Keith Mott

Writes about winning fanciers past and present

The best of long distance in Scotland! (Part 4)

DALE NEWCOMBE

of Macmerry

This week we are going to feature one of the very best long distance lofts north of the border. Of coarse I'm talking about the East Lothian lofts of Dale Newcombe of Macmerry, who is from an outstanding pigeon family which has won the S.N.F.C., 'Kings Cup' from Rennes (543 miles) four times. Dale's father is famous through out the pigeon racing world and was voted 'British Fancier of the Year' seven times. Eddie won countless open positions in the S.N.F.C., including 1 st . open Rennes 'Kings Cup' National (twice), 1 st . open Cheltenham Young Bird National and 1 st , 2 nd . and 3 rd . open Sartilly National. Eddie has now retired to Malta and is now racing with outstanding success out there.

Dale started up in pigeons in 1969 as a school boy and is only interested in the long distance National races. Dale's Kardale Lofts are full of quality pigeons and he is twice winner of the S.N.F.C. 'King's Cup' Rennes race in 1981 and 1993. In over 100 years of the S.N.F.C. Rennes 'King's Cup' races, only three fancier have won the event twice, with Eddie and Dale being two of them. Since starting racing in the S.N.F.C. in 1971, Dale has won well over 200 diplomas, with many of them being placed in the first few in the open results. He has won two L.P.W. motor cars and total cash winnings being about £20,000.

Dale races 40 pairs on the natural system and they are paired up at the end of February with the long distance Nationals in mind. The racers start the season with a few 40 mile training tosses, then, they are raced through to Stafford (210 miles) to get the team fit. They are given about eight more tosses from 40 miles and then set down to hatch on the day of the first long distance National race. Dale has outstanding racers of both sexes, but says his hens are best, with both his 'King's Cop' winners being females! He feeds a basic mixture, but adds maple peas and peanuts for the distance racing and feeds them to the old and young birds. His very smart loft is very large and was built by his father in 1966. The brick building has four massive sections for the racers, two for the stock birds and the birds trap through sputniks.

Some of the champion racers we handled on our visit to Kardale Lofts were, 'Kardale Regatta', a mealy pied hen, winner of 211 th , 126 th . and 6 th . open S.N.F.C. Rennes (543 miles). This apple bodied hen was bred from the very best National winning lines and won over £4,000, with her best nest condition being due to hatch the day of liberation from Rennes. Dale says this great hen is probably his best bird at that time. 'Kardale Region' a blue cock winner of 4 th , 58 th . and 104 th . open S.N.F.C. Sartilly(500 miles). 'Kardale Max', a red chequer cock, winner of 15 th . open S.N.F.C. Sartilly in 1995 and 16 th . open S.N.F.C. Nantes (603 miles). Then nine days later 93 rd . open S.N.F.C. Sartilly in 1996. 'Kardale Starmist' a blur chequer cock winner of 6 th . open Young Bird National (259 miles) in 1993, 17 th . open S.N.F.C. Niort (672 miles) in 1996 and 8 th . open S.N.F.C. Nantes (603 miles) in the 1997 season. A fantastic team of pigeons!

Dale keeps 50 pairs of stock birds which are paired up on Boxing Day and these are kept on straw litter in the two very large stock sections. He never uses nest bowls, the birds are very happy to nest in the corner of their box, with an endless supply of clean straw. When Dale brings in pigeons for stock he likes to obtain children of Scotch National winners, preferably 'King's Cup' winners. He is not bothered by type and says eyesign is just a fad. He breeds 120 young birds to race each season and if they are fit they all go to the young bird National to test them. The youngsters start their season with six training chucks from 40 miles and after their first race from 60 miles, and then go right through to Worcester (260 miles). The young birds don't have their own sections and they run with the old birds in the natural racing partings. They are fed on the same corn as the old birds, with peanuts being added for the National race.

ROBERT NESBIT

of Cockburnspath

A family that has been in the Scottish pigeon fancy for nearly 100 years is the Nesbit family and their involvement in the sport spans over four generations I visited the S.N.F.C. ace, Robert Nesbit, who had just recently moved in to his new Cockburnspath home, right on the east coast of Scotland. His father is the long distance fancier, John Nesbit, who had recorded many premier performances in the S.N.F.C., including 3 rd . open Rennes and in turn John's father was an outstanding fancier. Robert's daughter, June, was secretary of the Scottish National Flying Club at that time and had held the post for six years. Robert told me she works very hard at the very demanding secretary job, but had a lot of good help from her husband, Gordon, who is a computer buff.

Robert had won over 100 S.N.F.C. diplomas at his previous address including 3 rd , 5 th , 6 th , 7 th , 9 th . and 11 th . open and is only interested in the long distance racing. He has tried widowhood, but has had all his outstanding success racing on the natural system with about 25 pairs, which he pairs up on February 15 th . every season. The team is only trained lightly at the start of the season, but this is stepped up before the long distance National events. His main racing loft is 32ft. long, four sections, with open door trapping and faces right out on the North Sea . The loft is closed in to keep out the sea winds, which once blew the loft over, so it is now anchored down with half inch trawler wire cables.

Robert's best pigeon is a blue hen and she had three major S.N.F.C. prizes in races over 500 miles, including 20 th . open Rennes . He usually flew this great hen unpaired in the club races, then paired her up and sent her to Rennes on chipping eggs. Another outstanding racer in Robert's loft was a handsome blue chequer cock and he had recorded 30 th . open S.N.F.C. Rennes (541 miles) in 1996 and 25 th . open S.N.F.C. Nantes (601 miles) in the 1997 season.

Robert races pigeons which he has for many years, which he calls the 'Nesbit' family and crosses good birds in from time to time. He only keeps three pairs of stock birds and says all the pigeons have to race. The stock birds are paired up the same time as the racers in February and he feeds a sound mixture of peas, beans, maize and wheat. His 40 youngsters were housed in a new 35ft. 'L' shaped brick loft, which was well ventilated with a pantiled roof. In 1997 he raced 26 youngsters on the darkness system and 16 on the natural and he told me, the darkness birds were brilliant, thrashing the others every week. The loft won the Young Bird Average in 1997 and all the birds were raced to the perch, but are allowed to pair up if they want to. Robert trains his young birds very lightly as they fly around the loft well.

There you have it for this week! I hope my readers have enjoyed this little insight into the lofts of two of the premier National flyers in Scotland . I can be contacted on Telephone: 01372 463480. See yer!