My loft visit to Sheldon Leonard & Yannick Deridder’s Flanders Breeding Ireland Lofts.

4 weeks ago I had a message on Facebook from Sheldon Leonard. Instantly I liked this guy. Over the course of a few weeks we spoke a great deal on the phone and then he invited me over to Ireland to visit him and see his setup and Ireland. Before I went I knew enough about what he and his racing partner Yannick Deridder had achieved. I knew I was going to enjoy this trip and once I booked my flights I was excited to get over there. 

Within an hour of meeting Sheldon I knew he was a good guy and could tell within the first day he was extremely knowledgeable about racing pigeons.

I spent three days with Sheldon and my eyes were opened to the level these guys operate at during this time. Check out my videos and photos below. 

Sheldon has a regimented routine when it comes to race day and how he treats his birds.

Basketing birds for race day.

During my stay I was lucky enough to handle some of the top birds in the stock loft. This was one.

Herbies White Kittel – 1st National Skibbereen.

Jack Daniels. 

​What a bird. Eye opening to see what these guys have managed to put together.

One of the things I was struck by is how ballsy these birds were. Checkout the Inbred Goede Rode – What a character!

Here is a tour of the race loft. It’s simply amazing. What a loft!

Sheldon  & Yannick have a shop in Arklow which houses their best stock birds. See the video below.

So as you will see these guys have got an amazing setup, amazing birds and amazing results!

Check out FBI Pigeons website here.

After my trip and many late night discussions with Sheldon there are some amazing opportunities that have presented themselves. Sheldon and Yannick know everyone there is to know in the pigeon game. I have already been invited over to Belgium with them and I look forward to meeting Yannick and seeing his setup. 

I’m very excited at what the future holds as a result of my new friendship with Sheldon. 

Keep Flying!

Mark Lyford