Raising racers: How Elk Grove students are caring for the next generation of pigeon athletes

Just south of the city of Sacramento, a new generation of potential champions is growing up.

The athletes buzz with restless energy, waiting to be unleashed. They have trained much of their young lives to become the fastest, most agile versions of themselves ahead of race day.

But this is no traditional sport. These competitors sport wings, beaks, and an innate sense of direction. They’re racing pigeons, flying for the Fort Sutter Racing Pigeon Club in Sacramento.

And their caretakers are just as unique — the students of Elk Grove Unified School District.

Raising greatness

On a sunny Friday morning seventh-graders Emily Dvorak and Lily Wiechert, and eighth-grader Kathryn Deem, stepped into a small red barn just down the street from Katherine L. Albiani Middle School, accompanied by teacher Jim Looper.

The surprisingly quiet building featured stacks of cages along two walls, many of which were filled with pigeons — some cooing, others flapping their wings. A nearby table was stacked with nesting material, seeds and grains, and various equipment. 

Seventh-graders Emily Dvorak (left) and Lily Wiechert (right), and eighth-grader Kathryn Deem (right) show off different colors of pigeons being raised in their agriculture class Friday, April 17, 2026, in Elk Grove.Sarit Laschinsky/CapRadio

Dvorak said she wanted to take the elective agriculture class after spending time on a farm with her grandma. “We used to feed pigeons there, so I just pursued that and I wanted to get hands-on with animals,” she explained.

Wiechert said she has dozens of birds at home — turkeys, chickens and ducks, but no pigeons yet. “My older sister also went to ag and she said how amazing it was, how they took care of birds, so I wanted to do this too,” she said.

Deem’s sister also got her into the program. “She would come home from school and just talk about how amazing ag is, so eventually I decided to sign up for it, and it ended up being really good!” she said.

Looper said the pigeons were first introduced to Elk Grove Unified last year as part of the ag class, providing students with more opportunities to learn about caring for animals. 

The birds arrive at the start of breeding season in January, and leave several months later. Looper said his class’s reaction is usually one of mild shock.

“What do you mean we’re raising pigeons?” he recalled. “Most people aren’t familiar with a racing pigeon, let alone a domestic pigeon.”

Throughout the class, Looper taught the middle-schoolers how to care for pigeons. They discussed different foods — peas for protein, oyster shells for calcium, grit for digestion — to keep the birds healthy, checked their nests, and practiced giving them vaccines.

Agriculture teacher Jim Looper (left) shows Emily Dvorak (second from left), Kathryn Deem (second from right) and Lily Wiechert (right) how to vaccinate pigeons Friday, April 17, 2026, in Elk Grove.Sarit Laschinsky/CapRadio

The lessons also touch on more racing-centric topics. The students learned about the ID bands that track each pigeon, and carry their number and birth year. They also studied pedigrees and genetics, and how birds pass down certain traits to their chicks.

“With pigeons, we want narrow tail feathers because that makes them more aerodynamic; it reduces the drag,” Dvorak noted. “And then the wings, we want more feathers… more thrust.”

For the love of the bird

In addition to being an agriculture teacher, Looper is also the president of the Fort Sutter Racing Pigeon Club. The pigeons at the school are his, and many will find themselves competing in a race later this year.

Looper grew up on a farm and said he has been around pigeons for as long as he’s been alive, describing it as “kind of second nature.”

“My father had pigeons before I was born, he was very active in the pigeon world,” Looper explained. “As a very young kid I would go to pigeon shows with him, handle the birds and help him with the birds.”

Jim Looper is an agriculture teacher in the Elk Grove Unified School District, and the President of the Fort Sutter Racing Pigeon Club in Sacramento. He is seen here holding Pigeon 7804, a retired racer.Sarit Laschinsky/CapRadio

Looper got out of the pigeon game for a while, but reunited with his hobby back in 2017 and has been acquiring more lofts — and birds — ever since. Looper said the pigeons are “tip-top athletes” with “phenomenal genetics, incredible healthcare [and] second-to-none nutrition.”

“Some of these birds are going to be valued at four figures, and most people don’t recognize that they have any value,” he said. 

Looper’s birds — along with the rest of the Fort Sutter Club’s members — compete in the Camellia City Combine, racing a course across the eastern Sierra. The competitions are divided into old bird season (starting in April) and young bird season (beginning in August.)

Looper explained how the pigeons are loaded into specialized trailers, noting that “there’s some noise associated with it, but it’s a beautiful sound,” and taken to the release point, beginning in Sparks, Nevada and extending further east by about 50 miles each week.

“Primarily they’re flying west, so we take them east.” Looper said.  “It would theoretically be flying a one-point line, and they always return home.”

For the competition itself, Looper said the critical factor is how fast — not far — the pigeon flies. “Winds and physical objects [like] mountain ranges will sometimes come into play,” he noted. “A bird that has a longer flight might have an advantage over the bird that flew against the headwind most of the time.”

Ultimately, races are prioritized around what’s best for the competitors. “If there’s smoke, if there’s heat, if there’s rain [on] a particular weekend, it would be postponed until the conditions are optimal for the bird,” Looper said.

An identification band is wrapped around the ankle of a racing pigeon Friday, April 17, 2026, in Elk Grove.Sarit Laschinsky/CapRadio

Looper said pigeon racing is popular in Europe, Asia, Mexico and elsewhere in the United States. But when asked why he and others compete, Looper noted “everyone’s going to have a little different answer.” 

Part of his interest stems from the camaraderie of the competition, like any hobby. “Talking smack with your friends, your family members,” Looper said. “It’s no different than people that like to golf, or race horses or cars.”

But his fascination goes deeper — to the love and story of the bird. ”What is their offspring going to look like, how are they going to perform?” Looper said. “ [It’s] their passion, their ability to come home oftentimes against odds… their love to get back to their baby.”

Release the pigeons

Pigeon racing itself was a new concept to the students before taking the agriculture class. Dvorak said her initial thoughts on the sport were of the medieval era. 

“I thought it was like the notes they used to send on the birds,” she said. “I think it’s really cool how they knew the way back home, and they wouldn’t fly away.” 

Before long, it was time to give the older pigeons some practice. Two metal boxes sat in the back of a pickup truck outside the barn. Each was packed with about a dozen banded birds, separated by males and females.

A group of racing pigeons sit waiting for a practice race near Katherine L. Albiani Middle School Friday, April 17, 2026, in Elk Grove.Sarit Laschinsky/CapRadio

“I have created what’s called a training race; the birds will fly from here to my house,”  Looper explained, adding that he lives just a few miles away in rural Elk Grove. “We will know exactly when they get there, and what time they get there.”

He also laid out how the birds would take off. “We just want to give them space to catch air, get up, then they will traditionally circle around and orient themselves, figure out where the heck they are,” Looper said.

The students popped open the door to each box. After a second or two of silence pigeons burst out, wings flapping furiously as they took flight. 

A second group of racing pigeons takes off for a practice race Friday, April 17, 2026, in Elk Grove.Sarit Laschinsky/CapRadio

After spending a few moments circling the barn the birds disappeared into the bright blue sky, leaving behind only the sound of the wind.

But this pause did not last. A few minutes later Looper’s phone began to chime. “We’re being interrupted by the race results coming in right now,” he said as the birds crossed an electronic gate in their home loft, just minutes after takeoff.

He also dropped some insight to his students. “I don’t know if these guys know it; some of these birds were raised here last year, so it kind of goes full circle,” Looper told them, a thought that resonated with some of the students. 

“Maybe next year one of those birds will come back in this barn, and I’ll get to raise its chicks!” Wiechert said.

The pigeons’ young caretakers are excited about what the future holds for the birds they raised during class. “It’s just pure astonishment,” Deem said. “It’s amazing to think someday, those birds in the barn are going to be the ones flying to Mr. Looper’s house.”

“If the birds continue racing that means they’re good birds,” Dvorak added. “Mr. Looper gets to win, and his pigeons get to do their jobs.”