David Reynolds 57year old Ex Royal Engineer
Passionate Marathon Pigeon Racer at Dandilofts
Talking to Jim Emerton.
As a military man, please describe how you came to love racing pigeons?
As a young boy growing up in Southend on sea in Essex. One of my uncle got himself 6 white doves, which he told me that when he let them out they would always come home to him. Then after a 6 week wait the day came for him to let them out. I was there watching as all 6 flapped their wings and flew into the distance never to be seen again. By then I had really caught the bug and soon started hanging around on Saturdays with an old guys that raced pigeons waiting for the birds to return home from the races, I was well and truly hooked.
My father built me my first loft when I was 14 years old catching birds from the highstreet and breeding young birds to race. I then joined then Prittlewell racing club and gained a good grounding on how our wonderful sport was run organsised then the time came for me to work, I joined the British Army as a Sapper in the Corps of the Royal Engineers and so that was the end of pigeon racing for many years.
Where do you live and race birds Burt?
Now I live in Grimmen a small town in the far north east of Germany on the Baltic coast close to the polish border, with my wife and family in 2010 we brought the old mill house, with The windmill without sails in the garden. My parents live with us and are enjoying there retirement in this quiet idylic part of the world. This was the starting point for my attempt to build team of Marathon pigeons able to race competetivly over 800 miles and continually tried since then to improve the breed .
What races do you specialise in in Northern Germany, and what marathon race points do you send birds to?
I am on the commitee of the I.G West, Long distance club we race from France Luxenburg and London only 5 races each year these races are all over 500 miles to me and I use then as training for the big National and international races such as, Brive 800 miles, Narbonne 900 miles or Barcelona 1000 miles.These 500 mile races are ideal for testing the birds all my 2 year olds must race the complete long distance programme thats 4500 km or 2800 miles over 10 weeks. I've had birds over the last 3 years come from 900 miles and 1000 miles but they were always after 1 week or 10 days and that is not what I am aiming for, just to get them is great and a thrill but to get them in race time or close to it that is the goal. This year it seems to have all come together ,I have sent to 3 races over 500 miles (my loft being the furthest) 1. Sezanne 1st zone, 2. Langres I, 2nd zone 3. Langres II, 1st zone. This alone shows that my systems are working and the birds are at the right fitness level both physically and mentally to compete in the long distanc races.
Please describe your responses to birds dropping in over 800 miles.
Sending only 4 birds to race distance of 805 miles and getting 2 within a couple of hour of each other and the 3rd 3 days later was a real high ,my hands were trembling to say the least. The response has from the pigeon fraternity has been overwhelming, the many many comments that I have recieved has made me realise just what a great result it is and how outstanding the performance is to be able to race over this marathon distance,I guess many people in our sport are facinated by the ability for these small birds achieving what seems to us mere mortals as impossible, a good percentage wanted to know how the birds were bred, my feeding regime, what the nest stand was etc. But most seemed just really happy for me that I had acheived something that they were striving to acheive, which in turn is giving them hope that they can also reach there goals. When you hear some of the stories about how jealous people are when others have a little success I though it that maybe the green eyed monster would raise its ugly head at me while using Facebook but I was really pleasantly surprisedI didn't encounter any that really put a smile on my face and restored a bit of my faith in the pigeon world.
Over the last 3 years I've had birds come from 900 miles and 1000 miles but it was often after 1 week or 10 days ,and this is not what i am aiming for so I have worked over the winter months on improving my feeding and training system to try shorten the flying times and therefore come closer to clocking in race time , don't get me wrong just to get them is great and a thrill but to get them in race time or close to it. That's the goal. This year it seems that all the hard work has paid off asI have sent to 3 races over 500 miles (my loft being the furthest )and the results are as follows 1. Sezanne: 1st zone , 2. Langres I :, 2nd 3rd zone, 3. Langres II: 1st 2nd 3rd zone all good results showing that my system of improvement is working and the birds were for all the distance races at there top fitness levels both physically and mentally.
Is the mindset of a marathon man of profound importance?
As to the mindset of a marathon man I think its more of the general mind set, I would say I see a very optimistic veiw of life and pigeon racing ,I always think the birds will amaze me today on the race and often they do, sometimes they dont, when they don't, the fault and blame lies with me and not them .
I see it that, the will to win is the most important for me and for my birds it is what drives me on. And having stiff competition is what makes the sport so great however, when I do lose , I am not jealous of the winner anyone that wins does so on merit and I applaud them for the effort they have put in order to achieve it, but losing does make me want to work harder for the next race checking to see what mistakes i've made and where improvements can be made.
Have you read my pigeon books with your friends?
I have read 3 of your books ,and they were very informative and inspirational, I enjoyed the more personal style of writing that you use and some of the tips have been helpfull over the season ,also we have had many discussions on different topics within the books with My German distance racing friends, we have been able to look at there merits of using them within our own lofts like the more natural way of keeping the birds, it was not always easy to translate the texts but i think that they did get the gist of most things
Do other people help you out in the sport?
I dont have anyone that helps me directly, however without the support of my fantastic wife Andrea I counldn't race the way I do ,so at this point a great big thankyou on my Angel without wings. I do however like to spend time with the older gentlemen in our sport and listen to all the old stories of how they used to manage there birds,there is always some really usefull tips and tricks hidden in the conversations. I think they have forgotton more about pigeons than I will ever know plus we will all be old one day and just listening lets them know that they are still an important part of Racing as well as keeping there spirits up.
What are the origins of your birds Dave?
My main Family of birds are Braakhuis and Jan arden from 3 known distance lofts they are all crossed and bred into a total mix and through my constant pairing of best to best they have become a strong marathon distance family under the name of Dandilofts, most of the original stock birds were gifted to me from my now friends and top German distance racing men that have been breeding there individuel Families for many years, they are Herbert Mülders of Stolberg, Hermann Zgoll of Eyendorf,and Wolfgang Krönert of Kerpen,all three are very succesfull at the long distances in national and international racing here in Germany, one special friend that I must mention is Dr Uli Sierigk with whom I swap good birds with so that we can find the test the strength of the birds quicker than we can alone.
Please describe your race preparation system, with any secrets?
First and foremost is the pigeons must be 100% fit and that must be as natural as possible, easy to say not so easy to achieve ,I avoid medicine wherever possible they will mess the birds up more than the sickness itself will, If the birds are flying around the loft for about an hour and showing off in the sky they will be imo ready for racing, they are paired together in March raise one round and when the young are 14 days old the hen is removed and all the birds are then on widowhood, that’s the end of preparation and the season can begin. All birds go every week to the local sprint to middle distance club till one week before there allocated long distance races starts, normally that would be 240 miles and 4 races, at this point they are jumped to a 500 mile race from France, and continue then to have 500 mile races every 2 weeks up until 2 weeks before there National or international is planned ,during this time they are on a very high fat Diet with the last 7 days, a mix of mainly Hemp, sunflower seeds without husks and peanuts, this ensures they have plenty of extra reserves ready to be used in the coming race, after all a marathon is not a walk in the park they will be working hard for up to or beyond 3 days. They are during this 2 week period on rest they fly only if they want to and a bath is made available everyday if they wish to use it, then the day before I basket they are put together with their Partner and are allowed free range for the whole 24 hours, then it’s all up to them. Little things like watching how the birds are loft flying and how aggressive to other birds are important signs of form if the preparation is to short or not ideal the form will sometimes not show itself till they are on the transport this is why some birds do surprise us with a great performance.
What are your goals in the hobby?
My goal is and has been since I was a 14 year old boy, to win Barcelona, I know it’s almost impossible but they said that about the 4 min mile and a marathon under 2hours 30 but now it’s nearly 2 hours dead and 4 min is for the school kids, so just maybe, maybe I will surprise the pigeon world one day, I suppose the goal or the aim is to get the birds to fly the 1000miles that I have from Barcelona on a regular basis and then just hope that one year the wind and other conditions are in my favour so that the impossible becomes a reality. I have birds now that have flown 800 miles and 950 miles more than once so they are almost there. I just need to keep focused on the goal and don't let the minor setbacks throw me off the path
Who, in the racing world inspires you?
Who inspires me, if I was to say that as a young man, I was so taken back by what Dean Pallett did with his SVR, he tore the racing world apart within a few short years? Also earlier there was Mr Jim Biss he was unstoppable in the nationals. I feel it was something special to be so consistent week in and week out as they both were. When I look at the sport today I see Mark Gilbert with many outstanding performances over the distance and at the highest level, the coopers are always knocking on the door and are a force to reckon with, but of all of the great fanciers I have read about or videos that I have watched I would have to say Geoff Kirkland is a bit of a hero, never have I come across such a mild mannered champion who just does the business on all levels talks about how i.e. does it without sounding condescending, I would love to meet him in person and talk pigeons.
Do you read and write articles?
I read everything I can find on pigeon racing in the internet ,books ,magazines doesn't matter to me if its written in German or English if its pigeon related I devour it, I did start to write a book but I found it hard to write my thoughts and methods down on paper and make it interesting for others to read, so it’s only got one chapter and I doubt it will ever get finished.
What about Barcelona then David?
Barcelona as I said before a lifelong dream, I must drive over 400 miles to and 400 miles back to get to the nearest marking station so I have to plan the race season well, I can only afford to go to a maximum of 2 marathon races in a year ,the shortest of which is 805 miles (Brive) the longest is Barcelona (1000 miles), so in 2017 I sent 1 bird to Barcelona int Race, I was a mess for the whole week, couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, oh just a mess. When the birds were liberated, I was sure I would get a bird in race time (that's my optimism) but of course I never saw a feather from her again. Wake up call for me, from then on I was and am still very determined to extend the distance that my birds can fly so I can win Barcelona and claim my dreams.
Are you on social media?
I am on Facebook and I like it, as it allows me to keep in contact with the UK racing scene and also pose many questions on various topics and receive such a variation of answers. I am often overwhelmed by the depth of knowledge out there, I've also met some great people through social media, yourself included Jim, and I hope to meet many more over the years ahead.
Who are noted fanciers in Germany?
There are many good fanciers in Germany but true marathon men only a handful. Oswald Schneider, Herman Klemke, But IMO the best is Herman Zgoll from Eyendorf, a true gentleman of the sport and with some outstanding performances including 820miles on the day from Marseille, breath-taking. I met him through my good friend and fellow marathon flyer Dr Uli Sierigk, to whom I owe a debt of gratitude.
Do you go for family breeding?
I have my basic three families that I am slowly crossing with each other to produce the more consistent marathon pigeons, however it is becoming evident that only two of these families are delivering the goods so it is possible that breeding will be left to these two families in the coming years, I use the principle best with best every year and, as I never ever kill any bird the basket must always decide if they are good enough to continue in my loft
How can we improve the sport?
How to improve the sport, now there is a leading question, I am not sure there is any way to improve on that which has evolved over so many years and generations. Most people want the sport to be how it used to be, a working man's hobby and social club but we no longer have that sort of society. The organisations have all grown too big and so have the racing teams, bigger teams’ bigger transporters equal larger costs. I think we need to reduce the costs, to allow the younger people a chance to enjoy our great sport the way we did as kids. The introduction of lofts into schools the way Jim Jenner showed in one of his videos was and is great way to giving the next generation a short look at our great sport.
Do you desire fame and recognition?
Do I desire Fame and recognition, I would say fame not so much as I enjoy my secluded life here in Germany, but recognition for the achievements of the birds yes, for the work I put in again, Yes, and to that end I think if you get recognition it brings with it a small portion of fame.
Final comment.
Pigeon Racing is in my blood it is exciting, all consuming, rewarding, satisfying and challenging, I would not and could not live without it. If I had a wish for this wonderful sport of ours it would be that more of the original values of sharing and helping other putting the birds first and enjoying the success of others would return to the mindset of the Flyers and the greed and jealousy simply went.
Thanks, Jim, for this wonderful opportunity to tell a few more people about the sport as I see it.