Plymouth Peak Pro Challenge One Loft Race

12/18/2025

Dear Fliers,

I am sorry to inform everyone that there will be no Plymouth Peak Races in 2026.

I had a job offer that I have accepted. This was not what I had planned and only materialized over the last few weeks. This is why I haven't been posting any updates. This was not an easy decision to make and I wanted to be sure one way or the other before I made any announcements.

I just feel that this is the best course of action in my life right now, and the one that will benefit my family the most.

Due to the number of birds we get on average, it was always necessary to work another job. Running the race before and after work really cut into family time. My kids are young, and I fully intend to spend as much time with them as possible. I am hopeful my new job will allow that, but unfortunately it won't allow the time to run the race. I will only run the race if I know I can properly care for and train the birds. I truly love flying pigeons and running Plymouth Peak challenging as it can be at times. It's the challenges in life that allows us to grow.

I apologize for any inconvenience this causes anyone. We will see where we are in the fall and see if it will be possible to do the races again in 2027. I really do appreciate everyone that has sent birds and supported me in the past and those that intended to this year. Good luck to everyone in next year's races. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Thanks Again!!

Derik Alder

Plymouth Peak Pro Challenge

10/20/2025

Dear Fliers,

I would like to take a second to clarify a couple things after some conversations I've recently had. First when I stated we felt good about the release, I was meaning that we felt confident that the storm had passed and visibility was good for the birds to be able to get oriented and leave without problems, which they did. I was NOT happy with the time we let the birds go. I was on the phone every 10 to 15 minutes with the driver from 7:45 until they were let go asking for visual clarification on conditions. The birds did not fly into the storm. It was moving North, and the birds flew South out of the storm. That was the only spot on the whole course that had storms that day. That has since been the best or equally as good of a day as we've had here. Not one day since the race has been a beautiful day for the whole 350 miles of the racecourse.

Now that being said, my mistake was giving the ok to let them go when we did on a longer race. I made a bad judgement call. I felt confident in the birds conditioning and training and truly felt that we would have birds home on the day, and had they not ran into some unknown factor I still think we would have. I am truly sorry that we didn't, I know how much value there is on being able to see what your birds will do on a long tough race, and not having them come home the same day they were released really complicates judging your genetics. It's obviously one of those races that you wish you could have back and not turn them loose knowing the results. The first 70 mile training toss this year saw a loss of 68 birds on a perfect weather day. I would never have let them out knowing that was going to happen. You just never know.

The main thing is to try and minimize chances for things like this to happen, and I plan to do just that. I am going to add to my rules that no race will be released later than 8:45 to take away any temptation no matter how good it may look at 9 or 10. Again, I apologize for the way the last race panned out. I am also not trying to take anything away from the birds that won. The mistake they made cost them many extra miles of correctional flying. It takes a great pigeon to return home from a long tough race like that.

The next thing I would like to address is my decision to change the racecourse next year. It will still be a race from the North with at least two 300 mile races. It will just be on the east side of the mountain range that they now fly down instead of the West. My club has flown that the last 2 years with young birds and many previous years with old birds, and it seems to be a very stable racecourse with a few less canyons that can lead the birds astray.

Lastly, I will ship most of the birds back this week as long as I feel they have recovered from the stress of the last race. If you haven't contacted me about your birds being shipped back or not, please do so as soon as you can. A text message is the best, but a call or email is also fine. If there are any special directions for shipping your bird or I need to ship to an address different from the one in Wincompanion, please let me know.
Cost for shipping:
1 Bird - $70
2 Birds - $80
3 Birds - $85

10/15/2025

Dear Fliers,

That was the toughest final race we've had. We still feel good about the release. The snowstorm was over, and it took the birds a little longer to get oriented with the cloud cover, but they went south just like they should. They had plenty of daylight to make it home in what would be average speeds for that release. We think it was the 5-7 mph SE cross wind that pushed them into taking a wrong canyon somewhere. Most of the birds that came in this morning came in from the SW including the winning bird. Very few came directly out of the North.

We would like to thank everyone that came in person to watch the race. It was very nice to relax and visit with you. We would also like to thank everyone that sent birds this year. We really appreciate the opportunity to handle and test your birds for you. It was a challenging year, but the birds that made it through showed what it means to be a racing pigeon. It took everything they were bred for to continually return home. This racecourse is very hard! It brings out the best in the birds. They have to think, have endurance, and stamina, and most of all the heart and will to come home. Every time we drive these races, we gain more respect for the birds and what they go through just to get back. Between training tosses and races they flew 2,850 straight line miles, so easily over 3,000 actual miles.

We would like to congratulate the Final Race and Year End Winners:

The winning speed of the Final Race this year was 1003 YPM and goes solely to the single bird on the drop winning 1st and $11,000! Congratulations to: EFL Crucible - DCI 3 BB

2nd - $8,500 - Fassio Loft - VITA 12528 BBTC

3rd - $5,900 - KFLY Racing Pigeon Loft - WII 25240 BBSP

4th - $4,200 - M2 Loft - WGS 845 BB

5th - $3,000 - Ron Pairan - LFO 473 BC

6th - $2,200 - Ridge2River Loft - RMR 25809 DCWF

7th - $1,500 - Goldstar Loft of Illinois - STAR 5503 BCSP

8th - $1,150 - Borderjumper - JMPR 25008 BB

9th - $1,000 - Boot Camp Loft - BOOT 83 BB

10th - $800 - Redtex - RDTX 44 BBSP

11th - $600 - Jones Family Loft - JFL 5537 BC

12th - $500 - Ryan Hess - GS 330 BB

13th - $400 - Christopher Loft - GS 519 BC

14th - $370 - Sam Haslem - SAM 101 BBSP

Average Speed Winners:

1st - $1,700 - Boot Camp Loft - BOOT 83 BB

2nd - $1,200 - KFLY Racing Pigeon Loft - WII 25240 BBSP

3rd - $825 - Redtex - RDTX 44 BBSP

4th - $500 - Goldstar Loft of Illinois - STAR 5503 BCSP

5th - $375 - Jones Family Loft - JFL 5537 BC

Colored Bird Winners

1st - $638 - Boot Camp Loft - BOOT 74 GRIZ

2nd - $382 - Dave Harrett - VITA 1852 GRIZ

3rd - $255 - APC Loft - APCL 25037 GRIZ

Champion Breeder - $1,000: Christopher Loft -

6th AVG Speed - GS 519 and

11th AVG Speed - GS 513

If you won more than $600, please send us a W9.

10/12/2025

Dear Fliers,

After checking the weather multiple times every day for the last week, it finally looks like tomorrow will be the best day to race in the foreseeable future. Sorry for the delayed info, but we wanted to be sure. The weather this week has been crazy here and along the racecourse. We have had a lot of rain, strong winds, and now our mountains are snowcapped. Tomorrow if all goes well will be partly cloudy at the release point and probably for about half the racecourse with variable winds coming from all directions. They should end up flying into a mostly clear sky with head winds for the last 125 miles of the racecourse. It should be a good working race!

We look forward to seeing anyone who would like to come and watch the race. We will provide lunch starting at 1:45.

10/07/2025

Dear Fliers,

We feel the fourth race went really well. The birds looked really good coming in. Where the majority of the birds came home really good, we are looking at possibly flying the final race as eary as Sunday. The weather looks favorable here, but up north there may be storms so we will watch that closely. If not Sunday, we will fly the final race the next clear day available. We'll keep you posted on that.

The winning speed of Race four was 1480 ypm. Congratulations to the first 12 birds on the drop splitting the prize money:

1st - PNWC - PNWC 203 BB
2nd - Boot Camp Loft - BOOT 77 BB
3rd - Vicstrom Loft - WICK 2510 BBSP
4th - R S Loft of TX - RASL - 605 BC
5th - APC Loft - APCL 25045 BB
6th -PNWC - PNWC 217 BB
7th - Samurai Loft - WGS 830 BC
8th - Ridge2River - ARPU 98106 BBWF
9th - Great Dane Loft - GRT 260 BB
10th - Fast Friends - WGS 254 BSLT
11th - Power Stroke Loft - TPS 802 BB
12th - Rory Smith - CDR 5275 BBWF

10/06/2025

Race 4 Release Garrison, MT Clear sunny skies 18 degrees. Good luck!

09/29/2025

Dear Fliers,
We feel the third race was a success. Last week we gave the birds a slight look at the valley that has always caused us problems. Then we jumped them 70 miles to go past it for the 3rd race. Something seemed to help becasue thats the best returns we've had with birds going through that valley for the first time. There were still some mistakes made because birds came in from the west and the south again, but we got the majority home. The winning speed was 1428 ypm. Congratulations to the first 3 birds through the trap. They win a Free Perch Fee for next year:
1st - Bear Lofts - BEAR 4 BC
2nd - Boot Camp Loft - BOOT 83 BB
3rd - Christopher Loft - GS 518
This is the last week to enter the Colored Bird Race, but the entry fee is now $225 to do so.
We will post the payout before the next race.
Here's a loosely planned schedule moving forward weather permitting:
Today - Let the birds rest and bath this afternoon
Wednesday - Training Toss 55 Miles
Friday - 4th Race 312 Miles from Garrison, MT

09/27/2025

3rd Race Melrose MT. Good Luck!

09/26/2025

Dear Fliers,

The second race was a little tougher. Birds came in all day from every direction. The winning speed was 1313 ypm. Congratulations to the first 3 birds through the trap. They win a Free Perch Fee for next year:

1st - Venn Family Loft - VENN 12 BB

2nd - Rick Barker - VIP - 708 BB

3rd - Ashwood Loft - AA - 34242 BBWF

You can still enter the Colored Bird Race, but the entry fee is now $175 to do so.

If your bird has any odd color next to it... white, opal, red, grizzle, ect. They qualify for the colored bird race. No Blue White Flights, Splashes, or Dark Checks. If you are wondering if your bird qualifies, please ask and we will check for you.

This year we will pay the first 3 colored birds according trapping order on the last race. It will not be based off of Average Speed.

The 3rd race will be tomorrow. It will we 250 miles from Melrose, MT.

09/19/2025

09/19/2025

Race 2 Release. Lima MT

09/15/2025

Dear Fliers,

The first race went really well. There was a nice big drop of 49 birds. The winning speed was 1519 YPM. Congratulations to the first 3 birds through the trap. They win a Free Perch Fee for next year:

1st - Matt Hans - AUB 221 BC

2nd - Sam Haslem - SAM 102 MLY

3rd - Rebel Wings - DWI 503 MLY

If you have not sent in entry fees, please do so immediately. All birds returning from the activation race must be paid into the race, unless we feel the bird isn't fit to compete. Please don't forget to add the Activation Perch Fee of $75 per bird to the entry fee.

We accept payments in the form of Venmo, Zelle, Paypal, and Checks.

Entry Fee - $300 per bird

Activation Perch Fee - $75 per bird

Colored Bird - $100 per bird

If your bird has any odd color next to it... white, opal, red, grizzle, ect. They qualify for the colored bird race. No Blue White Flights, Splashes, or Dark Checks. If you are wondering if your bird qualifies, please ask and we will check for you.

This year we will pay the first 3 colored birds according to how they arrive on the last race. It will not be based off of Average Speed.

We are planning on doing the 2nd race this Friday. It will be approximately 180 miles from Lima, Montana.