highlander_article

The Highlander One Loft Race is fast gaining a reputation for a quality race and this year was no exception. The Highlander is hosted by Curt Spragg of St. George , UT. The Highlander One Loft race is a late hatch race with Curt accepting birds in April, May, and June. It also has a three payment entry fee plan so this makes it an easy race to enter. Breed for your own team and then send a team to the Highlander. The Race this year was flown February 1^st, from Wells, Nevada , just about 300 miles.

St George, Utah is in the South West corner of Utah right next to Arizona and Nevada . The scenery in this area is quite spectacular. Of course Utah is noted for its scenery. As Linda and I were flying into St George we were awe struck by the rock formations we flew over. You could see huge rock formations of white sand stone, red sand stone, and black lava flows, all in the same view. And right across the street from Curt’s are two volcanic domes, they were vents from an extinct volcano.

After landing in St George Friday we stepped off the plane into 75 degree bright sunny weather. And here we were in our heavy winter clothing and wool jackets we wore from Washington . After Curt picked us up our first stop was at K-Mart to buy shorts and T-shirts. Then on to help set up for basketing. Curt had scheduled all events to be held at the Eureka Hotel and Casino in Mesquite, Nevada, a short drive away. But because of the recent Exotic Newcastle quarantine in Nevada , he had to change his plans and hold basketing in St George.

Curt in front of his "Highlander" loft

Several of Curt’s club mates were present to help set everything up as was Tim Force of Red Dog Lofts, of Colorado . Tim is an old friend of ours and it was sure nice seeing him again. Waldo Slie did all the Calcutta ’s and Curt’s wife Denise put on a chili feed that was super. The birds looked great; a real testament to Curt’s handling abilities. Every bird had full wings and were in top condition for the race. There was only one bird that couldn’t go because of past injuries. The birds had been through a rigorous, but careful training plan that included over fourty tosses including three 150 milers. Durning the training all tosses were sent via E-Mail to the breeders so they could keep up with the progress of their birds. Where else can you find a race that sends three progress reports a week? Curt started with 205 birds and 167 went to the race, once again, a real testament to his handling abilities. After all the birds were basketed, the pooling and calcutts finished, and all the chili was gone every one headed for the Eureka for a night of gambling, entertainment, and the “Prime Rib Buffet”.

Saturday morning the birds were released from Wells, Nevada, close to 300 miles to the north. They started out in good weather but 50 miles into the race hit 15 to 20 MPH head winds the rest of the way home. Waldo Slie hosted an Auction of birds sent from some of America ’s top breeders. Tony Melucci, Crazy Al, Frank McLaughlin, John Lucchese, and Waldo Slie. A new flyer could have founded a loft with the birds that were auctioned that morning. As the day went on the winds at the loft picked up and the temperature started dropping. It was back to our winter cloths for us. Curt’s wife Denise once again put on a Taco feed that kept all the guests filled all day. As the evening skys started darkening not a single bird had returned. Then all of a sudden, a half an hour after dark, two birds returned. One trapped and one flew off in the darkness and spent the night out. But it was at the loft at the crack of dawn in the morning, taking 2^nd. The winning bird, BVR 7358, and only day bird was bred by Jim Beard, a local flyer from Utah .

Waldo Slie doing the Auction

The next morning Sunday, brought near freezing temperatures and light snow. Despite the bad conditions the birds started coming in and continued to do so all day long. At the end of Sunday Curt had clocked 71 birds. A very good showing despite everything Mother Nature had thrown at them. Once again a testament to the top condition they were in.

Sunday afternoon, with full winter attire, Linda and I headed back to rainy Washington to get warm. This had been a great trip and race for us. All total 53 breeders from 15 states had sent birds to the race. And by the size of the crowd, I think most of them were there. Close to 20,000 pts were paid out, and at last close to two thirds of the birds have made it home.

Recapping the first ten places, 1^stJim Beard of Utah, 2^ndJohn Antonino of CT, 3^rdKevin Willden of UT, 4^thRon Murphy, UT, 5^thFrank McLaughlin, MASS, 6^thThe Jones Boys, UT, 7^thRed Rose Lofts, WA, 8^thJohn Manzella, NV, 9^thDan & Sherrie Meisenbach, CA, and 10^th Scott Anderson, CA.

Next years race will be flown on February 7^th, 2004. Here’s your chance to get in a quality One Loft Race competing against some top breeders for a very reasonable price. You can look at a flyer at http://www.redroselofts.com/highlander.htm Give Curt a call at 435-574-2797 or E-Mail him at spraggfm@quixnet.net

Jim Beard with his Winning Bird