THE EGO HAS LANDED
CAMERON STANSFIELD INTERVIEWS
JIM EMERTON
Quite a number of the best distance fliers I have come across over the years have been either ‘singular’ or a little bit mad depending on which way one looks at it. Would you put yourself in that category?
My life has been rich, colourful and diverse. I admit to those traits as part of being an individuated whole person. I have embraced life as if there is no tomorrow. To wait for birds at 879 miles in a north-east wind is a triumph of hope over punishment. Eccentricity is cool.
Was there one moment which ignited your passion for extreme distance racing or was it a progressive thing?
As a young lad I wrote a far sighted essay on clocking out of Marennes into Derby - a precursor of my future career. In 76 I bought some birds of the Louella Extreme Distance Family to feel the experience of racing on the boundary of possibility as far as I could go. My racing results have been progressive from club to international level after Diabolos won the section, 516 miles on the day in a north wind.
Which moment gave you the greatest thrill?
What wonderful moments there have been, such as clocking twice 1st 5 open young birds, 1st from 6066 birds and top old bird prize winner in the 700 Mile Club at my first attempt. I have relished it all, my life in pigeons, my work as a writer – it’s a blast.
And what do you consider your biggest achievement?
My greatest achievement is in the strain I evolved with success from 71 to 879 miles; my breeding work surpasses my racing. This was my aim, and it is my legacy.
Your loft was kept at your mother’s as you yourself were often away on your travels. Tell me a little about some of the places you’ve been and the people you have met outside of the sport?
My imagination was fired. I was left awestruck as I gazed upon Annapurna in Nepal. I luxuriated on Lake Dahl in Kashmir. In Delhi a fortune teller read my mind. I shared a chicken with an Arab herdsman in Aquaba, and I walked in the Wadi Rum desert where Lawrence led the Arab revolt.
You tasted success at the extreme distance competing in national and international competition. Do you need a different kind of pigeon for the two types of competition?
All my international birds were trained in the NFC at 466 miles as yearlings. These were cultivated for international events. Some went the whole hog, but not all mind you as each one is different. A top class bird will do both.
What made you choose the foundation birds that you subsequently worked with?
I made intuitive choices based on publicity, type and performance. The Descamp Van Hasten Stichelbauts stood out, as did the Tee of Emiel Denys and the Kleine Donkere. I followed my feelings.
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being easy and 10 being difficult), how difficult is it to time pigeons from extreme distance races?
Pau 7, Dax 8, Barcelona 11. In head, north winds they can all be 10 plus.
Can a pigeon win from the extreme distance if it is not ‘bred for the job’?
All extreme distance winners are born with the innate, genetically-based racing potential, be they from a sprint or distance background. The fancier with his craft works on that potential.
How much experience did your best performance pigeons have before being pitched in at the deep end?
Two-year-old experienced birds should be ready for anything - 879 miles was Barcelona Dream’s third channel race being jumped over 400 miles. All birds 220 miles to the coast then 466 then 700 plus.
Work or rest – which is the more important in the build up to an extreme distance flight?
I like 3 to 4 weeks' absoulute rest before 700 to 879 miles. Race them to train them. Birds plump at the beginning.
What fuel did you put into your birds for the task you set them?
I fed pellets, peanuts, Hormoform, Red Band, yeast, hemp and widowhood mixes. The liquid feed was Vydex Super 6, Mycosan-T and Aviform ultimate. I like Gem’s Ogo oil on the corn mix.
Which four fanciers past or present would you invite to dinner for an ideal evening of pigeon chat?
My group would be gentleman Geoff kirkland, genius Jim Biss, the charismatic Emiel Denys, and the wonderful Wim van Leeuwen of Smaragd fame.
Tell me a little bit about the Jim Emerton Trophy and why you put it up?
This trophy in antique solid silver is to foster UK marathon racing, presented to the winner of the longest flying fancier and bird in the UK in the BICC Barcelona International race. It makes the wait worthwhile.
If you were a bookmaker and were pricing up a market for the first UK fancier to win the Barcelona International, who would you put in as favourite?
John Halstead - a genius small team champion, who is hungry!
And finally…
One of your passions is poetry. Could you please sum yourself up in a limerick?
The Lucid Professor
I am the master of intuition, abstracts, concepts and cognition,
My papers pass the censors, Prometheus, Giga and of Mensas,
I lecture on global trips, with lofty manuscripts,
An oddball in a team of us, the unworldly higher genius.
