Keith Mott

Writes about winning fanciers past and present

The best of long distance in Scotland (Part 1)

DERIK & ANNE NORDON

of Langholm

One of the premier lofts in Scotland in recent seasons must be that of Derik & Anne, with brilliant performances in the SNFC, including 1st Open twice. Derik says not much racing was undertaken in the 2001 season because of the ban on racing from France, but the 2002 season saw the loft win The News of the World Trophy and Ellsworth Trophy for the Best Average for Messac and Nantes.

The Nordon loft had a wonderful season in 1999 winning 1st and 2nd Open Stafford (2,847 birds), 165 miles; 4th Open Weymouth (686 birds), 310 miles; 7th Open Worcester (2,376 birds), 203 miles; 7th Open Cheltenham, (1,409 birds), 228 miles; 4th Open Basingstoke (365 birds), 365 miles and in the mighty Scottish National Flying Club they won 6th, 7th, 34 th , and 65th Open Frome (3,827 birds), 272 miles; 1st, 2nd and 44th Open Rennes (3,000 birds), 490 miles; 19th Open Nantes (2,862 birds), 550 miles; 9th, 11th, 17th, 102nd and 1O3rd Open Sartilly (1,973 birds), 447 miles; 11th and 26th Open Leicester Young Birds (3,381 birds), 192 miles. A fantastic loft performance!

I first visited the Langholm loft in the Spring of 1997, while on a "Many Miles with Mott" video tour of Cumbria and Scotland and was very impressed from the outset with Derik's pigeons and loft set-up. Derik played Accordion in a dance band for many years and during the day worked in an engineering workshop, with one of his workmates being the ace pigeon racer, Ralston Graham. After several visits to Ralston' s successful loft. Derik decided in 1972 to give up the band and have a go at racing some 'doos'. He won his first gold award in 1982 with a good red chequer cock and says his winning bloodlines still go through the loft today. The Nordon loft won the SHU Dewar Trophy for Best Dual Performance in Scotland and Scotland 's Own Bird of the Year in 1996 and 1998.

Derik won 2nd Section 11 times before winning 1st Section and then chalked up four, one after the other. He first won the SNFC in 1996 from Sartilly with his good mealy widowhood hen, Anne's Delight, and she flew the nationals in 10 hours 44 minutes against a north-east wind. This game hen was a Gilbertson/Van Bruaene and the SartiIly National was only the sixth race of her life. Her sire was a wonderful mealy cock and he flew Rennes with the SNFC 6 times on the day, for 6 years on the trot and recorded 10th, 36th, 87th, 175th and 186th Open. His brother won 1st Section, 2nd Open Rennes SNFC in 1995. A brilliant family!

Derik has always raced natural with the SNFC races in mind but got fed up with hawks which attacked his racing pairs every time he let them out of the loft, so in 1996. He changed his nest boxes and decided to have a go at his own system of semi-roundabout, with outstanding success. He maintains that the type of corn has no bearing on success

with racing pigeons, but it must be of the highest quality. He used to like feeding beans but now feeds an Irish mixture, adding extra maize and peanuts for the longer races. The racers are paired up the first week in March and the birds are not treated for anything. After the season on roundabout, they are re-paired for the last Channel race. Derik has a self-built brick double-decker loft which looks like a small house at the end of his hillside garden. The racers are housed in the top and the view from their sections over the valley and Langholm is really nice. The floors have grilles to keep the birds clean and all trapping is through sputnik type bays.

Premier racers at the Langholm loft today are: Champion Anniversary Girl, blue hen, 1999- 1 st Open Rennes SNFC (2,862birds),490 miles. This great hen won over £1,000 and two gold awards for winning 5 times from the Channel. Hightower Kieran, blue cock, 2001 - 43rd Open Portland, 318 miles; 2000 - 94th Open Messac, 510 miles; 55th Open Vire, 470 miles; 1999 - 17th Open Sartilly SNFC (1,973 birds); 1998 19th Open Sartilly SNFC (2,042 birds); 9th Open Rennes SNFC (3,019 birds); 1996 - 34th Open Sartilly SNFC (2,047 birds). This game cock won 7 times in the first 100 open prizes in the SNFC and was Scotland 's Own Bird of the Year in 1998. 3619, blue chequer hen won 1999 - 103rd Open Sartilly SNFC (1,973 birds); 1998 - 110 th Open Rennes SNFC (3,019 birds); 4th Open, 1st National Hens Frome SNFC (4,005 birds); 1996 - 43rd Open Sartilly NFC (2,047 birds).1330, red chequer hen, winner of: 1999- 11 th Open Sartilly SNFC (1,973 birds); 44th Open Rennes SNFC (2,862 birds); 34 th Open Frome SNFC (4,005 birds); 1998 - 38th Open Frome SNFC (3,019 birds). I believe one of Derik's best racers in recent years is Danny Boy, a blue cock, a champion in the truest sense of the word, winning: 1999 - 2nd Open Rennes SNFC (2,865 birds); 65th Open Frome SNFC (4,005 birds); 1998 - 5th Open Rennes SNFC (3,019 birds); 1997 - 9th Open Rennes SNFC (3,269 birds); 38th Open Frome SNFC (3,272 birds) and over £7,000. A brilliant loft of national racers!

Derik races cocks and hens on his own semi-roundabout system and pairs them up in March. They rear a pair of youngsters and are given six 35-mile training tosses while feeding the squeakers. When the youngsters are weaned the cocks and hens are parted and they are on the roundabout. The cocks stay with the nest boxes and the birds exercise separately around the loft. Derik says that, when the hens are in form, they will fly for two hours around home. The birds are allowed to be together for a few minutes on marking night but are never allowed to tread. Their normal build up for the long-distance nationals is two inland races, the Frome SNFC (272 miles), then into the main events from Rennes and Nantes . Derik keeps 12 pairs of stock birds which are paired up in mid-February and housed on the ground floor of his smart loft in sections which have grilled floors and closed-in type nest boxes.

The main families kept are Bricoux / Kirkpatricks from Tommy Gilbertson of Carlisle and Bobby Carruthers of Bonnyrigg, with Van Hees obtained from Bemard Miles from the south of England . He did try some Busschaerts obtained from friends and said they were good up to 200 miles, but over that could not keep up with his own birds. Derik isn't hard on his young birds and says some of his best old birds racers didn't have a race as young birds. He gives the youngsters a few training tosses and races them naturally to the perch. Most of the young bird team get only a couple of races in their first year, with a few being sent to the National Leicester race from 192 miles. Derik has won countless SNFC Averages and trophies through the years and was Scotland 's Own Fancier of the Year in

1993 and 1999. Well done to Derik and Anne for their wonderful performances in the Scottish National Flying Club in recent seasons. Great Stuff!