Grand Champion All England koi Show 2022

In Engeland is de prestigieuze All England Koi Show gewonnen door Lee Manning. Natuurlijk was niemand minder dan Johan Leurs aanwezig om de vis te fotograferen. Wij waren vooral benieuwd naar Lee en vroegen hem voor een interview.

Tiebo: Congratulation on winning the Grand Champion of the All England Koi Show. What’s it like to be granted this honor?

Lee: It is very nice to be awarded gc, as it is any another other award at a koi show , as it shows or feels like your doing something right whilst looking after your koi and trying to develop them to the best of your ability.

she got best tategoi from a Japanese breeder

Tiebo: Can you tell us something more about this Koi? When and where did you buy her and what made you buy it and how did she develop?

Lee: I bought her in 2017 I see her on the Sakai auction page, and asked Simon from Nippon nishikigoi who was out in Japan at the time to have a look at her. As I liked her body shape and pattern, all she really had to do was grow and the sumi to develop (come together). Hopefully she has got a good couple of years left in quality. I first showed her on 2019 at the national, and she got best tategoi from a Japanese breeder.

Tiebo: How long have you been into Koi and what do you like most about the hobby?

Lee: I’ve kept koi for about 17-18 years, always liked koi from a young age as I used to keep tropical fish as a teenager and the in the shop I used to buy them, had a indoor pond in the back of the shop , I like the social side of the hobby , I’ve meet some good like minded people from all over the country. I do like the competitive side between some off my mates .

Tiebo: You won several other big prizes as well and your showvat was absolutely stunning to people; so you do know how to select quality; can you tell us one specific thing for people who want to compete with you in the future; where should they start?

Lee: I usually always go on pattern first when I look at a koi, then skin and body
Most of the fish I’ve bought from when I’ve been to Japan.

Tiebo: How important is your dealer to you in all this?

Lee: I usually always buy my fish through Simon from Nippon nishikigoi , I have and do use other dealers if there’s a fish that takes my eye. I’ve been to Japan a number of times over the last 13-14 years with Simon Austin.

Tiebo: Do you think it is scary to compete in shows with such high quality fish in regards of the probability of damage; did it ever happened or do you just need to know what you are doing?

Lee: It is a bit of a worry when showing the bigger fish as if they damage them self or loose scales they take a lot longer to repair themselves and some times they don’t repair or the colour of a lost scale does not come back compared to a smaller younger fish.

Tiebo: Which fish is very special to you and why?

Lee: I really like the one that won supreme champion at the show and won gc at this years national, and gc last year at the south east and a couple of years before that at a much smaller size.