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HAY RIVER - Hay River's Richard Lafferty claimed the title of top fiddler for the fourth time at this year's Fiddling and Jigging Championship North of 60.

Fiddling "was in the family all through the years," said Lafferty, a Metis born and raised in Fort Providence.

Lafferty, who has lived in Hay River since 1988, said he started playing the fiddle in his teens and began competing in the early 1980s.

He credits his uncle and mentor Danny Beauvier for his success with the instrument.

The Hay River resident has also played mandolin and guitar.

"I eventually switched over to the fiddle," he said. "It's a very challenging instrument."

Lafferty worked in the transportation industry for over forty years; with music as a passion he took part in on the side.

"I never did work in music. It always was just part of me," he said, adding that he can't read music and plays by ear.

Lafferty has a long history in fiddle music, especially in the North. He was once awarded the Order of the Sash from the Metis nation "for my contribution to music and dance in the North."

He has also recorded 135 fiddle tunes with the Gabriel Dumont Institute in Saskatchewan for the Heritage Centre. The recordings, he said, were made "to capture all the old time music and different styles of fiddling music."

Lafferty also had the honour of playing for Queen Elizabeth during her royal visit to Yellowknife in 1994.

"I don't have a band. I'm a fiddler all by myself," he said, adding he has more time to concentrate on playing music now that he's retired.

Lafferty is grateful that the Soaring Eagle Friendship Centre continues to hold the fiddling contest.

"It gives an opportunity for the younger generation to get involved," he said, and "it's an opportunity to hear the different styles of music."