Very few roller breeders can look at a bird on the ground and tell if it is a champion spinner without first observing it in the air. In fact only one man I ever heard of could do this. That man was Bill Pensom. I would like to quote from Bruce Cooper regarding an experience he had with Mr. Pensom. "Another time while visiting in Los Angeles, I was at Ralph Hilton's watching his young birds go. Pensom, Hilton, and myself were going to dinner. As I was already dressed, Ralph left me alone to watch the kit. I had binoculars and was impressed with five birds that were exceptional. There was a sixth bird that rolled as often as the five, but not as tight. They were of different markings, so I had it in mind to handle the five good ones and the lesser roller when they came in. Pensom hadn't seen Ralph's birds go yet that year and was going to try and make it over for the fly. He was delayed and arrived just after they had landed. The birds were extremely hungry and started to trap in, but our greeting each other spooked a few of them up. The sixth bird I described, as frequent but not tight enough, was among them. Ralph, who was coming out the back door as Bill was watching the birds, caught a glimpse of the action and was asking how they looked, only to hear pensom say, 'RUBBISH,' with his very English accent. Then, Pensom dove into the loft, good suit and all, and started catching pigeons and stacking them under his arm like ears of corn. He emerged with five (yes, all five) of the birds I had picked out of that young kit by 45 minutes of very close observation. You can say what you like, my friends, but to me that is a pigeon man.

According to Mr. Cooper's account, and there are other accounts pertaining to Mr. Pensom's ability to judge good spinners on the ground, it is possible for a good spinner to be judged on the ground. That this is possible reaffirms my faith in the possible compatability of roller shows and performing rollers. My soul searching question to the roller fancy is: How

many of us can judge a roller show and pick the best spinners from the best on down? Aren't the rollers in shows today picked more on their conformity to a standard which may or may not include all the points pertaining to perfect spinning. The ability that Pensom had to judge perfect spinners on the ground is something, I feel, that cannot be put down on paper and probably cannot be taught, but can only be picked up by a lifetime of searching and studying the roller

I hope my remarks aren't misconstrued by anyone so that they think I am advocating doing away with roller shows. Actually, the opposite is true. A roller show, when properly judged, could point the way to excellence in performance as well as the development of the finer points of beauty in the breed.

We can wonder how Pensom was able to judge perfect spinners while they were on the ground. He, himself, gave us a hint when he penned the following words, "The subject teaches us to recognize expression, or the look in the eye, which is probably the most important feature fanciers have to master.... This subject is primarily the reason that Jam now able to tell at a glance the quality of an individual bird without seeing it fly, and to estimate with great accuracy its value as a stock bird."

May I suggest that the gulf that seems to have developed between fly only fanciers and the show people is due to the inability of most judges to read expression in the eyes of a roller. Expression, according to Pensom, is the Roller's most important feature since it indicates performing ability above everything else.

I firmly believe that if we Roller fanciers can develop this ability to read expression to the high degree that Bill Pensom had developed it, and gave it number one priority in the standard, we can have a perfect union between the flying and showing aspects of the hobby. I am open to any criticism or ideas pertaining to this subject and I would love to hear from any of you. My address is: 8844 South 1735 East, Sandy, Utah 84070..