Rik Cools holding one of his champions
Over the years, Rik Cools became particularly known for his remarkable performances in the provincial middle distance. The champion from Ruiselede, a town that sits on the border of West and East Flanders, claims provincial first prizes and overall top results on a regular basis. This region is the home base of many middle distance specialists, so it takes a team of very gifted birds to excel in this competition in this particular region. The eye-catcher of his team for 2019 was without doubt Elodie Ace (BE19-3029408), which claimed a title of 2nd National Ace Pigeon KBDB in the shorter middle distance. This fantastic hen claimed a well-deserved title of 1st Ace Pigeon KBDB. This is another highly gifted bird that arrived in the lofts of Rik Cools; she was obtained from fellow fancier and close friend Chris Debacker from Beveren-Leie. Rik and Chris have been working together regularly, and when to champions collaborate, you have a recipe for success. Judging from her pedigree, Elodie Ace appears to combine the best bloodlines of the two fanciers involved.
Elody Ace : 1st provincial and 2nd national ace pigeon KBDB
A strong 2019 season
The team of Rik Cools was in great form again this season. Besides the great results of Elody Ace, they also claimed several top prizes in a row, which Rik has become known for. Both the olds, the yearlings and the young birds have managed to excel repeatedly in Ruiselede. We take a brief look at what this pigeon breed is capable of:
26-05 Arras 1-2-3-4-12-13-15-... / 234 p. (35 pr. of 85) 08-06 Chateauroux 1-3-18-... / 498 p. (10 pr. of 27) 20-07 Chateaudun 1-3-6-7-8-12-14-15-... / 987 p. (41 pr. of 69) 10-08 Chateaudun 2-5-8-19-... / 933 p. (16 pr. of 33) 19-08 Chateaudun 1-5-14-17-18-20-... / 502 p. (34 pr. of 54)
And it goes without saying that claiming an occasional provincial victory is well within his abilities too. This top quality breed, led by a fancier who is always looking to raise the bar, claimed a number of provincial first prizes again in 2019. Cools surprised us all last year with a double provincial win from Chateauroux: a 1st and 2nd of as many as 2,721 pigeons. He entered the 2019 edition of this race as the title holder, and he was was able to claim victory again this year, winning a 1st provincial of 3,231 old birds. The winner of this race, and hence the strongest bird at provincial level was Musty (BE17-3048383).
Musty: 1st provincial Chateauroux of 3,231 old birds
Cools pigeons successful in other lofts as well
Thanks to his many strong seasons, several other fanciers have started to invest in pigeons of Rik Cools as well. Take for instance Marnick De Neve from Aalter, who scored some great results with his Darling (BE17-4055793). This hen is a 75% Cools descendant, and she has an incredible 13 wins to her name, along with several provincial top results. Darling originates from Kasper x Lola, or in other words the line of Lady Messi of Rik Cools. For the pedigree of Darling, click here. This pigeon stems from the Vandenabeele bloodlines of Rik Cools, and as most of you know, these are among the best lines you can find.
Darling : 13 victories for Marniek De Neve
Tom Van Gaver from Moortslede invested in pigeons from Ruiselede as well, and he has been quite pleased with them. Tom obtained several pigeons from Rik, and these have in turn bred his famous Ricky (BE13-4142684). This bird became an exceptional breeder for team Van Gaver, breeding many successful descendants with different hens. Take for instance Little Ricky (BE18-4070849), which is one of Belgium's best pigeons today. He became a 2nd National Ace Pigeon KBDB all-round (for the pedigree of Little Ricky, click here). The long list of talented birds that Tom Van Gaver bred with this Ricky bloodline illustrates that this pigeon family is particularly suited for breeding talented new generations.
Top class breeder Ricky of Tom van Gaver is related to Cools as well
A very strong breeding loft
One of the characteristics of a great champion like Cools is that they never forget the importance of their breeding loft. This is the key to success. The number one stock dam Marieke (BE08-3037512), which claimed a 1st National Gueret as a youngster, as well as a title of 1st provincial ace pigeon long distance YBs KBDB with quite a margin, is now the star of the breeding team (click here for Marieke's pedigree). Among her teammates are Lady Messi, Bolleke and Florence, as well as a few stars from the Bliksem lines, provincial ace pigeons and winners of big races. And it was also thanks to the bloodlines of Chris Debacker (for instance Amigo Chris), which are well suited for crossbreeding, that this breeding loft has been able to produce so many talented new birds.
Marieke: the big star of the Cools pigeon breed