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Times Advocate, 1995-07-19, Page 17Racing to the home loft Pigeon racers flock over sport brought over from Europe Chris Skalkos T -A staff On most Friday afternoons, a group of men gather at a farm out- side Lucan preparing to race. They are members of the Lucan Pigeon Racing Club and as their name sug- gests, they race pigeons. The sport of pigeon racing has been a common event in Europe for hundreds of years and it has been carried over to North America by descendents of early European pi- geon racers in the late 1800's. Al deHaan from Exeter is pne of the 16 members that belong to the Lu - can club. He used to race pigeons in Hol- land prior to em- igrating to Canada in 1951. DeHaan was una- ware pigeon racing had caught on in Can- ada and it wasn't long before he was racing again. "I was pleasantly surprised . wF I found out the s an existin u `; here," said deHaan who first settled in Owen Sound. "The existence of the clubs here owe their fancies to the men who brought the sport over from England," he said. The birds deHaan races are a special breed of homing pigeons that have the uncanny ability to always find their way back to their home loft when released from another loca- tion. "It's a built in instinct they have. They work with mother nature in a natural way," said deHaan, adding the birds always fly west and some- how guide themselves around storms and large bodies of water. The racers raise the birds them- selves, breeding for speed, strength and endurance in hopes of fiiding the right combination that will re- sult in a prize bird. They begin their race by meeting at the club house on Tom Hardy's farm to tag their birds and clock in. Club members can race up to 15 pigeons at a time. The birds are tagged with a rubber band, displaying a number on both sides, and then are carefully trans- ferred to a truck that will carry all the pigeons to a pre -determined re- lease point. The pigeon racers synchronize their specially designed race clocks, distance runner and played hockey seal them and go to the lofts to and baseball. The competitiveness await their birds. The next morning of these sports are equal to that of the birds are released if the weather pigeon racing. is favorable. "If your here to have fun your not Once free, the birds will fly going to enjoy it because its com- around in circles to get their bear- petitive," he said. ings before flying to the home loft. Seventy -one-year old George The racers immediately remove the Gibbs is a veteran pigeon racer tags from the bird's leg and place it who has over 13 years of ex - in a capsule which is then placed perience with pigeons. He said into the racing clocks. The clock is there are a number of strategies the cranked, recording the day and time racers use to condition their pi - the bird arrived right down to the geons before a race. One method last second. When all the birds have called "widowhood" deprives the male bird from its hen for a week and then ex- poses him to its mate for only a few minutes be- fore he's taken away to race. Gibbs explained the bird is motivated to re- turn to its home loft in a hurry because it knows its mate is waiting for him. "It's quite a little game, you have to see it," said Gibbs. Another method called "egg stimulation" in- volves taking an egg away from the female pi- geon, draining it and placing a black beetle in it before sealing up. Ac- cording to Gibbs, "the beetle is big and clumsy and starts to scratch around inside the egg" mimicking the sound of a chick preparing to break through. The bird is then tak- en away from the egg for a race. "She thinks her baby is going to hatch so she's thinking 'I've got to get home.' You should see her go," said Gibbs. Unlike Hardy, Gibbs races his pi- geons strictly for pleasure. "Years ago I used to put a lot of effort into it; now I just play at it," said Gibbs. "I have a grandson who loves race cars, another one has a $40,000 Harley Davidson mo- torcycle and I have my pigeons. 1q homing pigeon Is tagged with a rubber band before a race pt the Lucan Pigeon Racing club. Racing pigeons will fly up to 500 miles to return to their tame loft arrived, racers return to the club- house to open their clocks and tab- ulate the figures to see who's bird was the fastest. The Lucan flyers usually race their birds over a 100 mile distance but the birds are capable of flying over 600 miles. There is no fin- ishing line and the winner may not be known for many hours after the last pigeon has arrived. "It's not a spectator sport, it's a si- lent sport," said deHaan. "We don't have people standing alongside the 401 Highway saying '000hh, look at those pigeons." Tom Hardy is a descendent from a long line of pigeon racers. Both his father and grandfather raced pi- geons. Hardy compares the sport to horse racing, citing the race is just the end result of years of specialized breeding. "I'm really enthusiastic about breeding them more than racing them," said Hardy. "I'm interested in breeding, trying to create a long dis- tance bird, a tough durable mar- athon pigeon," he said. Hardy said he used to be a long Everybody has a hobby, and this one is in my system," he said. De - Haan echoed Gibbs' feelings on the sport. "It's a thrill that is irresistible, I can't explain it," said deHaan who gains a great deal of pride from raising his pigeons and watching them develop into trained racers. "When I watch my birds fly in from the east I still get very excit- ed...to me there's nothing like it." Books The Exeter Times Advocate offers all kinds of services... . •Fax • I lard COVer t • Paperbacks • I itnt'„ .\ I Icaltll • Nutrition • 1\'ildlife • (;ardening • 1 tical 1 Iistt,r ' • 1 I,illltll'lttlti • ( Ilildren's • I >ictitlnaries Artist Supplies • Graphic pencil sets • ('alligraphy supplies sets • 1\'insor NeWtttn - Water- acrylic • (>iI pints, brushes, sketch pads • ( ,1n� ati han('l' • Pastel sets • 1)erw ent tins • Photocopies • Colour Copies • Transparencies • Laminating • Resumes • Typing • Flyers • Programs • and more School & Office Supplies Business Cards Rubber & Self- Inking Stamps Personal Labels Wedding & Anniversary Invitations & Supplies 424 Main Street Exeter, Ontario (519) 235.1331 Fax: (519) 235-0766 8:30 to 5:00 p.m. Mon. -FYI. George Gibbs, above prepares to load his rac- ing pigeons on the carri- er truck to be transport- ed to the release point. Jack Hardy, left sets a specialized pigeon timing clock prior to a race. CRARY 4'4BEAR 4. 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