In One Loft Racing, there is nowhere to hide.
Your pigeons live in the same loft, follow the same training program and receive the same management as the competition. Once they are entered, the breeder can no longer adjust the system from home.
That is exactly what attracted Ken Easley to this demanding side of the racing pigeon sport.
From Cedar Crest, New Mexico, Ken Easley & Son Racing Pigeons has developed into a respected American name in international One Loft Racing. Ken is a third generation pigeon fancier with roots in Texas. His son Kendall represents the fourth generation of the Easley family in the sport.
Around 2006, Ken decided to put more time into the passion he had known since childhood. Instead of simply continuing along the traditional club racing route, he began studying the major international One Loft Races and the pigeons capable of performing at the highest level.
That decision changed the direction of his loft.
Ken Easley Thinks Like a Builder
There is something very recognisable about the way Ken approaches pigeons.
Outside the sport, he built his career in the construction industry as founder, president and CEO of Empire Builders of New Mexico. In pigeon racing, you can see much of the same mentality.
- First understand what you want to build.
- Then find the right material.
- Then test whether it actually works.
Ken has never been interested in pedigree for pedigree’s sake. A famous name may attract attention, but eventually the basket has to confirm the story.
That philosophy became the backbone of his One Loft Race program.
Konbird: The Foundation of the Modern Easley Family
If one pigeon sits at the heart of the modern Ken Easley story, it is DE.10-00507-949 Konbird.
Konbird came directly from the loft of Alfons and Helmut Klaas. His father was DE.02-00507-864 Half Brother Konstantin, while his mother was DE.08-06503-200 Sister Birdy, a full sister of Birdy.
For anyone who followed international One Loft Racing in that period, those bloodlines need little introduction.
But Ken did not bring Konbird to New Mexico simply because the pedigree looked impressive. The real value came later, through his descendants.
Konbird developed into the foundation cock of the Easley loft, with children and grandchildren producing important performances in different One Loft Races and conventional races. Big Tex, Easy Money, Mighty Mouse, Million Dollar Kid, Rubikon and several other successful pigeons belong to the wider Konbird family.
That is where a good pigeon becomes something more important.
A foundation pigeon does not have to win the biggest final himself. He has to keep putting quality into the generations that follow.
Konbird did exactly that.
Saad: A Result Ken Could Breed From
The second pigeon that says a great deal about Ken’s breeding philosophy is KW.16-021256 Saad.
Saad finished 6th in the 2017 South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race final against 2,434 pigeons.
Ken recognised the value of the performance and brought Saad into his breeding program.
Then came the part that really mattered.
Saad started producing.
His daughter AU.18-EASLEY8839 BB 8 finished 5th in the 2019 South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race final against 2,531 pigeons and became the 1st Knockout Winner. Her documented prize money was approximately 70,000 dollars.
Another daughter, AU.20-EASLEY79 Hippolyta, finished 9th in the 400 mile Big Andy International final in 2021 against 901 pigeons and won the overall average.
That is the kind of confirmation serious breeders look for.
Saad had already proven himself as a racer. BB 8 and Hippolyta proved that the performance could move into the next generation.
Five Performances That Tell the Ken Easley Story
Picking only five results from a long record is not easy, but these performances capture the strength and direction of the Easley program particularly well.
1. Mukiwa: A Masterclass in Consistency
CU.15-EASLEY31 Mukiwa produced one of the standout campaigns for the Easley loft at the 2016 South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race.
Mukiwa became Hot Spot Ace, 1st Knockout USA and 2nd International Knockout, before finishing 83rd in the final.
During the Car Race series, Mukiwa also recorded 3rd, 11th and 20th positions.
One race can be brilliant.
A complete series tells you far more about the pigeon.
2. BB 8: 5th Final and Knockout Winner
Two years after Saad’s own top final performance, his daughter AU.18-EASLEY8839 BB 8 delivered at the same elite level.
She finished 5th in the 2019 South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race final against 2,531 pigeons and won the Knockout competition.
This was more than another major result for Ken. It was direct proof that his decision to invest in Saad had produced exactly what he wanted.
Performance breeding performance.
3. Big Tex: The Best Pigeon Across the Flying D Series
AU.18-EASLEY8894 Big Tex, a direct son of Konbird, became the best pigeon across the Flying D series in 2019.
He also finished 4th in the 400 mile final.
For a breeder, this is powerful evidence because Big Tex combined series consistency with a major final performance. He also gave the Konbird family another serious confirmation at One Loft Race level.
4. Hippolyta Opens the Door to a Big Andy Victory
In 2021, AU.20-EASLEY79 Hippolyta finished 9th in the Big Andy International 400 mile final against 901 pigeons and became 1st overall average.
Two years later, Ken went even better.
In 2023, Ken Easley & Son won 1st prize in the Big Andy International final race.
That progression says a lot about the program. A top ten final and Ace performance was not treated as the finish line. Two years later came the final victory.
Number One Country Team USA at AfrikaPro
Ken Easley & Son Racing finished 1st Country Team USA at AfrikaPro in 2022.
- Then they repeated the achievement in 2023.
- Two consecutive years at the top of the USA country team classification added another international dimension to the Easley record.
- The International Results Did Not Stop There
- The deeper you look into Ken’s record, the clearer the pattern becomes.
He also recorded a 6th place in a Victoria Falls final several years ago. Ken has not sent pigeons to Victoria Falls during the last three years, but the result remains another important part of his international record.
Thailand also produced another strong performance, with the Easley team recording 10th Ace at Thailand Masters.
- These are very different race environments.
- That matters when you are trying to breed pigeons for modern international One Loft Racing.
- What Makes the Easley Program Different?
- Perhaps the most interesting number around the Easley loft is not a race result at all.
- It is the number of youngsters.
Around 2022, Ken’s program was described as producing approximately 100 youngsters per year. In major international One Loft Races, he regularly entered only four to six pigeons.
- That tells you plenty.
- This is not a program built around producing huge numbers and waiting for mathematics to deliver a champion.
- Every pairing needs a reason.
- Every new introduction needs to add something.
- Every family eventually has to prove itself in competition.
Ken studies international results, identifies pigeons that perform under serious pressure and is prepared to invest when he believes a pigeon can improve the loft.
- But buying the pigeon is only the beginning.
- The next generation has to confirm the decision.
- Performance Before Reputation
Puggle is a perfect example of how Ken looks beyond a simple result sheet.
In the 2017 South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race final, Puggle arrived alone ahead of the next pigeons, but did not trap immediately. Three later arrivals entered before him and Puggle officially finished 4th.
Ken looked at what had actually happened, not simply the number beside the pigeon’s name.
He bought Puggle.
Later, he also added Puggle’s parents.
Ken applied similar thinking when bringing in 2nd final winner Sunce and later Saad. He was not collecting fashionable names. He was building around pigeons that had shown something under pressure.
There is a big difference.
2025 Proved the Easley Loft Is Still Moving Forward
It would be easy to look at names such as Konbird, Mukiwa, BB 8 and Hippolyta and treat Ken Easley as a story from an earlier period of One Loft Racing.
That would be a mistake.
According to Ken, 2025 was one of those seasons every fancier wants to have.
At the AfrikaPro final, he had the first American bred pigeon through the trap. Even more impressively, Ken says he won prize money in every race he entered during 2025.
His own summary was simple.
“It was a good year.”
- Sometimes the shortest sentences say enough.
- The foundation may have been built years ago, but the loft is still competing, still testing and still producing results.
- American One Loft Racing Is Getting Stronger
- Ken also sees an important change happening closer to home.
- The racing pigeon sport in the United States is growing, and American One Loft Races are now attracting increasingly respectable numbers.
- That creates stronger competition.
- And stronger competition creates better tests.
For breeders such as Ken Easley, that is good news. The United States is becoming an increasingly serious stage for testing modern racing pigeons, while American fanciers continue to compete in major events around the world.
- That international connection can only strengthen the sport.
- The Easley Story Is Still Being Written
- Ken Easley’s reputation has not been built around one lucky winner.
- Konbird became a foundation because the family kept producing.
- Saad became important because his children confirmed his value.
- BB 8, Big Tex and Hippolyta performed at championship level.
- A Big Andy final victory followed.
- Results came in South Africa, the United States, Thailand, Victoria Falls and other international race environments.
- And in 2025, the results kept coming.
- That is probably the clearest way to understand Ken Easley & Son Racing Pigeons.
- Ken is not trying to breed one famous pigeon.
- He is trying to build families capable of doing it again.
And in modern international racing pigeon sport, that remains one of the toughest and most fascinating challenges of all.
Jan de Wijs
The Pigeon Boss
