that newcomers to the sport need to be cultured to stay. There should be no breeders, only racers in a small well built loft under tutelage by senior member. Perhaps even mobile lofts and gifts of good birds with instructions so that the new comer can enjoy some success and feel competitive. After that the newcomer should
be free to buy and try on his/her own.

Don has sought and obtained the very best from Mike Ganus. This includes children of Terminator, Aviator, Hercules, Topo, Americas First, Vita King and numerous others. Don takes great pride in his Hofken family. Don as well has traveled to Belgium and Holland and picked birds for himself firsthand. Don has also acquired first class birds from Barry Eu. Some of which Barry would like back.

Don has enjoyed great success in the one loft money races. Some of this traces to his famous "Vegas Pair." Their breeding record is simply profound. This includes children and grand children that took 1st place Champion Bird 2003 Vegas.Com wining $184,000, selling for $25,600.First place Texas Center Convention winning $7,000. 6th place (= 1st) Vegas Classic 2003 winning $52,000 and sold for $9,900 and numerous other places and money. Babies from this pairing have likewise produced winners for Butch and Fred-Quest     
partners. Examples include but are not limited to Fred's first place in the Southwest Futurity.

Quest Syndicate is very benefited by the presence of Don Barker.

Richard Cass - Las Vegas, Nevada


Click the photo to enlarge. 		    Richard refers to himself as Quest-West and the rest of the partners as "those easterners." Richard joined the Quest Syndicate in 2006 on the recommendation of Mike Ganus. Richard was previously associated with Desert View Lofts of Tucson, Arizona. Desert View enjoyed success on the international scene with a win and another top prize in South Africa. It won the International Derby-Tenerife-Canary Islands by 3 hours. Other top showings included a 5th and 15th International in the 2006 South Africa preliminaries. Prize positions in the International German Sylt Race. Richards's families of birds took money in the Triple Crown, Flamingo International, America King Cup and other positions of interest in other races.
Richard returned to the sport late 2002 after a career, having a family and starting a business. The situation in Las Vegas has not allowed a permanent home for Richard's birds. He has partnered to enable keeping his birds.

Richard was in the sport in Tucson, Arizona where he acquired and maintained a super family of Fabrys. Richard had those fro m 		    
Georges and Victor Fabry and the Fabry agent of the time Art Rochol. Richard's Fabrys were remarkable at the middle distance. At his auction leaving the sport persons from all over the country and Japan bought those birds.

Having been again smitten by the bird bug, Richard took the time to investigate prior to purchasing many families of birds over Europe. He sought a family that was 1. contemporary; 2. portable-produced winners for other and 3. genetically deep - line or in-bred with successive generations of winners. Aardens and Janssens were ruled out as just too common and not distinctive.

Richard chose Gaby Vandenabeeles and Nouwen-Paesen Cattrysse. The basis of these choices is a story in and of itself. For results of his investigation two articles Richard has written are attached as links to this site- in English only. The choice generally was for a one day long distance family-Vandenabeele and extreme long distance- Nouwen-Paesen.

Some Vandenabeeles had made their way to the U.S.A. mostly under the auspices of Mike Ganus. The Nouwen-Paesens were new and Richard deserves credit as introducing them to them to the USA. Richard has been benefited by being able to purchase top racers and breeders due to his association with Mike Ganus, Gaby Vandenabeele, and Nouwen-Paesen. It is important to note that these families are contemporary and winning as this is typed.
As part of the Quest journey, Richard has birds that are the contemporaries of the birds winning for Nouwen-Paesen and Gaby. Richard has the blood of Gaby's 1st provincial Orleons 2006- James Bond and a full sister to the sire of the 1st yearling national Bourges 2006 over 11,000 birds Gommaire Verbruggen- a Vandenabeele. The Nouwen-Paesen results will await races in Belgium over 500 kms to commence later.