Rooster J. Cogburn Posted January 10, 2016 Report Posted January 10, 2016 A short tribute to one of the finest UK fanciers of the 21st CenturyTommy Blair, Stirling Racing pigeons make up part of my earliest memories, but it wasn’t until the year 2000 that my interest grew - an interest that continues to grow as time elapses. In 2001 a video appeared in my house, this before the DVD made its way into the mainstream and the ordeal of rewinding a tape was still a common occurrence. The said video was on the winning pigeon fanciers of the Scottish North West Federation and was my first insight into the legend that is Tommy Blair. To a young, impressionable doo-daft laddie he was somewhat of a god. Old birds, young birds, short races, long races, fast races, slow races-he had few equals. Here we are some fourteen years later and my impression of this Stirling pigeon racer hasn’t changed much, if anything his performances over this time have commanded more of my admiration. Racing pigeons to a modest back garden set up, in the shadow of Stirling Castle, Tommy has achieved things with his birds many in this area would have deemed as impossible not so many years ago. His results and records within the Scottish North West Federation will most likely never be equalled and a number of his performances on the national stage virtually defy wind direction and loft location. Locally some fanciers joke that his pigeons can be easily identified at the marking station, as they are the ones that look as if they have makeup on. Tommy’s beginnings in the sport go back to his school days, being brought up in the Raploch area of Stirling alongside friends Duncan Cowan and Peter McGowan, they were forever catching strays and amusing themselves with any pigeons they could get their hands on. As chance would have it Duncan and Peter also grew into super pigeon men, with all of these fanciers starting off with lofts made from bread boxes. The bread box days ended for Tommy in the mid-70s when his father built a loft for him and his brother, entering the fancy officially as J. Blair and Sons. In the Stirling area, and for much of Tommy’s upbringing the pigeon racing scene was dominated by the Ogilvie family and Rab Hamilton. It was flying against these top fanciers on a weekly basis that acted as motivation for Tommy Blair, who once settled with a house, car and a family saw the need to improve or be left behind. It was decided in order to compete at the top, better birds were needed. This is a thing Tommy has strived for in all the time he has been winning, always being on the lookout for good pigeons to make an impact on the loft. A real turning point came in the late 90s when Tommy obtained pigeons from Kevin Hurst of Grimsby. Kevin Hurst achieved many of his early successes with the Busschaerts of Tom Larkin, but the birds that were winning at the time of Tommy’s acquisitions were Janssen/Van Loon based. Many of the reference pigeons at this time were from the lofts of Arie Van De Rhee and Tilburg’s wonder boy, Frank Aarts. The results of Franks Aarts turned Dutch pigeon racing upside down and it’s safe to say these birds had a similar effect when finding their way into Central Scotland. Along with a few other pigeons Tommy acquired from some of the good fanciers we have here in Scotland he was now on the road to success. A road that has seen him top the Federation as many as nine times in a season, sometimes taking the first three, four, five, six and even eight positions. In the past fifteen years Tommy has been the Scottish North West Federation Points Champion on fourteen occasions. There has been a lot of debate over the years as to what Stirling’s rightful section should be in the Scottish National Flying Club. Lying to the far west of the East Region, with winds usually prevailing from the west side and racing from easterly race points - it’s a location that certainly offers no geographical advantage. None the less, in 2013 Tommy became only the fourth fancier in the eighty year history of the North West federation to win 1st Open with the Scottish National Flying Club. Not only was he first Open but he also took second place, having two pigeons arrive together from Maidstone(387 miles)-fifty two yards per minute ahead of the third place bird and flying some eighty one miles further. This marked the second occasion he had been runner up, having also been 1st Section, 2nd Open from Falaise (530 miles) in 2004. His other section wins include 1st Section, 10th Open Reims (582 miles), 1st Section, 1st Hens, 5th Open Maidstone, 1st Section 18th Open Clermont (538 miles) etc. Within any top team there are always special individuals and pigeon racing is no different. The pigeon that won 1st Section 18th Open Clermont, Bessie as she is known, has since won one of the most sought after prizes in Scottish pigeon racing-the SNFC Gold Award, given to pigeons which wining a section prize on five occasions from the cross channel race points. Bessie was the only pigeon in Scotland to win this coveted award in 2014 and is the fourth pigeon in the history of the North West Federation to do so. This pigeon is an out and out racing machine, for not only does she win from over 500 miles but right through the card. The North West Federation bird of the year in 2008, she has won in all types of competition. Aside from being 1st Section,18th Open in the SNFC , she has a 23rd and 37th Open to her credit as well as a 9th Open in the Central Scotland 3-bird club. Class in a glass!! Two of the prestigious clubs in Central Scotland are the 3-Bird Club and the Scottish Central Combine, by now it will come as no surprise to you when you read Tommy Blair has won both of these as well. His record with the Scottish Central Combine includes 1st Open Falaise (530 miles), 1st Open Clermont (538 miles) and 1st Open Peterborough Yearling Derby(288miles) . With the Central Scotland 3-Bird Club he won 1st Open from Ashford (397 miles). I’ve tried to outline some of the highlights in Tommy Blair’s pigeon racing career, but his results have been well documented in the past so I don’t want to run the risk of repetition. For all the highlights within his pigeon career in 2010 he had a real low in his personal life. On losing his wife Tommy was close to calling it a day on the pigeons having parted with all his stock birds and youngsters from that season. Tommy’s wife who battled with terminal cancer made it clear that she wished for him to continue doing what he did best, so after weighing up the options the decision was made to carry on. J. Duthie ,Tam Blair, Hardy Kruger, W Macalony. On deciding to continue some new stock was introduced, this time coming from Premier Stud in North Yorkshire. The birds Tommy settled on initially were the Heremans-Ceusters. On receiving these pigeons he was so impressed that he decided to bring in more. These pigeons took the most dominant loft in the North West Federation up a gear. There have been times since Tommy has had these birds that the Fed members have found him unbeatable. The impact these birds have made on pigeon racing all over the UK and indeed, recently the world , is staggering. Tommy has found these pigeons to be amongst the easiest he has ever owned to condition, and the intelligence they have shown have made them equally as easy to motivate. He has actually told me that the simpler he has made the management, the better these birds have flown-a real testament to their quality. Further recent introductions from Premier Stud include their Koopman and Van Dyck lines, which have also made their mark. Some Hardy Kruger lines have found their way into Tommy’s stock team as well as one or two other birds from top German lofts. The saddest thing is that Tommy won’t be able to find out their racing worth for himself. I’d heard that Tommy had been poorly over the Christmas period, but have to say I was shocked to find out his health had deteriorated to the point he was unable to continue with his pigeons. Due to worsening COPD and a vascular condition, on the advice of his Doctors he has to part with the pigeons with immediate effect. I know it’s a difficult time for Tommy and it’s a huge loss to pigeon racing in this area and further afield. As a concluding thought I’d like to wish Tommy Blair better health in the coming months and all the best in the future. He’s a pigeon fancier I could only ever look up to and his performances will be talked about as long as there is still a pigeon sport. Lewis McCalley
Recommended Posts