Thinking sideways - Handbook Article

[willie reynolds]

Thinking sideways.

I asked the winners on 1st and 2nd NFC Tarbes last year to contribute an article for the handbook. The two fanciers in question, Mark Bulled and Alwyn Hill, were asked to focus on what aspects of their personalities help to make them the successful fanciers that they are.

Mark Bulled 1st Open NFC Tarbes 2012

What makes me tick?

The simple answer is to say a love of pigeon racing. I enjoy the hard work that is required to be successful. I don’t see it as a chore. My only frustration is not really having the time to do things as I wish.
I’ve always been very sporty and guess this is where I get my competitive edge from. I would say at this point though I’m not one of those fanciers that kicks’ the dog when I’m behind. Of course I’m disappointed but it doesn’t hurt me. I enjoy the sport and I enjoy competing.
I think you could say I’m very keen. I hate the winter. I can’t wait for the season to start. These days most of my friends and social life are pigeon related. I’ve never know life without pigeons and can’t ever see my future without them.
I think pigeon racing is the one thing in life that I’m good at!
What drives me?
In life no matter what I do, work or pleasure, I try and do the best that I can. I think these values are passed on by your parents. In pigeons I just try and do as well as I can without adding too much pressure. I get a lot of enjoyment out of racing.
I do put in the work and yes I want to do well, but have been in pigeons far too long to expect success. I’ve had years when everything turns to gold, and years when little goes right. The secret is to just keep racing and have faith in your pigeons and methods when things aren’t going well. I’m not one of those fanciers that think’s the grass is greener elsewhere. I believe in my family of pigeons.
Despite me saying that I try not to put pressure on myself I would say I have an inbuilt hunger to succeed. I love my pigeons but certainly wouldn’t keep them if I couldn’t race them. I keep pigeons to compete. In my mind there are certain things I want to achieve. I turned south because of the demise of the LNRC and to win the Pau National. Rather than go straight for the National I first tried my hand at winning the Tarbes Classic. I would say that this year was my first proper attempt at the National. There is still plenty more that I would like to achieve.

Aspects of Personality help in racing?

I don’t feel great highs when I win and I don’t feel great lows when I lose. Whether this personality trait helps the distance fancier I don’t know? I’m certainly not a hard person but I am determined and I am strong and I don’t have time for fools. If my pigeons are fools they go. If they are honest and try I help them as much as I can. In life I believe I’m reliable and sensible. I don’t like letting people down. I expect my pigeons to be reliable. If they let me down they go. I wouldn’t say I’m a patient person but I enjoy nothing more than sitting waiting for pigeons. ..my dad always instilled in me that the most important thing is to enjoy the sport in the garden and I think I do. I turn my phone off, unplug the computer and sit and wait, I can wait all day for pigeons. As long as I have confidence that my entries are good enough to return in good time I am prepared to wait for them.
To be successful in any sport you need dedication, talent, hunger and a little luck. Fanciers’ with these four qualities will be successful.
I think I am able to look at races objectively. In races where the conditions don’t suit I look at the result and see if fanciers from my area are in front of me. If they are then my pigeons were not good enough on that day. Making excuses is a sure fire way to go downhill.
What makes a good distance fancier?
I don’t class myself as a distance fancier, but more of an old bird fancier. Good fanciers learn the required skills of conditioning birds for their chosen distance, long or short. Once the conditioning is mastered I do believe that the correct bloodlines are paramount. I have two teams of pigeons that are equally successful at sprint and distance. A distance win gives me far more pleasure.
Preparation
The million dollar question! Novices worldwide ask this question and yes good fanciers do have a basic system but the top ones change daily by following their instincts on what there pigeons are telling them. I have a system but no two weeks are ever the same. Preparation was hard this year with the dreadful weather and cold north east winds. The secret is to know your pigeons, learn their requirements and most importantly to get the necessary fitness and condition into them to be able to perform.
Hours after clocking
I will never forget the day I won the National. On clocking I felt I had a decent time, but from 600 miles you never really know and I’ve been wrong before. To log on and see your name on top of the leader board is truly an amazing experience. I swear I stopped breathing for a moment. The calls and well wishes I received that day and the days that followed were overwhelming.
What was going through my mind? I just hoped that I would win it. I realised that I may not get many opportunities like this and I didn’t want to come second or third. Many great flyers have multiple top positions without that elusive first. I just hoped that I would hang on to the lead as this may be my chance.
The reception I received at the NFC dinner was amazing, a feeling that will stay with me forever. I’m more determined than ever now to win the Grand National again….

Alwyn Hill 2nd Open NFC Tarbes 2012 with Champion Wingdown

What makes me tick?

We as human beings all have different traits. We all see things differently.
That’s what makes us individually unique.
We as pigeon fliers compete against each other because we want to prove that we know better than our opposition/competitors?
Many times I have sat down amongst other fanciers and enjoyed some stimulating conversations about our love for our birds and different systems and theories etc. etc. What people believe in is all very interesting but when all the talking is done, the only thing that matters is putting the birds in the basket and see who times in first. In a nut shell that is all we are really interested in - Winning.This is what makes me tick, that’s what drives me on - wanting to be a WINNER and the thrill of the competition.

I am thinking about pigeons 24/7. Planning my next matings. Planning how I am going to prepare for the next big race.
The breeding side of things gives me a real buzz. The unknown of putting two pigeons together to breed the next champion is its own reward and something I think all fanciers take satisfaction from. I am planning matings in my head and on paper years and generations ahead. It becomes an obsession with me.
When I re-started in 2006 I decided my new challenge was going to be the extreme distance/marathon races. This is a real challenge. The one thing I obsessively believe in is that you have to have the tools for the job.

Horses for courses so to speak. At the moment my loft is saturated in long distance bloodlines. Nothing else matters. Think there is 13 direct children of national and international winners at the moment here. Lots of the hens are used as w/hood hens as there is not room for stock pigeons. I only keep 6 pairs. Some of these are old. But what is most important to me is they are multi-performance pigeons at what I consider the best race in the world- the Barcelona International. I put the birds with multi-performances from Barcelona on a pedestal. These are what I value so highly. More than the actual winners themselves. These are the types of birds I love. That ability to exist in the basket for days on end then have the strength and courage to battle home time and time again.
The Primus-inter-pares pigeons are what I am always on the lookout for. They have something about them. That something special. At the moment I am into the 4th generation of putting my proven 800 mile pigeons together to produce me pigeons which I intend to conquer Barcelona with. That means EVERY generation consists of proven multi performance 800 mile performers.
This is my next challenge - Barcelona.
This is what drives me. To make sure I have the right tools for the job.
When these go there will be no " element of "doubt" about whether they are bred to do the job. I know they are. Whether they are good enough is another question. But I know I will have done my bit. The only way to find out then is to send them. That’s where the talking stops and theories are put to the test. Mr basket answers all the questions!

To breed and race my own Certificate of Merit pigeons from Tarbes (677miles) is a challenge for me. I would like to own a loft full of these. I have one cock with a 2nd, 4th and 7th OPEN Tarbes, Probably the most consistent bird to fly at this distance. He is considered by many to be the best bird ever in the history of the N.F.C. But I have a few more behind him which I hope are going to achieve this honour. But that involves time and a lot of luck. But the harder I work the luckier I become .With these birds Patience is a massive investment that is needed. They are so slow to develop. I am realising this all the time.

I used to be an obsessive sprint/middle distance flier and would be totally unliveable with if the pigeons were not homing like guided missiles from the shorter races. But now I have learned not to expect these birds to do the same. I never really bother with the birds now on their training flights. That’s what they have, training flights, I do not view these as races. Don't get me wrong, although I never have a clock set for the training races I still love to sit and watch them come home. If I didn't it would be time to call it a day. But I never get my heart racing because I know they will always be behind the top sprinters. But Tarbes, now that’s a whole different adrenalin rush and level of experience. That’s what keeps me awake at nights. But even so, patience is a virtue. You need it to be successful in this kind of competition.
Hope that has given you some idea into what makes me tick??