{"id":4737,"date":"2020-01-13T14:52:51","date_gmt":"2020-01-13T14:52:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fastsprintpigeons.com\/?page_id=4737"},"modified":"2023-04-13T00:17:11","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T23:17:11","slug":"about-fast-sprint-pigeons","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/fastsprintpigeons.com\/?page_id=4737","title":{"rendered":"About Fast Sprint Pigeons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2>About Fast Sprint Pigeons<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Introduction<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><br>This web site has been developed to so I can offer the Racing Pigeon Fraternity<br>access to proven sprint and middle distance racing pigeons at a reasonable price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>I have been breeding and racing pigeons for over 40 Years<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>I have bred and owned two Champion pigeons including winner of the<br>RPRA National Champion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Background<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><br>My name is Simon Scholfield I fly under the partnership name of McCormick &amp;<br>Scholfield. The McCormick connection was my late Grandfather although not a<br>pigeon fancier he built my first pigeon loft to house a mix of Fancy pigeons and stray<br>racers. At the age of 9, I kept my first pigeon in an orange box in the back of a van,<br>the pigeon was as tame as a Robin but unfortunately he was stolen and that is when<br>my Grandfather stepped in and built me my first loft.<br>In 1979 I met local fancier Eddie Faulkner &#8211; he saw me training my birds from the<br>local flats although I had never seen &#8216;proper racing pigeons&#8217; I joined the local pigeon<br>club in 1980 at the age of 14. Success was not immediately forthcoming so I saved<br>any money I earned to buy pigeons and was given some by Eddie Faulkner that<br>originated from Barry McNicholas (Doncaster). The birds started to produce results in<br>1982 and I had my first win at 16 with the Dog and Gun Flying Club.<br>I joined the &#8216;Hare Hills Flying Club ( of which I am now the President). We flew in<br>conjunction with the City of Leeds Federation, the Yorkshire Combine and the mighty<br>South Yorkshire Amalgamation with a weekly birdage up to 15,000 birds.<br>Throughout the late 80&#8217;s I started to emulate the performances of M Dickinson &amp; Son<br>and become the highest Prize Winner flying 12 Cocks and 30 Young Birds. At this<br>point Haren Hills Homing Society had 50+ Members and were sending over 700 birds<br>per week, it was regarded as &#8216;the club to be in&#8217; in no small part due to the fact that with<br>the race and pool wins you could earn as much as the average mans working wage.<br>The year 1991 was special year for me as we bred &#8216;Champion 37&#8217; (GB91V88737) a<br>Karl Herman pigeon who won<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>9 x 1st Federation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>9 x 1st Amalgamation (up to 2500 birds)<br>He went on the win a further<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>4 x 1st Federations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2 x 1st Amalgamation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1 x 3rd Amalgamation<br>In one season winning RPRA North East Region &#8211; Sprint Champion<br>RPRA National Champion &#8211; All Regions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These victories were achieved when &#8216;Champion 37&#8217; was 3 years old<br>I enjoyed success year on year with the Herman pigeons and moved House in 1995<br>and the success continued being the highest prize winner at Club and Federation level.<br>The Leeds Amalgamation was formed to send up to 6,000 birds.<br>In 2000 a new champion was born &#8211; &#8216;Champion 72&#8217; &#8211; his breeding was impeccable,<br>his sire was son of Champion 37 and his dam was direct from a daughter of one<br>Ronnie Williamson; champions<br>Champion 72 won<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>1st Amalgamation &#8211; 31,000 birds<br>and in one season won a further<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>5 x 1st Federation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>7 x 1st Club ensuring he was crowned<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1st North East Region Sprint Champion<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Runner Up RPRA National Sprint Champion (UK)<br>I realised the genetics of Champion 72 were paramount and the offspring went on to<br>credit the loft with being the highest prize winners in Club and the Leeds Federation<br>for the next 6 years (2000 &#8211; 2005)<br>In 2005 I sat waiting for my birds and felt my heart was no longer in the sport so I<br>decided to sell up. A sale was organised and I sat in disbelief as a watched 34 x 1st<br>Prize winners were sold. They went on the breed many Classic, Amalgamation and<br>Combine winners for other fanciers.<br>In 2006 I moved to my present address xxx and focused on developing my plastering<br>and property business and had no interest in pigeons.<br>In 2010 I had a brick loft built and came back into the sport. The comeback was<br>salutary as during the next two years I had poor results, I looked at what I was doing<br>and decided my brick loft was to cold so I reversed the air system to extract the air,<br>took some tiles from the roof and replaced with polycarbonate and insulated the walls<br>and floor and this worked.<br>In 202 I was back as the highest prize winner in the Leeds Amalgamation (with<br>birdage up to 15,750) and winning over 200 x 1st prizes since that date and often<br>taking the first five places.<br>Pairing Up<br>The Stock and Race teams are paired up around the 22nd January giving myself and<br>the birds a good rest.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>I feed a good breeding mix as well as Tic beans which I feel are ideal for breeding<br>good and strong youngsters. I also supply Layers Pellets with Grit and Minerals, the<br>Young Birds are moved after 21 days.<br><strong>Training<\/strong><br>Starts after the Young Birds are moved. I allow the pairs to re-leay as it makes them<br>easy to catch and basket. The first toss is from 15 miles leading up to 60 miles as<br>many times as weather and time permits before the first race.<br>The birds are split up 2 weeks before the first race &#8211; Cocks to their boxes and Hens to<br>their Section. The training continues 1 to 3 times per week xxx?<br>The Young Birds are placed on Darkness when weaned and are trained to trap to a<br>whistle and with some white fantails. Whistle &#8211; Fantail on Trap-board &#8211; Food, all<br>pigeons must comply to this simple discipline.<br>The Young Bird training starts in earnest in June starting at 2 miles sometimes as<br>many as 6 times until they are breaking immediately towards the flight line, this<br>distance is extended at intervals up to 45 miles.<br>I breed about 60\/80 Young Birds as I feel the days of 20 youngsters have gone with<br>the increase in birds of prey, the intensity of the training\/racing and other hazards<br>Once racing starts the Young Birds have 4 tosses per week up to 45 miles the birds<br>and I benefit as they are received at the loft by my Wife Julie who notes and traps<br>them. The birds are released in large groups initially and smaller groups as they gain<br>experience I do not have the time to single toss my young birds. I train by myself as in<br>the past when I trained with the community I found the following season I had lots of<br>&#8216;followers&#8217; and homers&#8217; that I do not want.<br>As mentioned before the birds are &#8216;darkened&#8217; when weaned (1st week March) and kept<br>on the system until the longest day. I then switch the lights on until 10:00 pm to hold<br>the moult &#8211; this system seems to work very well.<br>I have automatic blinds which lowers at 09:30 pm and lifts at 12:00 noon which is<br>when I come home from work and they can be exercised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My Young Birds are all left together I do not split them. They are exercised 2 x day<br>and they are fed in from their exercise.<br>I experience Young Bird Sickness that I treat with an antibiotic (Amoxcillin), which<br>seems to work fine &#8211; I have tried letting it &#8216;run its course&#8217; without success.<br>I am also getting increased incidents of &#8216;Fat Eye&#8217; that I think is the cause of many<br>young bird losses. I have not found a cure and let it run its course but do not race<br>when the birds are infected.<br>To have a good Young Bird Season you need well trained, fit and healthy young birds<br>and this is getting increasingly difficult<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>My System<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><br>I now fly pigeons with my Wife Julie with whom I went to school. Julie looks after<br>the Hens which generally are more successful then the Cocks.<br>We fly a &#8216;Chaos type system&#8217; the cocks have widowhood boxes and the hens are in a<br>small section on poles.<br>They are &#8216;split&#8217; two weeks before the first race when they are generally in good<br>condition from training and loft flying.<br>The birds are trained every day before the first race but the birds only see each other<br>on the weekends.<br>On Friday night prior to racing I open the sections and let the sexes meet. I let the<br>Cocks and Hens have a &#8216;free for all&#8217;, I&#8217;m not bothered about treading, fighting, etc. this<br>I feel creates &#8216;motivation&#8217;. After 10 minutes the birds are basketed and taken to the<br>Club.<br>On this system the birds are generally &#8216;in the frame&#8217; the Hens outperforming the Cocks<br>as they hold their form and fly better &#8211; if you keep them from pairing.<br>When the Birds come &#8216;Home&#8217; they are left together all day to re create the bond that I<br>consider essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>My Birds<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><br><br>The Race team consist 35 Cocks and 35 Hens- These birds are mainly from the<br>Marike Vink strain with various sprint strains crossed in and out. Every Season I buy<br>in about 12 Young birds to try against my own. I race all young birds as much as<br>possible and over the years found I have had some very good and very poor birds.<br>I keep about 20 pairs of Stock Birds mainly ex racers with a few introductions The<br>Introductions are given two seasons to produce some birds with performance.<br>The Race Birds are generally sent weekly and again at the end of the season it is<br>essential to be selective with at least one notable performance expected from each<br>yearling or old bird. I have learned from experience with Old Birds that any bird that<br>cannot produce a performance in two years very rarely ever does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Hens are exercised 1 x day at around 1 pm they exercise well for 1 hour<br>The Cocks are exercised 2 x day they go out at 6 am and 5pm and do not exercise<br>with the same enthusiasm as the hens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Medication<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><br>ALL birds including the fantails are vaccinated for PMV and Salmonella<br>ALL birds are treated for Canker with Metrontdazole prior to the first round of eggs<br>Droppings are sent to a pigeon vet prior to racing and any treatment required<br>administered.<br>Treatment Schedule<br>November vaccinate for PMV and 3 weeks after for Salmonella<br>3 weeks before 1st Race treat with Moxidectrin for Worms and parasites<br>2 weeks before the 1st race treat with a respiratory product -something with dual<br>antibiotics &#8211; a good time as the birds have been working hard and it is essential to<br>have clear airways for racing<br>I rotate the use of &#8216;Medicato&#8217; against Canker and Respiratory on a weekly rotation<br>basis from Sunday to Tuesday i.e. 1 week Canker and 1 week Respiratory<br>The birds receive various treatments over the season for respro, worms, canker and<br>fungi &#8211; I usually treat blind if there is a drop in form<br>Feeding Old Birds<br>My Old birds are fed a Versalaga mix &#8216;Champion Superstar&#8217; as I feel it has everything<br>needed for Sprint and Long Distance, I also use a lot of Barley at the beginning of the<br>week atnce<br>My Cocks and Hens are fed in trays as do not have the time to fill and empty loads of<br>pots. The birds receive approximately 2 x 1 oz\/day with more barley if required<br>Feeding Young Birds<br>The Young Birds are fed to the Whistle (which should to them mean FOOD) They are<br>fed as much as they want 1 x day with a Standard Young Bird Mix with added Tic<br>Beans and barley. They are fed until they leave the Barley<br>Feeding Stock Birds<br>The Stock Birds are fed a Breeding Mix with added Tic Beans and Layers Pellets.<br>Water Additives<br>On Race Day: Honey and Electrolytes added to the water for the birds return<br>Sunday: Sedechol to cleanse the liver<br>Monday: A amino acid product &#8211; bought from any health shop<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tuesday : Amino Acid<br>Wed: Thurs: Fri: Clear water<br>Attributes of a Fancier<br>The most important attribute of a fancier is to keep Fellow Members of your club<br>happy and continuing flying pigeons as without them you have no competition, no<br>matter how good or committed you are.<br>To evaluate your birds on a daily basis and weed out those with less ability or bad<br>habits.<br>Look closely at your birds to ascertain they are &#8216;ticking over nicely&#8217; especially on<br>selecting birds for tough or dodgy days &#8216;if in any doubt leave it out&#8217;.<br>Always congratulate the Winning Fancier<br>Look at your self in the mirror and be honest if the birds are not performing<br>Your the Stockman. Trainer and Coach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Loft Hygiene<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Birds<br>The Race team consist 35 Cocks and 35 Hens- These birds are mainly from the<br>Marike Vink strain with various sprint strains crossed in and out. Every Season I buy<br>in about 12 Young birds to try against my own. I race all young birds as much as<br>possible and over the years found I have had some very good and very poor birds.<br>I keep about 20 pairs of Stock Birds mainly ex racers with a few introductions The<br>Introductions are given two seasons to produce some birds with performance.<br>The Race Birds are generally sent weekly and again at the end of the season it is<br>essential to be selective with at least one notable performance expected from each<br>yearling or old bird. I have learned from experience with Old Birds that any bird that<br>cannot produce a performance in two years very rarely ever does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Hens are exercised 1 x day at around 1 pm they exercise well for 1 hour<br>The Cocks are exercised 2 x day they go out at 6 am and 5pm and do not exercise<br>with the same enthusiasm as the hens.<br>My Thoughts Vermin or Birds of Prey Issues<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think that Birds of Prey are a game changer in this sport. I predicted 5 years ago<br>racing and training would become spasmodic with bad races and tosses and looking at<br>2021 Season my fears are becoming reality. I feel the RPRA are out matched by the<br>RSPCA\/RSPB on the Public Relations. I cannot see the situation improving as the<br>average Pigeon Fancier is non political and only want to fly their pigeons which leave<br>the onus on the RPRA to lobby MP&#8217;s and promote the sport.<br>.<br>I have an interest in Pest Control and have found the best solution for Rats and Mice<br>is a good Terrier dog with a planned rat bait system according to the manufacturers<br>instructions and using a bait box to prevent other mammals or birds being effected.<br>My Advice to a New Fancier<br>To anyone starting in the sport I would say go to the best fancier in your Federation<br>and buy youngsters and ask questions and then go back and ask more questions. Good<br>pigeons need not cost fortunes and good information is priceless<br>Persons I admire<br>I admire everyone in our Club and Federation\/Amalgamation because without these<br>guys the sport would be pointless.<br>Why I think the Sport is in Decline<br>The age of the average fancier being in the sixties is a negative aspect for a new<br>person looking at the sport. a greater choice of options for the young to spend their<br>leisure time, the birds of prey and heavy losses being disheartening to even the<br>seasoned flyer.<br>Changes or Improvements I would like to be considered<br>I feel the RPRA need to implement rules that enable Federations to merge with other<br>Federations so as to keep a critical mass of members, otherwise the sport will self<br>destruct with some Fanciers out on a limb with no viable Club or Federation covering<br>his location allowing him to race.<br>The RPRA to implement some kind of &#8216;central liberation app&#8217; to save the telephoning<br>around from a list to find what\/when\/where pigeons are being released.<br>Summary<br>In my opinion I have experienced the best time in the sport, I have great memories<br>and enjoyed some success. In the 80&#8217;s and 90&#8217;s our Club had a membership of 70 and<br>now the membership is 20 as over the years members have found other interest or<br>passed away. I cannot see a way forward other than trying to keep everyone happy<br>and to enjoy the sport whilst you can.<br>If I had to comment on why I think I have enjoyed success in this difficult sport I<br>would say I spend a lot of time looking at my birds and looking at myself after a bad<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>race I am the trainer, vet, nutritionist, and I should be looking to change things to<br>bring about improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Conclusions<br>I have thoroughly enjoyed the interview with Simon he has honestly and openly<br>provided enough information for anyone to try and emulate his wonderful<br>performances. They do say that &#8216;you can buy good pigeons from a good fancier but<br>you cannot buy the fancier&#8217; In this case Simon has been unstinting with his<br>information to help all of us to better with our birds and to be more accepting of the<br>Racing Pigeon World. I contacted Simon as I was aware his pigeons have been<br>winning races for other acclaimed fanciers i.e. Pete Wells -Dunstable, Terry Halley &#8211;<br>Watford etc I was expecting to find out information about some great pigeons and I<br>was not disappointed and I learned so much more. I am sure Simon and Julie will<br>continue to win races and his drive to continuously investigate their own performance<br>as well as that of their birds will make them very difficult to beat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>About Fast Sprint Pigeons Introduction This web site has been developed to so I can offer the Racing Pigeon Fraternityaccess to proven sprint and middle distance racing pigeons at a reasonable price. Background My name is Simon Scholfield I fly under the partnership name of McCormick &amp;Scholfield.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fastsprintpigeons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4737"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fastsprintpigeons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fastsprintpigeons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fastsprintpigeons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fastsprintpigeons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4737"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/fastsprintpigeons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9101,"href":"https:\/\/fastsprintpigeons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4737\/revisions\/9101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fastsprintpigeons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}