A group of 17,506 pigeons rushed home from Morlincourt on Saturday 16th of June in Province 10 and 11. A strong tailwind led to high speeds, and the race winner of 8,938 pigeons in Province Friesland '96 was NL17-4289807 of Tjeerd and Jouke Elzinga from Harkema. We visited the combination the following week, we had a good look at the pigeon family and we went home to write a report about their achievements. Back home we checked the arrivals from last Saturday's race from Sens, and we noticed the team had excelled yet again. Jouke called me later in the evening, and it was only then that we realised it was the very same pigeon that won the race.

NL17-4289807, winner 1st NPO Morlincourt 8,939 b. and 1st NPO Sens 4,690 b.

The achievement of racing bird 807/17 was not really a surprise for the team, since he had already won a 2nd from Asse-Zellik of 4,122 pigeons last year.

The 807/17, one of the new icons in the Elzinga lofts. Click here for the pedigree of NL17-4289807.

20 birds were initially basketed for the race from Sens. The 807/17 was yet to be basketed when Jouke visited his father. Tjeerd insisted that this pigeon was ready for the job, but he wanted to wait another week before racing hime again. Jouke agreed, and they decided to basket their remaning team of 20. By the time they were in the car, they had changed their minds: "If we want to win, we need this type of bird in the team."

Hallilujah, the pigeon that has everything it takes to become the new leading name for Elzinga, with his hen New Hope

The NL17-4289807 originates from a very special breeding cock from his father’s side. In 2015 Jan Hooymans and the Elzinga Combination decided to breed youngsters together, from their very best birds. The result was a fantastic pair: Esmee x Harry. Two youngsters of this pair went to Harkema, including NL15-1850078, later to be renamed Hallilujah. This blue colored cock with great appeal has in turn bred several talented descendants as well. He bred the following prize winners together with his hen New Hope:

1st NPO Sens 4,690 / 1st national 8,762
1st NPO Morlincourt 8,939 / 2nd national 17,506
3rd NPO Morlincourt 7,348
5th NPO Morlincourt 7,348
2nd Asse-Zellik 4,122

The pair has led to great results outside of the loft of Team Elzinga as well, with Jan Hooymans winning a 10th NPO with a youngster from a brother of Hallilujah.

Blue Star, winner of a 3rd NPO Morlincourt of 7,348 pigeons, and a 5th National of 11,985 pigeons. Click here for the full pedigree.

Courtney, winner of a 5th NPO Morlincourt of 7,348 pigeons. She is now in 3rd place in the ace pigeon championship Entente D in Province Friesland '96. Click here for her full pedigree.

For those not yet familiar with the fantastic pigeons of Esmee and Harry:

Esmee

2014: 1st ace pigeon allround and 19th one day long distance long distance in the WHZB/TBOTB competition
2014: 1st pigeon champion one day long distance and 2nd ace pigeon general long distance in Province 11 Friesland
2014: 2nd national pigeon champion one day long distance NPO 2013
      9th ace pigeon allround (5th hen) in the TBOTB competition
2013: 11th yearling allround (9th hen) in the TBOTB competition

Harry

1st NPO Blois       - 37,728
1st NPO Chateauroux - 22,340
3rd NPO Chateaudun  - 21,520
Best pigeon in the day long distance in the WHZB competition 2009

Caretaking

The 2018 season started with 23 pairs raced in double widowhood. They were paired in the second week of January, raising a round of youngsters while doing a number of training flights. All pigeons are basketed on a weekly basis from the start of the season. The hens are currently training once a day, the cocks have two flights every day. All pigeons have their daily training flights at home but the old birds are not taken away in between races. In case of a health problem in the loft, the team turns to veterinary surgeon Sanne Wolff for advice and a possible treatment. 

Pigeons in great form all season

The pigeons had already shown their excellent form prior to the race from Morlincourt:

28-04-2018 Weert of 21,740 pigeons: 6,57,59,66,147,178, etc. (40/28)
05-05-2018 Chimay of 16,989 pigeons: 18,22,54,99,125,177, etc. (38/32)
03-06-2018 Quievrain of 12,201 pigeons: 46,82,84,124,153, etc. (35/28)

These are early prizes against thousands of pigeons, with a high prize percentage. It means that the team is full of confidence for the weeks ahead.

A bright future

We wrote in March that the loss of Esmee would be compensated for with some of Esmee’s descendants that have already proven their worth. This has become evident in the team’s great results from last weekend. They have plenty of talented birds in their breeding loft, which are likely to lead to great results in the future as well.