Anthony and Edwin had a very strong season in 2019
The icing on the cake
The achievements of the Derksen v/d Keuken combination across the first half of the 2019 season were reason enough for PIPA to get in touch with Anthony Derksen and Edwin v/d Keuken, the fanciers behind this combination. The introduction that we published earlier this year can be reread here. The provincial first prize from Morlincourt, which the combination had claimed early on in the season, was just the beginning; they were also victorious in the NPO races from Chateaudun and Vierzon in Province 9 East Holland. And the two fanciers played a lead role in the different championships of their favourite competitions as well: the sprint, middle distance and one day long distance, and the young birds' races. Here are some of their most prominent titles:
1st Sprint nominated and not nominated CC3 province 9 1st Middle Distance not nominated CC3 province 9 1st One Day Long Distance nominated province 9 East Holland 1st One Day Long Distance nominatd and not nominated CC3 Province 9 1st Ace Pigeon one day long distance Province 9 East Holland 2nd Sprint nominated and not nominated Province 9 East Holland 2nd Middle Distance not nominated Province 9 East Holland 3rd One Day Long Distance not nominated Province 9 East Holland 5th Best Ace Pigeon Olds AllRound WHZB/TBOTB 6th National Nominated one day long distance 6th National Nominated sprint 7th Best Ace Pigeon olds WHZB/TBOTB 9th Best One Day Long Distance Pigeon in The Netherlands – 3 prizes PIPA Ranking
A foundation of Olympiad pigeons
Anthony and Edwin's breeding loft is mainly founded on pigeons that were able to stand out in the national competitions or in the Olympiads. A number of their own racing birds were selected to represent The Netherlands at an Olympiad. And the team invested in youngsters and grandchildren of national ace pigeons and Olympiad pigeons from other lofts as well.
NL15-1706779 Son Olympic Solange (G & S Verkerk), the sire of Madison 2.0
Son Olympic Solange, the sire of Madison 2.0
The revelation of this season is without doubt NL18-1509702 Madison 2.0. This blue racing hen did really well indeed:
1st Morlincourt prov. 9 7778 p. 1st NPO Chateaudun 2390 p. 1st Noordelijke Union Z3 2996 p. 8th NPO Châteauroux 2871 p. 26th National Sector 3. 10300 p. 9th PIPA Ranking Best one day long distance pigeon in The Netherlands - 3 prizes
Madison 2.0 is a daughter of NL15-1706779 Son Olympic Solange, and this cock comes straight from Olympic Solange, the stock breeder of father and son Verkerk. Son Olympic Solange became the sire of Madison 2.0 here in Almelo, and he is also the sire/grandfather of a 1st Nanteuil 5442 p., a 1st Laon 1783 p., a 1st Chateaudun 1428 p. and a 1st Duffel 1205 p. The dam of Madison 2.0 is NL13-1719175 Olympic Madison. This hen became a 2nd National Olympiad Pigeon Cat. G in 2015 (Budapest), and she has a 1st Tongeren 2739 p. to her name. Click here for the full pedigree of Madison 2.0.
Olympic Madison, the dam of NPO winner Madison 2.0, and the grandmother of NPO winner Mae-Linn
Mae-Linn wins a 1st NPO Vierzon
The combination celebrated another victory in the NPO competition in Vierzon, which was the last one day long distance race of the season. Race winner NL18-1509551 Mae-Linn was not only the fastest bird in Province 9 (2044 p.), she also beat a total of 2515 hens of the Northern Union (Z3). Mae Linn is a granddaughter of Olympic Madison. The dam of Mae-Linn is another direct Verkerk bird. This hen, NL15-1706735 Daughter Eye Catcher, is a daughter of Eye Catcher of Gerard and Bas Verkerk (Olympic Survivor x Magic Amore). For the pedigree of Mae-Linn, click here.
Strong results in the national competitions
The combination was very successful at national level as well: they had the 7th best Ace Pigeon olds and the 5th Best Ace Pigeon olds allround in the national competition WHZB/TBOTB in their ranks. The pigeon that became 7th best Ace Pigeon old birds was the one year old hen NL18-1509594, which did really well in the one day long distance competition:
9th Vierzon 1189 p. 13th Châteauroux 1682 p. 18th Issoudun 2547 p.
And the pedigree of the 18-594 comes with some special racing birds as well, with for instance her grandmother NL14-1524592 Golden Angel (6th Nat. Olympiad Pigeon Allround Brussels 2017) and her grandfather NL04-2050258 Nike (a Verkerk racing cock; 22nd best cock WHZB in 2006). Anthony and Edwin also claimed a 5th national Ace Pigeon olds allround WHZB/TBOTB 2019 with racing hen NL17-1699472. This hen also claimed a title of 1st Ace Pigeon one day long distance in province East Holland in 2019. For her pedigree, click here.
NL15-1286947 Maxima, 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon 2017 Allround (Cat. D)
Leading names Maxima and Olympic Maxwell
And the following two pigeons should not be left out in this article; they are the leading names of this pigeon family after all. Blue band racing hen NL15-1286947 Maxima demonstrated her exceptional potential by winning the following titles:
1st National Ace Pigeon Allround (Cat. D) 1st National Ace Pigeon olds (Cat. H)
Maxima (a daughter of Space Shuttle, 2nd Nat. Ace Cock 2011 WHZB) claimed as many as five first prizes.
NL15-1286915 Olympic Maxwell, 3rd National Olympiad Pigeon Allround Poznan
Olympic Maxwell
Racing bird NL15-1286915 Olympic Maxwell on the other hand developed into quite a phenomenal pigeon between 2016 and 2018. This racing cock ended the 2017 season as 2nd National Ace Pigeon Allround WHZB, and he was sent to the Poznan Olympiad as 3rd National Olympiad Pigeon Allround. You can tell from his pedigree that Olympic Maxwell's many talents did not come out of the blue. For instance, his sire NL08-1006352 Cock Super-Couple was a 4th Ace Cock in the national WHZB competition in 2010.
References
The achievements of Anthony and Edwin have also caught the attention of their opponents, and many fellow fanciers have started to invest in pigeons from Almelo. Click here for an overview of their most notable references.
Eager for more
Anthony and Edwin would be eager to be just as successful in 2020 as they have been in the year 2019. Only time will tell if they can pull this off a second time, or even do better. And it could well be possible, judging from the many talented birds in their pigeon collection. It is up to the successful Derksen & van de Keuken combination.