"2020 has been our strongest season yet with the old and one year old racing cocks in the one day long distance", says Stefan. They claimed as many as four provincial victories, and a title of 3rd and 15th National ace pigeon long distance old birds KBDB. It led to two first ace pigeon titles long distance old birds KBDB in the province of West Flanders.
Pigeons that make a difference in difficult weather
The pigeons of Norbert & Stefan Ally perform really well in different types of weather (they were outstanding in the first one day long distance race with a fairly strong tailwind - click here) but they are particularly known for their perseverance. If the sun is out and there is a strong headwind, you better keep an eye on the pigeons of this combination, because there are very fond of demanding conditions.
The most difficult one day long distance race of 2020 was without doubt Aurillac (680km), due to the extreme temperatures of up to 40 degrees. Less than 2% of all pigeons involved arrived back home on the day of the release, even though the race had been open for more than five hours. It was in this race from Aurillac that Norbert and Stefan Ally did something incredible, winning a 1st provincial old birds with an impressive 23 (!) minute lead, with the same pigeon that had already won a 1st provincial Souillac (693km) seven days earlier. The team's new 'stuntman' is called New Neymar (BE18-3121469). He finished in the national top ten both in Souillac and Aurillac, even though he did not have the wind in his favour, quite the contrary. And thanks to a third top result from Limoges I (with a tailwind this time), New Neymar eventually won a 3rd spot in the national ace pigeon championship long distance olds KBDB. He was 1st provincial ace pigeon long distance old birds KBDB in West Flanders with quite a margin.
When it comes to his origins, New Neymar has some familiar names in his pedigree. His sire Neymar won for instance a 1st and 2nd national in Montauban (789km) and Brive (666km) respectively, both in tropical conditions. And the dam of New Neymar, New Schuma, is a full sister of Gueretje, which is in turn the dam of 'Angouleme Vooruit'.
The fanciers from Aarsele still vividly remember the stunt performance of Angoulème Vooruit (BE17-3011637). This champion crushed his opponents in Angoulême (652km) as a one year old in 2018, in 35 degree temperatures and in a strong headwind. He took the overall victory with an incredible 17 minute lead against a total of 9555 olds and one year olds.
New Neymar is also a full brother of Neymar Junior (BE17-3011652), a 3rd National ace pigeon shorter middle distance KBDB in 2017 as a young bird. These exceptionally gifted birds combine great speed with endurance, and they can also cope very well with the heat.
The stars of the old birds' team in 2020
In addition to this 1st provincial ace pigeon long distance olds KBDB West Flanders with New Neymar, Norbert & Stefan Ally also had the 2nd provincial ace pigeon long distance olds KBDB West Flanders in their collection (plus 15th ace pigeon long distance KBDB at national level). And the winner of this title is a half brother of Angoulême Vooruit from his mother's side (Gueretje), hence his name Nestpender Gueretje (BE17-3134061). He is also a grandchild of Ally's famous stock breeder Ronaldo from his father's side.
In the old birds' race from Brive, The 1st provincial and 4th national was won by Aaron Talent (BE17-3134075), which was already 2nd provincial ace pigeon KBDB West Flanders in 2019, in the allround category olds & yearlings. He is a youngster of top class breeding and racing hen Aaron x the excellent breeding hen Treasure (BE16-3073499).
Beauty 248 (BE18-3115248), the best yearling of 2019, was also one of the strongest racing birds in 2020. The sire is Nestpender Schumi (BE12-3078431), a great breeder and full brother of Ally's top breeder Schumi Junior. The dam comes from Super Bliksem x Zora.
An exceptionally gifted team of one year old cocks
Den Argenton (BE19-3100708) excelled in 2019 as a young bird, winning a 1st provincial Argenton of 5665 p. & 8th national of 23,258 p. He continued to deliver as a yearling this season: he claimed an 8th provincial Argenton of 4305 p. and a 12th national Souillac of 7514 p. He is a son of one of Ally's most renowned breeders, Schumi Junior (BE13-3126131). The dam is not the renowned top breeder Belle this time but a full sister of her, called Sister Belle (BE16-3073566).
Lucas Jr. (BE19-3100661) is a grandchild of the famous Lucas, which moved to China after the big PIPA auction of 2012, in which he was the best racing bird. After his transfer, he became grandfather of the 1st Ace Pigeon in the prestigious Pioneer Int. Racing Pigeon Club Beijing in 2017. The sire of Lucas Jr., also a half brother of Neymar, is Nestpender Lucas.
Witslag Beauty (BE19-3100648) had a fantastic racing campaign, and he was the fastest yearling of West Flanders in the race from Brive (666km). The sire of Witslag Beauty is a full brother of Beauty 248.
A full brother of Angoulême Vooruit (BE19-3116150), which did not gain a lot of experience as a young bird in 2019, was in fact very successful in the national races from Argenton (509km), Souillac (693km) and Brive (666km) as a yearling.
Even though Norbert & Stefan Ally do not really have much experience with the hens, they did race a team of one year old hens this season, by exception. Their best racing hen (BE19-3100752) was another youngster of Son Zidane x Gueretje, which as you know is a full sister of Angoulême Vooruit.
The last pigeon in this list of very successful yearlings of 2020 is a talented brother of Den 170 Junior (BE19-3100704). His sire, Gaston 170, can already be regarded as a new top breeder, even though he only spent two years in the breeding loft.
