Dr. Adrian Lombard was born in Harare, Zimbabwe (then Salisbury, Rhodesia) in 1953. He had the good fortune to go to the famous Falcon College for his secondary schooling. This was at a time before Falcon College had any association with falconry, but he had the good fortune to have an enlightened housemaster who permitted him to practice falconry instead of the more conventional and compulsory cricket and rugby.
He began medical studies in 1972 at the University of Rhodesia and during his time there hawked with the great Ron Hartley, managing a Hawk Eagle, which could be night-hawked on hares and flown on gamebirds when time between studies permitted. Qualification was followed by Housemanship and Military service in the Bush War. There were limited opportunities for falconry but the war fortunately ended in 1980. At this stage Adrian was married with two small children and career prospects led him Cape Town. Changing countries and following a career path seldom take account of one’s hobbies and passions. He found himself in the Western Cape where falconry was prohibited and there was certainly no prospect of practicing any sort of Falconry.
In 1991 Adrian visited his old school in Harare where Ron Hartley was teaching and had established the famed school Falconry club. Through Ron he linked up with Ed Oettle, who was living in the small town of Wellington, close to Cape Town and who had found a way to practice Falconry in the Western Cape. Ed had managed to prize acceptance of falconry from the Conservation Authorities in the Western Cape and Adrian joined him in negotiating a Provincial Falconry Policy that became a model for Falconry Policies across the provinces in South Africa.
Adrian then became Secretary of South African Falconers’ Association and its representative to the Bird of Prey Working Group of the Endangered Wildlife Trust and then the South African Delegate to the IAF. This coincided with the 2004 IAF Meeting in Abu Dhabi. He soon realized that IAF not only gave one the opportunity to meet falconers from every corner of the globe but also provided the channel to defend and promote the Art of Falconry and the opportunity to serve falconers.
Five years as Secretary of IAF granted him a rich insight into the status of World Falconry with its challenges and virtues. He says he has come to realize that falconry is part of our heritage and that it is one of the special things that define who we are and make us human.
He was elected President of the International Association at the 2012 Council of Delegates meeting in Kearney, Nebraska, USA. Adrian flies a black sparrowhawk.