It would be fair to say that Guido Loockx and his close neighbour Verreckt-Ariën have turned Tessenderlo into a well known city among fanciers worldwide, especially in the last seasons. They both achieved great results, they won top prizes and they took provincial and national victories, which resulted in a national title for Guido! The two lofts are very successful in the grand middle distance and the light long distance and they are among the most prominent teams in this discipline. They are both very competitive and they motivate each other to do better each year. They have to be on the top of their game if they want to win a result and that is why they have become great champions in their discipline. The result was a national title.
Guido Loockx, who turns 52 in december, is father of Lennert and Luka and is happily married to his wife Helga. He has worked in the banking industry but he is a househusband nowadays. That is why he can spend a lot of time in his loft. It allowed him to have some outstanding seasons with great performances in provincial and national races. The 2012 season was possibly the best season in his career, said Guido, although it is difficult to compare different seasons with each other. In 2012 he won no less than 33 first prizes, 5 first provincial victories, three first interprovincial prizes as well as three national victories in ‘Zone C’. On top of that his first nominated pigeons are often in the front in the important races, which explains why he was among the favourites for the championships this season. This is an overview of the titles and the best results of Guido Loockx:
1st National Champion Yearlings KBDB 2012 1st Provincial Champion Long Distance Yearlings 1st Provincial Champion Middle distance Youngsters 5th National Champion Middle Distance Youngsters KBDB 5th Olympiad Pigeon Middle Distance (Cat B) Nitra 2013 6th National Ace Pigeon Grand Middle Distance (coeff. 0,75%) 1st Superstar ‘Gouden Duif’ sprint (May)
The greatest achievements at provincial and national level in 2012:
1st National Zone C Montluçon 5,076 old birds 1st National Zone C Argenton 6,099 yearlings 1st National Zone C Tulle 3,330 yearlings 1st Prov. Gien I (the fastest of 10,392 p.) 1st Prov. Gien II (the fastest of 5,062 p.) 1st Interprov. Montluçon 5,068 old birds 1st Interprov. Argenton 5,912 yearlings 1st Interprov. Tulle 2,907 yearlings 2nd National Montluçon 17,865 old birds
The national Championship Yearlings was won with the following results:
Datum Released in 1st nom. 2nd nom.. Number Prize #1 Prize #2 Coeff.
26/05 Laon 5035056/11 5035159/11 2491 9 5 0.5620
23/06 Montluçon 5035167/11 5035052/11 4424 32 12 0.9946
30/06 Argenton 5035052/11 5035015/11 5912 15 8 0.3890
16/07 Blois 5035052/11 5035015/11 2077 10 27 1.7814
04/08 Tulle 5035051/11 5035202/11 282 9 1 3.5461
11/08 Argenton 5035053/11 5035015/11 957 2 6 0.8359
Total: 8.109
Impressive! Meanwhile he is preparing for the 2013 season: he has 50 breeding pairs who will soon be coupled. Most of his breeding pigeons originate from the outstanding stock bear ‘Pantani’ (a pigeon born in 1996; national winner of Bourges II against 10,872 pigeons in 1998 and Olympiad pigeon ‘Allround’ in Blackpool 1999). This pigeon was bred from the cock ‘Vader Pantani 215/93’ of Flor Engels & Sons (from the lines of Witpender 304/81 x 1st Nat. La Souterraine: ‘Dikke 199/89’ x ‘Kadet ‘ Verbruggen). This cock was paired to a hen of Daems & Sons from Bevel (bred from a granddaughter of stock pigeon ‘Goede 75’ Daems x ‘ Oude Bourgesman’). ‘Pantani’ and his great descendants have been playing a key role in this loft. He was crossed with pigeons of Gaby Vandenabeele, Fernand Mariën, Fond Slaets, Patricia Verhaegen and Walter Grieten (for instance the excellent hen ‘Revenge’) and a few other reinforcements. With this combination of top class pigeons Guido managed to form a team of outstanding racers who compete at a national level and who were able to win great provincial and national prizes.
A superior breed composed of winners, ace pigeons and Olympiad pigeons
The yearlings that have won the national title KBDB are of course closely related to the undisputed stock cock ‘Pantani’. About one half of the yearlings’ team was bred from today’s champions, for instance the Olympiad pigeons ‘Kai Mook’ and ‘Mrs. Blue Sky’. To couple cracks with other cracks, their parents or direct descendants: it was also the key to success for Guido Loockx. These couplings allowed him to outclass many lofts! We take a closer look at some of his highly talented yearlings:
-'Revenge' BE11-5035015
5th Olympiad Pigeon Cat. B Nitra 2013
Her sire is a son of Pantani 317/04; the dam was purchased from Walter Grieten (Tessenderlo). Click here for the full pedigree of 'Revenge'.
There is an interesting story about this pigeon, which was basketed as first nominated for the final race from Gueret in 2011. Guido needed one more top result if he wanted to have a chance of winning the National Championship Long Distance Young Birds. By the time the pigeons had to be basketed he had lost his confidence in a good outcome. Eventually he decided to change this around and to make ‘Revenge’ the third nominated pigeon, instead of first nominated. Unfortunately he lost the National Championship Title in that race, because his first nominated did not win a prize. His third nominated however, won a first Prov., a first Nat. Zone C and a 5th National (the second nominated won a 5th Prov.)! In 2012, Guido also needed one more top result to have a chance of winning the yearlings’ title. In the race from Bourges ‘Revenge’ was not in the head of the race but Guido knew from last year that a good pigeon will never miss two prizes in two consecutive races. That is why he kept faith in his great racing hen. In the following race she did a great job: she was basketed as second nominated and she won a 6th provincial. The first nominated finished right before her and took a second provincial! It was a sensational race and he had won the top result that he needed to become National Champion Yearlings! These are the results of ‘Revenge’:
’11 Gueret Prov 931 p. 1
N.Zone C 3,819 p. 1
Nat 14,362 p. 5
’11 Bourges Prov 3,460 p. 2
N.Zone C 10,040 p. 5
Nat 31,719 p. 22
’11 Pithiviers 1,316 p. 6
’11 Pithiviers 513 p. 7
’12 Argenton I Pro 1,653 p. 5
N.Zone C 6,099 p. 10
Nat 22,384 p. 38
’12 Argenton II Pr 957 p. 6
’12 Gien 3,515 p. 7
’12 Blois Prov 2,077 p. 27
’12 Chateauroux 1,036 p. 35
-'Mona' BE11-5035051
She is the nest sister of 'Lisa 052/11' and she stems indirectly from stock bear 'Pantani' (winner of the 1st Nat. Bourges). In 2012 she proved that she is a first class racing pigeon:
Gien Prov 3,515 p. 32 Montluçon Prov 1,932 p. 42 (17/6) Montluçon Prov 4,424 p. 57 (23/6) Argenton Zone 5,912 p. 25 (30/6) Blois Prov 2,077 p. 9 Bourges Zone 5,201 p. 78 Tulle Prov 282 p. 9 Argenton Zone 6,567 p. 67 (13/8/2011)
-‘Lisa’ BE11-5035052
A nest sister of 'Mona'
Gien Prov 3,515 p. 3 Montluçon Prov 1,932 p. 13 Montluçon Prov 4,424 p. 12 Argenton Zone 6,099 p. 17 Blois Prov 2,077 p. 10 Nevers Prov 2,245 p. 54 Chateauroux 1,036 p. 55
-'Kaylan' BE11-5035053
A great hen bred from two grandchildren of stock bear 'Pantani' (the dam is a full sister of 'Mrs. Blue Sky). Click here for the full pedigree of 'Kaylan'.
6th National Ace Pigeon Grand Middle Distance 2012:
Argenton Zone 5,912 p. 2 (30/6) Nevers Prov 2,245 p. 5 (07/7) Salbris 1,038 p. 3 (21/7) Argenton Prov 957 p. 2 (11/8)
-‘1st Prov Argenton’ BE 11-5035056
The sire stems from 'Pollux' (the sire of two provincial winners and a brother of Prinses: 1st Nat. Bourges; a grandson of Pantani) x '937/06' Moeder Zoë (1st prov. Argenton and the dam of Satan: 1st Prov. Gien 2011 (the fastest against 5000 pigeons) and a 1st N.Zone C Montluçon against 5,076 pigeons), purchased from Walter Grieten. The dam is a granddaughter of Pantani.
Argenton Prov 1,653 p. 1
Nat Zone C 6,099 p. 1
Nat 22,384 p. 7
Laon 2,491 p. 9
Montluçon Prov 1,932 p. 46
Nanteuil 808 p. 4
Pithiviers 605 p. 2
La Souterraine 1,259 p. 32
Gien Prov 3,515 p. 65
Olympiad pigeon 'Kai Mook'
-‘Son Kai Mook’ BE11-5035159
A son of 'Pollux' (granson Pantani, see above) x Kai-Mook, first Olympiad Pigeon Middle Distance Poznan 2011. (The dam of Kai-Mook is an inbred pigeon with Pantani origins: 'Son Pantani x Prinses'. Prinses is winner of a first Nat. Bourges; she is a full sister of Pollux and thus a granddaughter Pantani). Click here for the full pedigree of 'Son Kai Mook'.
Laon 2,491 p. 5 Momignies 567 p. 10 Argenton Zone 6,099 p. 42 Gien Prov 3,515 p. 60 (19/5) Soissons 792 p. 36 Gien Prov 2,185 p. 96
-‘Halfzus Kai Mook’ BE11-5035167
She is a half sister of Kai-Mook on her father's side. 'Vader Kai-Mook' was purchased at the total auction of Patricia Verhaegen. The dam is a granddaughter Pantani. Click here for the full pedigree.
Montluçon Prov 1,932 p. 5 (17/6) La SOuterraine 4,699 p. 12 Gien Prov 3,515 p. 33 Montluçon Prov 4,424 p. 34 (23/6) Soissons 792 p. 13
-‘Grinta’ BE11-5035202
She has the same sire as the pigeon above, so she is also a half sister of 'Kai-Mook'. Her sire is 'Mrs. Blue Sky', an Olympiad Pigeon Long Distance Dortmund 2009. 'Mrs. Blue Sky' was bred from a son of Pantani, which was coupled with a sister of 'Kleine Dirk Koopman'. This pigeon comes from a joint breeding with F. Mariën. Click here for the full pedigree of 'Grinta'.
Tulle Prov 1,049 p. 1 (9’ los)
Nat Zone C 3,330 p. 1
Nat 10,251 p. 8
Nanteuil 1,783 p. 3 (07/7)
Nanteuil 605 p. 2 (11/8)
Blois Prov 2,077 p. 47
These pigeons belong to a team of about 100 racing pigeons; 50 cocks and 50 hens. They are raced in classic widowhood, which means that the partners stay at home! To avoid the pigeons from pairing with each other the hens are basketed every week, for a flight of 500 to 600 km. They are only basketed for a small middle distance or sprint race if they have had a very tough flight or a postponed race the weekend before. It rarely happens that the pigeons stay at home for a week and Guido knows from experience that it is quite difficult to keep the pigeons from pairing during a week off. The cocks have a flight of 500km or more every two weeks. The fancier noticed that it was not at all a good idea to basket them every week. In fact, they performed less well: the cocks are a lot fitter when they are basketed every two weeks!
The youngsters’ competition is not a priority for this team. The youngsters are played with the sliding door but Guido is very patient with them. He wants to save them for the future, because his main focus is the yearlings’ and old birds’ competition! If a pigeon performs very well in sprint and middle distance races they are basketed for a National race but this is not a necessity. In fact, stock bear ‘Pantani’ did only one national race as a young bird and Kai Mook, the star of the loft, has not raced a single national race as a youngster. Still, the two birds were selected for an Olympiad later on!
Guido does not understand why so many fanciers are using medical products and pills for their pigeons. He thinks this is not at all the road to success. All you need is a strong breed and a very strict selection method. In Tessenderlo all pigeons are vaccinated against paramyxo and smallpox. The old and the young birds get only one treatment against tricho during the season, nothing more – unless advised otherwise by the vet, who checks them regularly. However, the fewer treatments his pigeons need the more prizes they win! In the last few years his breeding pigeons were no longer treated against tricho. Guido learns a lot from the training flights of his pigeons. He can see it when his pigeon are about to reach their best form!
A healthy pigeon that has regular training flights, that is all you need to win top prizes, says Guido. The other pigeons are simply left out! This is the only way to become a national top class fancier. He knows what he is talking about: he has won a lot of great prizes and titles himself! Congratulations! In 2013 there will be 14 national flights for the grand middle distance. This seems perfectly suited for the Loockx-pigeons, who are always outstanding in this discipline. We will not make any predictions but we reckon that Guido Loockx will be the man to watch next season! His team of young and talented racers will be ready for it!