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Ad Schaerlaeckens, the best of Belgium? (under construction)

 

Rijkevorsel. Who were the best middle distance racers in Belgium in 2019? In my opinion, there is not even a question mark behind that. This was the Belgian-Dutch combination Maegh-AS. Their team made it a triumph from the first flight to the very last. Not with a mass of birds as it usually goes, only with pure quality. Figuring out their results was a feast. A few days before the corona drama broke out, we visited the men. The brothers Maegh, brother-in-law Roger and last but not least Ad Schaerlaeckens.

Ad Schaerlaeckens: "You will never experience such unbelievable results again", they said at the end of 2018. Then came 2019. 'Nobody in Belgium did better' now even the big names said.

 

  2006: THE START IN BELGIUM

Ad: “As a young guy I played football well, but not good enough. When scouts from a professional team came to watch, I was convinced to be chosen. But I was not and from then on I never kicked against a ball. I chose for pigeons, like so many did in those days. Until 2006 the focus was on the Netherlands.
You cannot believe how good the birds were that I had in those days. ''I have never experienced such preponderance in the provincie as AS this year,' chairman Marinus wrote in the National pigeon magazine NPO at the time. Orleans youngsters was the main race of the year. When this disappeared from the program, a rib was torn from my body. But around 2000 my results caused a lot of commotion.
There was this emergency meeting that was convened in the middle of another a very successful season. Things were about to explode. When I participated others did not pool money. No Federation wanted my club to join in because of the supremacy of one man. A solution was only found after many meetings.
Meanwhile I was no longer allowed to pool in the club. But there were also personal setbacks. Due to my wife’s allergy to pigeons the lofts closest to the house had to be cleared on doctor's prescription.

Ad: In my eternal search for super pigeons I visited countless fanciers in Belgium. Often before anyone else had heard about them.Talking about Holland and Belgium: There is a gap in the Dutch program to train pigeons well.
For a few years I drove to the little town of Rijkevorsel to basket pigeons that, for one reason or another, had skipped one or two races. There I learnt to know the Maegh family. Victor ran the local pigeon club. One thing led to another and we decided to play together. But a lot had to change. To begin with, the medicine cabinet had to be locked up. The Maegh Bros abused medicine and that had to stop. In 2006 I brought 25 youngsters to the men. They had Dutch rings that started with the number 1.
After a few races those Dutch became a household name. The pigeons that the Maegh brothers already had came from real good fanciers but were humiliated every race by the young Dutch birds. Immediately, in 2006, we became 1st champion young at short distance. Champion yearlings the following year and champion old birds in 2008. The foundation was there.  

 

Roger: “In the fall of 2006, after the season, Ad announced that he would come by, to sort the pigeons. It turned out a bit different than I expected. Ad had to see no pigeons and no pedigrees. Performance only.

Ad: “That's what it's all about. But of course you make mistakes as well. I removed pigeons that I should have kept I found out later. But that's part of it. You know when you are a big shot in this sport? When people no longer congratulate you because it is normal for you to win the first prize.”

SMALL BUT BRAVE

Ad: “I believe in good pigeons only. We have 12 breeding couples, 12 pairs of foster pigeons and 12 racing couples (total widowhood). Plus a few spare couples. The distance from my home town is twenty kilometers, but I need not go there every day.  Roger, who takes care of the birds does exactly as I tell him.

You know in 2018 we won 25th and 26th provincial against 5,100 birds, in the hardest race of the year. The heat was unbearable, 36 Celsius, we were sitting in the shade, and the birds had the wind ahead.
Those 2 birds were the first two nominated and they arrived side by side. We had entered 6 birds only and when those 2 birds were home famous fanciers who had entered up to 100 birds were still waiting for their first.
Roger saw the birds come from a 100 yards away and said: ‘Look! There! The first two pick birds. And he was right. Later I found why it was not that difficult. One of the two had a white flight, the only one in the loft, which I did not know.

OLD BIRD SYSTEM

Ad: “This is completely the same as the system that I practised in my Dutch loft. The racing team is coupled on January 10th, the eggs are sold, the pigeons come back on eggs and raise one young. In winter the birds do not fly out, because of the hawk which is a nightmare here. Our best pigeon was caught just before the 2019 season.
That is sour, of course. From the end of February, the pigeons are released twice a week. During the season hens in the morning, cocks in th evening.

Roger: “In principle, the racing team consists of many yearlings. The surviving old ones are the real top pigeons. As for the selection Ad only looks at the result. Appearance and pedigree do not count. The National Ace pigeon also continues to fly in 2020. Why save pigeons at our age? ”

 

Ad: “In 2019 we had nine ace pigeons. Hereby eight hens. Never happened in ZAV, which is still a Fed with a lot of well-known names and a range from Lier to the Dutch border. Fanciers of over 30 clubs can participate.”

Roger: “The widowhood starts here at the end of March. I put a lot of work into training. I start at a distance of 5 and 10 km. The next step is 15 km and afterwards, if traffic permits, one time 35 km. The first times I open the baskets all together, later basket by basket. ”

GIRL POWER
Ad: “The start of the season was so unbelievable, that after a few weeks I said 'this cannot last'. The question was only when it would decrease and how much the results would be less. But instead of becoming less, the impossible happened.
The results became even better. The last flight on July 29 was a masterpiece with 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 15th, 19th, 21st with the old (only 7 birds entered and 7 early prizes were won). With yerarling also real super.
Only 4 entered that won and 1st, 3rd, 10h, 13th). Two thirds of the participants of this race did not even have one bird when all mine were home. That was fun.

 

Roger: “Our biggest fear is that the hens mate. There is a remedy for that though. After five to six weeks, I lock them all up. They are darkened all year round. This does not work with cocks. "

Ad: “I have seen this system (darkening old birds) with Flor Vervoort long way back. Also “Fieneke” was darkened all year. We all know how it flew. Fieneke was described as the best hen ever. The quality has to be there of course. So darkening is fine, but for the rest, I believe in very little.

 EVERYTHING TRIED

Ad: “Healthy pigeons need only basic care. I have never been the best cleaner. And supplements? I have tried everything in my pigeon life, but the more I tried the less I started to believe in miracles.
Now all by-products and vitamins are eliminated here. My food is good and cheap. I also give Mineral mix from van Tilburg. With this be careful that pigeons do not overeat with youngsters in the nests. ”

Roger: “In the season we use one type of feed. Vital Duo Flight from Van Tilburg. Scanty at the beginning of the week. The pigeons have to eat the most on Thursday, the day before basketing. They do not fly out on basketing days (Friday). Then they get a last meal at 3 pm. On the day of their return, the pigeons are disinfected with the well-known yellow drops. Late comers get them as well.

Our lofts are very open. In the loft you can look through the tiles. During humid days we improve the loft climate with heating plates. These are mounted upright under the boxes.

Ad: “We never have coccidiosis, worms or tricho. I like to refer to a folk wisdom "You get the disease against which you cure". That is a fact indeed and that's why we keep it all off. ”

http://www.schaerlaeckens-logbook.nl/assets/files/17-721ped.jpg?1591557145168

YOUNG PIGEONS

Ad: “In the Netherlands I was one of the first to start darkening. It also seeped into Belgium through me. Men like Houben came to see the system. The principle of darkening is to extend the winter and let the condition boom in the summer. Light and dark - and how you deal with that - may become even more important in the future.

But back to the beginning. I wanted to prove myself against everything and everyone with the youngsters. That was possible in the Netherlands at National Orleans.The whole country participated with an entry that went up to 200,000 birds. This classic took place the last Saturday of August. That coincided with the big Bourges for youngsters in Belgium. I remember very well the Bourges race that was on by Luyckx from Beerse while the same day I won 3rd and 12th national Orleans with two  sisters.

Our system is darken until the longest day (June 21) and then light up afterwards. The sexes are separated at the end of June. ”

Roger is 81 years old but full of energy. The day before basketting, he trains the babies. It's called conditioning. When they return home, cocks and hens are allowed to go together until the evening. On the day of basketting, the birds are in their own section, thus they will calmly go into the basket.”

Roger: “My motto is Nothing for Nothing. What else would I do all day? I was stopped once for a routine police check. It was half past eight and was going back home from a training. That's passion, right? "

 

 

Ad: “In contrast to the old ones, the young birds did not perform as in pervious years.  But it was not bad at all with races such as 1st, 2nd, 3rd from Noyon against 798 youngsters (three pigeons three minutes apart), 1st Melun against 1380 youngsters and 1st and 2nd 1039 youngsters. Those 2 birds were the fastest of the whole province from Noyon (about 10,000 birds) and all the 12 babies that we entered won a prize card.

TOO LATE TWICE? SORRY FOR YOU

Ad: “Success is the result of selection. A pigeon (old and young) that is too late twice in two succeeding races will get some rest and will get only one more chance later.

In the racing loft I believe in free coupling and in the breeding loft in re-coupling. After two rounds birds will get another partner, also the couples that had given good birds already are remated, since I experienced that it is very rare that a pair will give good birds every year. The windows of the breeding loft are wide open. Day and night."

Roger: "When in doubt about something I call Ad and then he comes."

Ad: “A simple trick is to throw the pigeon outside and see how it goes. Its behaviour shows if the bird is ok. If I hate something it is to lose a good bird and lack of condition is often the reason.

Losing a super used to cause heartache, lying awake and seeing a thousand times whether the prodigal son or daughter had not yet returned. Though I must admit this changes when one gets older.

 ALERT FOR ASSASSIN PARATYPHOID

Ad: “We were hit about ten years ago. The pigeons were treated against paratyphoid every year, but still our birds got it. The active substance of the drug was not strong enough and we had cured too long with the same stuff, I suppose.
You obviously do not want to experience such a thing anymore. Therefore, every autumn we cure against paratyphoid with Baytril. An erxception was the fall of 2018. We did not cure then and after it you are having such an unbelievable season… Coincidence?

 

 

ADENO

Ad: “It must have been about 15 years ago that I got to know the adeno nightmare in my loft. I am not a cleaner so my young were in a shitty environment.
What did I do? Nothing at all. Not panic and certainly not attack the babies with a lot of medicines. The following year I got it again and then again. But it (A Adeno) decreased every year. Now it has been somer years that I got trouble. 

Ad: “My worst feature is that I cannot stop importing pigeons. Often in the company of friend Willem de Bruijn we have explored the whole of Belgium. And now I am certain of one thing. You shouldn't be with so called ‘medicine men’. They may play very well but mostly with peaks (!). Of such men you can buy their birds but you don't get the medicine with you.

A further experience? The more expensive the pigeons were, the poorer the quality. It is a contradiction but a reality. ” Simple fanciers with anything but simple pigeons, who I like as a person, those have become my favorites to get pigeons from. Because in addition to a lot of bad birds I also found very good ones and that was mostly with such men.

I remember how I drove to Leo Heremans with de Bruijn in 2004. Then Heremans was completely unknown. No one had heard about him, apart from the people whoe raced against him. He had phenomenal pigeons. When we drove home, not much was said in the car. We were speechless at the quality. Nobody could fail with those pigeons and it turned out. I got my ‘Super Leo’ and Willem a basket full of good ones. And in those days the birds were still pretty cheap.

 Ad: “In a separate context I will give names from whom I got good bids. An additional mention is for Marcel Wouters. He once asked me whether I had a good hen to mate with his ‘Leeuw’. I certainly had one. A proven hen 682-2008. As a young 3rd best pigeon in Belgium according to 'Super Pigeon', a national competition then. But unfortunately it got lost. Okay I said to Marcel, then you can use the nest sister, 683-08.
And guess what? ‘Leeuw’ and my 08-683 became the parents of a miracle bird, called 'Ad'.   ‘Ad’ became 1st national Ace pigeon middle distance and 1st Olympiad pigeon. There is another story on 682 and 683. Just before 682 started to perform so unbelievably I had promised her parents to a Taiwanese middle man. I was so stupid as to tell her how good 682 was and tried to cancel the agreement by offering ten youngsters for free.
But in vain. Thus the grandparents of famous 'Ad' went to Taiwan for very little money to 2 different fanciers. When “Den Ad” was at the height of his fame, Marcel suggested lending it to fertilize our best hens (artificial insemination). I gladly agreed and our luck was double because “Den Ad” also turned out to be an extraordinary breeder.”

 

 SPECIAL CHARACTER

Ad: “An unforgettable pigeon was the legendary “Ace Four ”. Not only as it was such an exceptional racer and breeder, but it was also a very special one. In his year of its birth I played the first six Ace pigeons in the Combine.
Provincial against an average of 11,000 pigeons Ace Four and his nestsister 'Supertje 144' became 1st and 2nd Ace pigeon. Never happened before. What was so special about him? Even from little distance such as Quievrain (145 km only) “Ace Four” was smashed. But nevertheless he did win. The same on a sweltering Etampes, a race from nearly 400 kms. It won again but again 145 was broken.

Still Ace Four became one of the best breeders ever. Strangely enough Bas Verkerk told the same story about his “Sprint”. It is a son of “Alessandro” , that he got from me, a grandson of Ace Four. Also “Sprint” was an iconic racer but broken every time. He is still in the pedigree of “Bolt” from Leo Heremans. Pigeons of a special class are often a bit different, as it seems. ”

 AD SCHAERLAECKENS THE AUTHOR

Ad: “It was in 1977 that I wrote my first article. I remember it as yesterday. It was about Jan Zoontjens, a super champion then. Every week I rushed to the letterbox when the NPO newspaper fell into the mailbox.
But my article just didn't appear. Wouldn't it be good enough I wondered. Eventually, the editor-in-chief was contacted. He assured me that the article was indeed ok. Even such that he liked to save it for the Christmas issue. This is the story behind my first article. Thousands followed. ”

 

 

Ad: “I also put a lot of energy into writing a book about Janssen Brothers. I thought the guys deserved this. This was in 1985. The book was self-published and immediately sold out. The success was so overwhelming that my whole family helped to write addresses and stamp the envelopes. These were unforgettable times. ”

Ad: “Credibility is the highest good for someone who writes columns about pigeons. If there would come a time that my pigeons no longer perform, this would be a decisive reason for me to feel obsolete and to stop as a writer.

 

The Janssenbook was released. The success was overwhelming. A special truck had to pick them up at Ad Schaerlaeckens.

 A LOFT LOADED WITH GOOD RACERS

Ad has 12 couples of racers, but so many of them are good that we even cannot pay extra attention to the results of 2nd, 3rd ,, 4th and 5th Ace old birds and we have no space left either for 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th Ace yearlings. The Ace pigeons from 2018 and 1017 are not mentioned either, nor the pigeons below, despite they stood out in 2019.

18-753: 928-1st, 1670-5th, 1548-11th and so on.

17-738: 417-2nd, 687-8th , 1003-9th , 814-9, 1548-10, 1813-11, 495-11, 687-16, 710-17        

18-733: 513-6th, 977-7th , 1054-18, 1198-22, 1063-24, 830-33, 1155-35, 1021-35

18-730: 323-2nd, 256-3rd, 845-3rd, 424-4th, 1651-4th, 1155-14, 957-15, 563-24, 928-32

17-736: 1069-1st , 2072-1nd, 734-4th, 1398-6, 588-9, 1154-10, 1281-13, 372-15

17-749: 958-1st, 1004-3rd, 632-3rd, 862-6th (4 races on a row). 654-2nd, 974-4th,  616-4th, 710-7th.

 BASIC BREEDERS

The basic is a cocktail of pigeons directly gotten from Janssen, Arendonk, Hofkens, Leo Broeckx, Frans Verheyen, Vandenabeeles, Mattens, Voets, Hans v d Veeke from Westdorpe. The pigeons that are exceeding to-day are crossings. Ad's old bloodlines crossed with pigeons from the following fanciers:

  • A cock from Bros Scheele, brother National Ace
  • Children of “Extreem” Wouters x mother Leeuw. Also “Extreem” x sister Leeuw and children of “Den Ad” (co-breeding)
  • A brother and a sister of “Diamant” Gebr V D Brande
  • A daughter “Rossi” (Heremans, through Eyerkamp).
  • A son “Vuilblauwe Jackpot” from Eijerkamp.
  • “Super Leo” from Leo Heremans
  • “New Sissi” from Gust Jansen
  • A super breeding hen 10-363 from Luc Van Mechelen
  • A half sister of “Cow Girl” and also a gr.daughter of Di Caprio (D v Dijck) from Rik Hermans.
  • A super hen (08-037) from Gaston Van De Wouwer
  • Pigeons from Willem de Bruijn (children of Murphy's Law and Olympic Hurricane)
  • Very promising are a hen from Huijsmans, a cock from Ebben (from “Indy” bred by AS) and especially a cock from Engelen.

 

Foto 732

 

SOME OF THE MANY SUPER RACERS

243732-18   “3rd NATIONAL ACE MIDDLE DISTANCE YRL KBDB”

This 3rd best pigeon from ALL BELGIUM won: 

1st Melun 515 p.

1st Melun 323 p.

1st Chevrain 563 p.

1st Chevrain 1270 p.

2nd Noyon 375 p.

3rd Melun 830 p.

3rd Chevrain 975 p.

8th Chevrain 494 p.

9e Melun 3414 p.  AND SO ON !!!

Father: 6164006-13 that won 1st Noyon 840 p. 1st Souppes 312 p. 1st Souppes 723 p.. 1st Argenton 147 p. 1st prov Argenton (10 minutes lead) 1st nat Argenton z 3.383 p. 7th nat Argenton 12.879 p. 2nd Noyon 1079 p. 2nd Souppes 264 p. Bred from 08-250 (Extreem x mother Leeuw M Wouters x 11-549 (halfsister Cow Girl Rik Hermans and gr.son Di Caprio)

Moeder: 1694702-12.  2nd Ace in Federation ((11 races 10 prizes in 2012) 3367-1, 6547-2, 3060-7, 5842-7, 1185-12, 2289-14. From 09-622 x 09-585 that are both multiple 1st prize winners.

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6284976-14 “Super ZAV”. 

Was 3rd Ace Prov in 2015. 3rd Ace prov in 2016. 2nd Ace Regional St Job 2015.

1st Noyon 647 p.

1st Souppes 235 p.

1st Souppes 541 p.

2nd Souppes 1235 p.

2nd Melun 1130 p.

2nd Quievrain 799 p.

2nd Melun 811 p.

Father: 1275622-09, named  “Favourite Breeder”. Mother: Supertje Boeckx. 

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B-6257755 “Double Ace”.

Was 3rd Prov Ace in 2017 and 7th Ace Prov. in 2019. She won:

1st Souppes 430 p. (fastest province Antwerpen 5000 pigeons.)

1st Chevrain 372 p.

1st Chevrain 908 p.

1st Chevrain 563 p.

6th Melun 461 p.

7th Souppes 1037 p.

8th Melun 713 p.

Father:  1947235-13 Co-breeding with M Wouters. From ‘ Den Ad’ (1st NATIONAL ACE KBDB) x 07-2143348. Daughter 230 that was brother Ace Four.

Mother 601 Gust Janssen

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17-6200721  'Daughter 006' is another excellent racing hen 

She won a.o.:

1st Melun 642 p.

1st Melun 425 p.

5th Chevrain 563 p.

5th Melun 1622 p.

7th Melun 3414 p.

9e Chevrain 867 p.

10e Ecouen 1069 p.

11st Ecouen 2072 p.

11st Noyon 1271 p.     She was 5t Ace in 2019 behind 3 loft mates.

Father: 6164006-13 mentioned before.

Mother: 1947264-13 Best breeding hen of the loft. She is mother of a lot of winners and Aces and gr.mother 1st National Chateauroux z (6.276 p) plus 11st Nationaal Bourges for Luc v Mechelen. 264 is also gr.mother of 1st NPO for F Ebben. And also mother of:

16-616, 1st Souppes 790 p.

16-489   1st en 2nd

17-749,  1st Noyon 958 p.

17-721,  1st Melun 642 d, 1st Melun 425 p.

18-128,  5th Ace, a daughter of National Ace ‘Den Ad ’x 10-636 L v Mechelen. 

 

 

 

 THE BEST FROM ALL BELGIUM IN 2019?

That was what the author of the article asked himself. After reading the results below you may conclude yourself. And try to find someone who was better. For 2017 and 2018 for every race the number of prizes is mentioned and also the entry. So first race Quievrain 29 birds entered and 23 prizes won.

   2018

Quievrain                23/29                           Noyon      23/29

Noyon                     22/29                           Chevrain  10/11

Chevrain                 16/18                           Chevrain  16/22

Chevrain                 10/12                            Melun      11/11   

Orleans                   4/4                                Noyon      6/6.

Chevrain                 5/6                                Ecouen     21/24

Ecouen                   10/12                            Melun       22/24 

Chevrain                 18/20                            Chevrain   9/10

Melun                     9/10                               Melun       7/7

Melun                     4/4                                 Melun       7/8

Melun                     6/6                                 Noyon       17/22

Noyon                     21/28                            Noyon       15/22 

Noyon                     16/18                            Noyon        8/8

Melun                     8/8                                Noyon         21/24

Pont                       18/24 

'Such results you will never ever achieve ever again', they said at the end of 2018. Then came 2019. "Nobody in Belgium did better" you could now hear after the racing season, even from big names. Also pay attention to the dates, because we do not skip flights. A prize percentage of 65% is normally considered to be great. For us it was poor!

 

RESULTS IN 2019

 22 april Noyon: First race:.
Yrl 13/18. Old 21/28

 29 April: Not raced due to the cold

 5 May Noyon:
513 Yearlings: 1, 2, 12, 13, 16, 21 etc. (9/10, all in the first half of the prizes).

928 old: 2, 3 etc (9/10).    

12 May Chevrainvilliers
830 Yrl. 3rd etc (14/16).

1.622 old: 5, 6 etc (23/26).

3.414 pigeons Interprovincial 7, 9 etc.(23/26).

  18 May Chevrainvilliers.

975 Yrl. 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 26, 27, 32 etc. (11/13). When the 11th bird is home still 325 prizes were to be won.

1.651 old: 3, 4, 5, 6, 12 etc. (19/22). Afther the 19th bird from 22 still over 300 prizes.

Interprovincial 3.348 pigeons: 7, 8, 9, 10 etc. (19/22).

  25 May Chevrainvilliers: (very unfavourable East wind).

732 Yearlings. 9, 10 etc (11/14).

1.250 old: (19/22). The 4th bird won 17th prize. The first fancier to have 4 pigeons.

1 june Toury: (again very unfavourable locationd)

Yearlings 12/12   !!!!!!!!!!!

Old: 17/20

8 june Toury: SW storm. 2.200 mpm.

Yearlings: 3rd , 6th , 10e, 14th , 22nd etc. Again the first fancier to have 4 pigeons. (11/13).

734 Old: 4th , 10e, 12nd, 13rd , 19e, 25th en 27th prize. (19/22).

Interprovincial 1.398 pigeons. 6th , 14th , 17th , 18th en 27th prize. Again the first fancier to clock 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 pigeons.

 15 june Melun;

Yearlings: 1, 6 etc (8/12).

814 Old: 2nd, 9e, 11st, 12nd etc (14/20).

Interprovincial 1.913 p: Again the first one to clock 4 pigeons.

22 june Melun

Yearlings: 1, 16, 17, 22, 31, 46 . (6/7). Nearly all in first 10%.

687 old: 1, 2, 16, 25, 27, 33, 40, 47 (11/14).

29 june Melun

Yearlings: 1, 2, 6, 8, 14

323 Old: 1, 2, 10, 12, 18, 22 etc.  

Interprovincial 952 p: 2, 4 etc. (9/18)

 6 July Chevrainvilliers.

Yearlings: 1, 3 (Two first nominated) 7, 11, 12, 14. (8/8 and 7 from 8 birds entered in first 10%).

563 Old: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 (among them first 4 nominated), 11, 12, 21, 22, 24 etc. At the 22nd prize the first 9 nominated birds are home (12/12).

Provincial 1.270 pigeons: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8 (4 first nominated) 15, 16 etc. All 12 pigeons that I entered nearly won in first 10%. When they are all home still 424 prizes were to be won.

13 July Orleans en Noyon

Orleans: Very irregular, still 8/10.    

Noyon 798 young birds: 1, 2, 3, 13. First 3 birds had a lead of 3 minutes. 16/24.

 20 Juli Chevrainvilliers Yearlings:

2, 14, 18 etc. 7 prizes from 8 pigeons (239 Yrl).

Old: 1, 4, 12, 15 etc. 11 prizes from 12 pigeons entered (372 old).

Interprovincial 908 p: 1, 4 etc (10/12).

 29 July Chevrainvilliers, last race for old and yearlings.

158 Yearlings: 1, 3, 10 and 13, all in first 10% (4/4).

238 old: 1, 2, 3, 5, 15, 19, 21. All in first 10%. (7/7).

Interprovincial : 1, 4, 6, 14 etc. Interprovincial all 7 birds that I entered won in first 10%. When I got all my birds home, two third of the participating fanciers were still waiting for their first bird.

 

YOUNG PIGEONS

The youngsters did not perform as spectacular as in previous years. In 2018 I won the over all championship young birds before loft Vercammen. But I became champion nearly every year. In 2012 also 1st Champion in Union Antwerpen. Still some fantastic results in 2019. July 13th against nearly 800 pigeons 1st, 2nd, 3rd with a lead of 3 minutes. August 10th Interprovincial 1,380 pigeons 1st. The season was ended in style.

31 aug: Melun young birds:

441 pigeons: 1, 2, 8, 13, 15 etc. (12/12. All of the 12 birds that I entered won in first half of the prize list)

Interprovincial 1.039 jongen: 1, 2, 8, 15, 18, 31 etc (12/12). First birds had highest speed of total release (appr 6,000 pigeons).

 ACE PIGEONS:

A unique series of Ace pigeons was the result of sensational 2019:

Old: 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 7th Ace pigeon.

Yearlings 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th Ace pigeon. We started with 12 couples and a few reserve pigeons. So 9 Ace pigeons, of which 8 hens. This is not in a local club but a very vast region with tens of clubs located from Lier to the Dutch border.

  

  This is not the secret of the sensational results year after year. The pigeons are!!!