Young pigeon racer ruffles feathers

First year pigeon racer Sam Brown may only be new to the sport, but it didn’t stop his bird from winning an 847km race from Barradine, NSW recently.

Chris Ison

MOVE over Bill Lawry, here comes Rockhampton's Sam Brown.

At just 14, Sam is ruffling feathers among older pigeon racers with his win in a 847km race between Barradine (NSW) and Rockhampton recently.

Unlike cricket commentator and pigeon fancier Lawry, Sam doesn't name his racing birds.

He is in his first year of pigeon racing after becoming interested in the sport by helping with his neighbour's loft.

Sam has his own loft in the backyard of his West Rockhampton home and is responsible for rearing, feeding and training the birds himself.

Towards the end of the race from NSW, Sam was waiting for his birds to come home when he saw four fly over his house.

One peeled off and flew straight into his loft to become the earliest to arrive home.

He said the older members of the Rockhampton Pigeon Racing Club all shook his hand after the win and congratulated him.

While his training regime remains a secret, he said he kept younger birds in the loft to familiarise them with their surroundings.

The older birds are released for a fly each afternoon, but always make their way back home.

His favourite part of the sport is waiting for the birds to come home, but just how they know where to go remains a mystery to him.

He entered in another long-distance race on Tuesday, a 1000km flight from Collie in NSW.

Sam is hopeful of keeping up his involvement in the sport and is looking forward to breeding the birds for next year.

Pigeon Racing Facts

Pigeon racing is a competition of specially trained birds over a set distance.

The birds are taken to a start point and race back to their home loft.

The winner is the first to arrive home and is calculated using electronic timing equipment.