LONG DISTANCE RECORD BREAKER
CHRIS GORDON
1st & 8th Open National Flying Club Tarbes, 725 miles
By Cameron Stansfield
It’s 6.00am in Tarbes on Saturday July 2nd 2005 and the National Flying Club’s chief convoyer Colin Bates has just dropped the flaps to release 4,066 birds, the cream of British long distance stock. The wind is given as south-west and hopes of day birds into England are high.
Twelve hours later and I’m on the phone to Mike Bunney of Portsmouth who tells me that he’d be surprised if many make it as he’s flying with the Solent Federation from a middle-distance French race point and returns are very sparse. It looks like a reappraisal is needed. Then all of a sudden – Bang! The first bird is timed – to A. E. Shepherd of Emsworth, on the coast, a three-year-old flying 529 miles, clock time 6.31pm, velocity 1239ypm. Game on…
Soon a pattern begins to emerge. A group of birds have come over together and are now working their way back along the coast. Then Bang! Burgin & Marshall, flying up into Hemel Hempsead, clock at 7.54pm, velocity 1238, just a yard behind the Shepherd bird. Another Bang! Mr & Mrs Corkett & Sons of Leighton Buzzard, in at 8.24pm, 601 miles. Their velocity of 1224 isn’t good enough to topple Shepherd, nor are the velocities of a smattering of other birds timed on the night up and around the 600-mile mark. It means, though, that a lot of very excited northern fanciers go to bed dreaming of sneaking a bird in at first light the following morning.
One of them is Chris Gordon, a fancier with SIXTEEN 1st Section wins behind him at National level. If anyone can do it, he can.
The race reopens at 5am Sunday and Chris is taking no chances – he’s been on look out since before four-thirty! He knows just how well his birds were and is confident that he’ll have had one in that leading batch. Who knows, he may even have had one out in front. Then, unbelievably, a three-year-old widowhood cock comes into view. It’s all action stations and he is actually in the clock at 4.53am. We will never know if this pigeon was already clear of the field before reaching England, or whether he made up time by flying into the hours of darkness, but what we do know is that the history books show: C. Gordon, Old Snydale, 725 miles, clocked at 5am, velocity 1330ypm, winning the National by 90ypm. They also show a second entry: C. Gordon, 725 miles, clocked at 6.36am, 1209ypm, finishing 8th Open to wrap up the Two-Bird Average. This was one of the greatest performances ever put up in the British Isles. The winner was duly christened Snydale Express and his loftmate Snydale Prince.
Snydale Express, 1st Open NFC Tarbes 725 miles. The UK long distance record holder.
Reflecting on that wonderful day, I asked Chris at what point he knew he had won the National and he said it was when he phoned in to verify and National secretary Sid Barkel said: ‘You’re 90 yards in front!’ However, the magnitude of becoming the furthest flying winner of the Grand National did not really hit him until weeks later. He recalls: ‘I wasn’t confident, you never are at that distance, but I thought I might get one by around half six. I reckon my two birds were together for much of the way and either Snydale Prince packed in that bit earlier on the Saturday night or was just a bit slower to get going next morning. Neither was tired so they must have been on the doorstep. I also believe they broke for home in northern France.’
This was the first time the NFC had ever flown from Tarbes, which is 30 or so miles to the east of the traditional race point of Pau. The change was brought about because Colin Bates, worried about the attentions of gypsies at Pau, felt it wise to get a move on out of there. There are currently no plans to go back and this might have future significance. I went on the Internet to look at the topography of Tarbes and it showed a valley running due north which might well funnel the birds homewards. This is going to help convoys to get off to a good start, so all things being equal (rain, wind etc), subsequent velocities might be higher than we have been accustomed to over such a distance. When I caught up with Colin at the Blackpool Show I asked him about this valley and he confirmed that the birds have no option but to head straight down it. I think we can expect more straightforward races and this will play more and more into the hands of the motivated widowhood cocks. It’s hard to imagine a natural pigeon winning a straightforward race by 90ypm.
Snydale Express, who, incidentally, is out of a 13-year-old hen, actually represented the British Olympiad team in Portugal the January before his great success. He has, says Chris, the most pronounced pectoral muscles he has ever handled on a pigeon, a trait also seen in his grandsire ‘28’. For the record, Snydale Prince’s pectorals are not so pronounced and he handles more like a traditional distance pigeon, indeed Chris says those who have been to handle the two cocks invariably prefer Prince. Although he has never set out to breed pigeons with pronounced pectorals he says he’s going to now!
He believes all forms of livestock are constantly evolving and makes reference to pictures of pigeons in the early years of the last century. Typically they were longer legged and frailer looking. Now they have short legs and thicker necks. He says most people look at pigeons and think that the type in front of them is the end product of evolution but it is in fact just a stage. Chris cites his experience with his team of sprinters. When he first had these he couldn’t time them in from across the Channel but now they are winning from 400 miles. He says: ‘Who knows what pigeons will be like in 100 years’ time?’
The pedigree of Snydale Express.
Chris is a self-taught fancier who is constantly searching for ways to get that extra ounce out of his birds. He studies type, he studies the effect that various feeds and tonics have – based on performance – but more than anything he studies health. In fact I would say he is obsessed with it. He does his own tests and does not automatically accept the written word of ‘experts’. It’s the same with regards to food. Generations of pigeon fanciers have grown up with the belief that too much barley will dry the feathers and, what’s more, make the quills brittle. As far as he is concerned, however, this grain is the bee’s knees – again based on his performances, not just on the road but also in the show pen. His conversion came about by chance some twenty years ago when he ran out of his normal corn one winter and, being too busy to go and get some more, he fed the only food he had – barley. He recalls: ‘A little while later, I went in the shed and had a good look at the pigeons and I thought to myself, their condition is as good as if not better than when they were fed on mixed corn! In fact they handled perfectly. They were silky, so much so that I could go in and basket a few up, take them to the local shows and they would win; this without any additives, just barley.’
Chris has extended his use of barley to such a degree that now his pigeons have nothing but barley from after they have reared a round of youngsters at the end of old bird racing right through to a couple of days before hatching the following spring. They complete the big moult on barley only – no oilseeds or 'moulting mix' or supposed 'balanced' diet. He says he has tried oil seeds and also oil on the barley but it is not necessary. He concludes: ‘The need for oil seeds is a myth.’
After rearing a nest of youngsters, which are fed on 100% blue peas (again no ‘balanced’ diet here), his birds are parted and fed on safflower for four days to take the weight off them, then go back on 100% barley, which makes them fly. If he feeds on a widowhood mix they won't fly the same!
Snydale Prince, 8th Open NFC Tarbes 725 miles, winning the Two-Bird Average along with Snydale Express.
The first national race for Chris is from Nantes, 455 miles, which falls around the third week of May. He says: ‘The pigeons I'm aiming for this race have simply got to have the work put into them if they are going to be able to contend with a potential north-east wind from Nantes at this time of the year, so they will have four or maybe five preparatory inland races with one or more of these being from the coast – just to get the hours on the wing into them. Before these inland races they are fed barley until the Wednesday morning when they have widowhood mix, the same on Thursday, then peanuts on the Friday. They are back on barley by Sunday morning and have barley again on Monday, then have the widowhood mix on the Tuesday and so on. Ideally the last prep race will be flown 10 days before basketing for Nantes. In those ten days they have two days on barley, then I switch to a widowhood mix with peas added to thicken it up and I fill a trough at the back of the door with beans. As basketing gets nearer they have peanuts, the quantity being gradually increased. I've been feeding fats since 1994. I’ve experimented with peeled sunflower seeds but prefer peanuts because they are easily digestible and the pigeons eat them more readily. They come back from a race to peanuts, the idea being to get them back up to what they were like pre-race as quickly as possible. I don't feed depurative on return. What is the point of keeping them down? On Sunday and Monday they are back on 100% barley. They have half an ounce in the morning and as much as they like in the evening. A point worth making: half an ounce of barley is the equivalent in bulk to 5/8 of an ounce of mixed corn. The distance pigeons don't have their food measured and are fed in troughs because I think they benefit from communal feeding.’
The pedigree of Snydale Prince.
Chris thinks health is the difference between the first few in the result and the other birds in the top 50 to 100 of the Open. So in other words getting in the top few is down to the fancier. He says you can’t turn health on and off like a tap, it’s an all year round thing. As I said, he is pretty well tuned up with a microscope and goes off his own experience. For example, where did you ever read that by feeding a pigeon 100% barley you will reduce its cocci count to zero? Chris assures me this is so. He never treats for cocci because he has found that a high count means there is some other problem which needs addressing. He finds what that problem is and addresses it and the cocci count automatically falls as a result.
He provides something of a public service with his microscope as he has a lot of people coming to him to have their birds tested. Strikingly he estimates that 98% of these birds are carrying something or other that will prevent them from reaching super form. On the subject of canker, he says: ‘Some experts think pigeons can tolerate a level of canker but I know that under ideal conditions it can double every 20 minutes.’
If you have your own microscope he recommends you use warm water (to keep the canker organism alive) to wet the swab before you put it down the throat, then put the sample on a slide. Put a cover slide over the top and press the top slide. Through the microscope you will see air bubbles - you can tell they are bubbles because they will all move the same way. Then focus and you will be able to see the canker.
Chris continues: ‘The problem with disease diagnosis and treatment is that those who write about it have often simply read it somewhere else and are just repeating what others have written. All of what I say is based on what I've found out for myself. In the process of learning, I tried a lot of experiments with herbal remedies, such as wormers, and none seemed to work. I'm not saying you can't use products that will help build a level of resistance but they won't be 100% effective. For example, I used to use a lot of garlic but still found the birds had worms. However, if I stopped the garlic for a while and then gave it again, it would flush worms out. This is why people think it's a good wormer but what they don't know is how many worms are still inside the pigeon!’
He aims to have his birds clear of everything during the close season. Once racing they are treated every four weeks or so depending on whether they need clearing of canker and colds, using a mixture of Metranidazole, Doxycycline and Trimetoprim. They are on this for 6 days initially, then during the season for 3 days at a time. ‘I test every pigeon that is going to a big race for canker and also do a general loft test, but all treatments stop 10 days before a big race so the birds have time to build themselves up again. I don't tolerate even a low level of disease. After treatment the birds fly better around home, becoming tighter feathered and more buoyant, with more bloom. Treatment gives them a lift.’
He continues: ‘Years ago when pigeons carried more disease it used to be the strongest pigeon that won. Today with treatments readily available, it is the fittest pigeon that wins. They won't give you that super performance if they are carrying something! One thing I will say is, you cannot tell if a pigeon is 100% healthy just by looking at it. You might think you can but I have proved otherwise. When all is said and done, however, even though I'm certain I've got them clear of everything, I still don't know if they are psychologically right.’
Snydale Treble, winner of 22nd Open NFC Pau 715 miles & sire of Snydale Prince, 8th Open NFC Tarbes 725 miles.
Regardless of feeding or good health, pigeons are not going to win consistently at National level unless they are bred for it. Chris’ present-day team is the result of rigorous testing over many years, and the birds you see in the pedigrees of Snydale Express and Snydale Prince are the survivors. Over twenty years ago he brought in seven birds from the renowned Derbyshire loft of Eric Fox & Son. Out of these emerged a fabulous breeding cock that has been the cornerstone behind his success. He was a son of Eric’s 1st Section, 15th Open Pau cock and his dam won 1st Section, 7th Open Pau. She carried the Irish Delmotte and Hansenne lines of Billy Irwin and Bob Harkness. The first line to click with the Fox cock was a hen from Louella, her sire being Dark Flash, a 500-mile winner on the north road, and her dam was off the Van Hee cock Motta and the Pau National winner Pauline. This pair bred a pigeon called '28', who Chris describes as his best ever all-round racer. As a youngster he won 4 x 1sts and he went on to fly Nevers, 504 miles, on the day three times, once being clocked at 9.55pm and once at 10.20pm. '28' is the double grandsire of his 17th Open Pau hen, who in turn is the dam of Snydale Treble, winner of 22nd Open NFC Pau, who in turn is the sire of Snydale Prince.
A pedigree which emphasises just how many winning genes have gone into making Chris' present-day family. Champion 28 is the great grandsire of Snydale Treble, 22nd Open NFC Pau 715 miles, who in turn is the sire of Snydale Prince, 8th Open NFC Tarbes 725 miles.
Another line to click with the Fox pigeons was the Busschaerts through Pearson & Dransfield. A son of their famous Belgian Cock, who carried the lines of Little Black and Crayonne, who he calls ‘Tom’, is the sire of his Three Times Pau Hen when he was paired to the 17th Open Pau Hen, who in turn was a granddaughter of '28' and an SB Cooper hen who won at 500 miles to three different loft locations for a local fancier. Chris reckons that today 85% of his distance winners carry the Pearson & Dransfield blood, but adds that when you get out to the real distance, over 550 miles, all his winners contain some Eric Fox blood. Other birds have contributed to his success – for example his 9th Open BBC Bordeaux hen which holds the record for the furthest flying bird ever recorded on the day of toss in any British Barcelona Club race is half John Carmichael lines – but most of those he has tried over the years have failed to match up to what he wants.
Earlier I alluded to the unlikelihood of a natural pigeon winning the Grand National by 90ypm under straightforward racing conditions. Chris’ own experience backs this up. Some years ago he set up what he calls his Wild Loft. This stands away from his other lofts, on its own in a field, and it houses birds exactly the same way bred as those in his more conventional lofts. They are in fact the later rounds that don’t find their way into the darkness team. However, there are a number of differences in how these birds are managed. For a start they are on open hole all year round. The youngsters and old birds live together, and the youngsters are not trained in the year of birth. The birds are hopper fed peas or beans, then before their main race fats are added. They are paired in March, rear a round, then race to pot eggs – and that’s more or less it. Significantly this Wild Loft has brought Chris success from the hardest of all racepoints, Palamos in Spain, such as 2nd, 3rd & 4th Section at 840 miles. It has not, however, brought him his greatest success in normal races. Based on practical experience, sending birds exactly the same-way bred as those in his conventional lofts, Chris has concluded: ‘They home under this system, but you won't get the pace out of them so that they race – they just won’t have it. If you just leave them alone you won't compete unless it's a bad race or an extra long one. What’s more, I’ve found that they carry more disease because they are exposed to other birds that come and go – which doesn’t suggest they build up natural resistance.’
Chris also believes that it helped that his two Tarbes cocks had never been on widowhood before the 2005 season so it was something new to turn them on. He is not going to put any more sheds up but says in an ideal world he would race his yearlings natural before putting them on widowhood at two. He firmly believes pigeons keep themselves fitter when split up.
One thing’s for sure, when Colin Bates dropped those flaps at Tarbes at 6am that Saturday morning and those 4,066 birds took to the sky, there won’t have been any birds fitter than those of Chris Gordon. I’ll leave the last word to Brian Sheppard, the UK’s first ever winner of an International race who has spent a lifetime race marking pigeons for the big races. I asked him what Chris’ birds were generally like in terms of condition. His reply: ‘Ah! Just unbelievable!’
3/10/07.
