Mantel Combination (Burgum, NL) sees elaborate breeding strategy rewarded with numerous references

Frits and Wytse Mantel created an outstanding pigeon breed that proved particularly successful in the one day long distance. The descendants of their stock pair Marsman x Yolin and stock hen Olympic Cape have been extensively tested in other lofts as well. The result is an impressive list of achievements, founded on the excellent breeding strategy of the father-son combination.


Frits en Wytse Mantel sloegen in de duivensport de handen succesvol ineen

Previous report

We dedicated an article to the stock breeders of Frits and Wytse Mantel just a while ago. That article can be found here. This report however will be dealing extensively with the numerous references that they received from fanciers that were very successful in 2016 and 2017 with pigeons from the Mantel pigeon breed (in 2016 and 2017 alone). We begin with the stock pair that enabled the team to win countless top prizes, and this pair consists of breeding cock NL09-1724356 Marsman paired to breeding hen NL07-4289829 Yolin. Their descendants were gifted with the endurance and the willpower that was needed to stand out from their opponents.

References for stock pair Marsman x Yolin


Marsman x Yolin, the stock pair of the Mantel combination that led to many great results

The following prizes were won across different lofts in The Netherlands with (great)grandchildren of Marsman x Yolin:

1st   Morlincourt       788 p.
1st   Heusden-Zolder    230 p.
1st   Heusden-Zolder    337 p.
1st   Vuren             249 p.
4th   Gennep          24170 p.
15th  NPO Sens         5481 p.
20th  Final one loft race Nordseerennen (1st Dutch pigeon)

Olympic Amador underlines the potential of stock pair Marsman x Yolin in their home loft


NL14-1439618 Olympic Amador, 1st Dutch Olympiad Pigeon Cat. E Brussel 2017

NL14-1439618 Olympic Amador (a son of the stock pair) did steal the show in the 2017 Olympiad in Brussels. This one day long distance pigeon won four top prizes in the longest of marathon competitions, including most notably a 1st NPO Blois over 707km. Olympic Amador continued to impress with a 5th NPO Argenton over more than 800km. It resulted in an unprecedented Olympiad nomination, as a one day long distance pigeon in category E marathon. This successful racing bird is looking at a promising career in the breeding loft as well: a youngster and grandchild that he bred in his very first year as a breeder were able to win a 1st prize in a major competition. And his son NL16-1847875 Alonso (a grandchild of the stock pair) excelled in 2017 in the lofts in Burgum, winning for instance a 1st Weert 2277 p.

Joint breeding with Jan Hooymans

The achievements of Frits and Wytse with the descendants of their stock pair did not go unnoticed, and it created a window of opportunities. It marked the start of a joint breeding with none other than fellow fancier and breeder Jan Hooymans (Kerkdriel, NL). As it turned out, the descendants of the Jan Hooymans's stock pair Jonge Bliksem x Dirkje combined really well with the invaluable breeders of the Mantel combination.


NL17-1622775 Alcida, 1st CCG Het Noorden Niergnies 1097 p.

A son of Olympic Amador was paired to NL16-1664040 Rasha, an inbred granddaughter of Jan Hooymans's stock pair Harry. On top of that, Rasha is a granddaughter of the outstanding Harry. It was this joint breeding that led to the birth of 2017 NL17-1622775 Alcida in 2017. This chequered hen won a prestigious first prize from Niergnies against 1,097 pigeons in CCG Het Noorden for the Mantel Combination Click herer to browse through her extensive pedigree. This joint breeding led to great results in other lofts as well, for instance for Christian van de Wetering. He is the loft manager for team Jan Hooymans, and he is quite a successful fancier on his own as well, based in Wijk and Aalburg (NL). He claimed a first prize from Asse-Zellik against 651 pigeons with a grandchild of New Harry (Jan Hooymans) x Fortuna (Comb. Mantel).

References for stock breeder Olympic Cape


NL08-2024320 Olympic Cape, stamduif Comb. Mantel

Olympic Cape represented The Netherlands in 2011 in the Olympiad in Poznan in Poland in category H. She has been a household name in the Frits & Wytse breeding loft. Take a look at the following references and judge for yourself:

Youngsters and (great-)grandchildren of Olympic Cape won the following prizes in other lofts:

1st   Chateaudun      2701 p. (3rd NPO 6328 p.)
1st   Quiévrain       2219 p.
1st   Tongeren        1569 p. (11th NPO 12,699 p.)
1st   Asse-Zellik     1079 p.
1st   Boxtel           704 p.
1st   Tongeren         540 p.
1st   Gorinchem        246 p.
1st   Sens             164 p.
4th   Halve Finale (292 km) Golden Race Algarve 2666 p.
8th   NPO Niergnies  11595 p.
20th  Final One Loft Race Nordseerennen (1st Dutch Pigeon)

Fortuna and Royal Cape - youngsters of Olympic Cape


NL11-1161836 Fortuna, a daughter of Olympic Cape, wins 6 first prizes

Racing hen NL11-1161836 Fortuna is without doubt the most talented daughter of Olympic Cape. She has won no less than six first prizes, and her descendants have been quite successful in other lofts as well; here is a look at their achievements:

1st   Châteauroux     982 p. (4th NPO 4895 p.)
1st   Deventer       1063 p.
1st   Asse-Zellik     651 p.
1st   Duffel          455 p.
1st   Heusden-Zolder  325 p. (6th of 13,858 p.)


NL11-1161785 Royal Cape (son of Olympic Cape) - top breeder for the Mantel combination

NL11-1161785 Royal Cape is a brother of Fortuna.This cock went straight to the breeding loft as a young bird in 2011, and it proved the right choice. Royal Cape became the sire of no less than three winners in the rayon, and grandfather of a 1st International Argenton Zone 4 (800km). His descendants were very successful in numerous lofts:

1st  Pigeon Champion Sprint
1st  Pigeon Champion One Day Long Distance 2017
1st   Tilburg district 2   9555 p.
1st   Gorinchem             469 p.
1st   Pointoise             184 p.
1st   Morlincourt           124 p.
1st   Gien                   92 p.

For a complete overview of these (and more) references just click on the years: 2016 - 2017.

Vardy, Wytse's favourite racing bird


NL15-1208645 Vardy, 1st NPO Issoudun 3319 p.

The first victory NPO for the Mantel combination was won by NL15-1208645 Vardy. This chequered cock won the NPO race from Issoudun of 3319 pigeons. This is quite remarkable for a pigeon that originates for 50% from Heremans. This is Wytse's favourite racing cock, and he expects him to get several references in the next couple of years. Click here for Vardy's full pedigree.

A temporary end due to a move

An upcoming move marks a temporary end to the pigeon racing careers of Frits and Wytse Mantel. Their stock pigeons Marsman x Yolin and Olympic Cape allowed them to become a top level player in no time. These pigeons have quite a few seasons under their belt but their bloodlines can be found in the pedigrees of many successful descendants. These excelled both in their home loft and in the lofts of numerous other fanciers. We decided to keep perhaps the most important reference for last: fellow club members D&P Soepboer won the title of Best Long Distance pigeon in The Netherlands 2016 (PIPA ranking), and that same pigeon attended the Brussels Olympiad in 2017 as well. This pigeon is again related to the Mantel combination's breed. Those of you that are still not satisfied can click here for an overview of this combination and their greatest champions.