Christian van de Wetering
In great form
It is safe to say that the pigeon breed of Christian are in great form, with his racing birds being among the top finishers in all five races in Province 7 Central Holland so far. He has really left a mark on the early season, claiming three first prizes, two second places and a third spot. And his prize percentages have been on the rise as well: he won 34 prizes from Nanteuil with 40 basketed pigeons (1:4). This has been a great start to the season indeed - here is a look at his results in the first five races of 2018:
14-04 Asse-Zellik 115 km 2091 p. 1-2-3-4-32-33-35-38-39-etc.(22/42) (Region C1) 21-04 Lessines 150 km 4091 p. 2-7-8-19-45-90-etc.(23/41) (Region C) 28-04 Lessines 150 km 4254 p. 1-32-81-etc.(19/40) (Region C) 05-05 Peronne 256 km 4093 p. 3-8-17-26-29-31-48-49-67-70-71-73-etc.(28/41) (Region C) 12-05 Nanteuil 337 km 3607 p. 1-6-17-21-22-26-36-53-54-60-etc.(34/40) (Region C)
Based on Hooymans
Being a member of the team of Jan Hooymans (Kerkdriel, NL), Christian is fortunate to have access to Jan's invaluable team of breeders. The winner in the most recent race from Nanteuil shows that champions breed champions: the winner in Region C is the fantastic looking racing cock NL16-1663129. This 129, which was bred in the lofts of Hooymans, is one of Christian's favourite racing cocks today. His dam is NL10-1864745 Mother Car Winner. As her name suggests, she is the dam of the winner of a car race in the SAMPDR (Puch 2012). The 10-745 is a daughter of stock pair Jonge Bliksem x Dirkje, which makes her a sister of the renowned Harry. Click here for the full pedigree.
Racing bird 16-129 does have a few tricks up his sleeve: he also won a 3rd NPO Issoudun in Province 7 of 2895 pigeons as a one year old in 2016, while also finishing in 3rd place in the Northern Union of 6604 pigeons.
Yearlings
Christian's one year olds have been doing great as well, as you can tell from the results in Nanteuil, where an impressive 15 yearlings win a prize of 1:10. The leader of this team is racing hen NL17-1410710 (6th of 3607 pigeons). She is a daughter of New Harry, which makes her yet another highly talented Hooymans descendant.
NL14-1219811 New Harry, a top breeder of Jan Hooymans, the sire of 17-710 (6th Nanteuil 3607 p.)
Victories in Asse-Zellik and Lessines
Christian enjoyed the sweet taste of victory twice this season already: Asse-Zellik (14/04) in Region C1 and Lessines (28/04) in Region C. What is remarkable about these two victories is that they were won by one and the same hen: NL15-1839396 New Nationaaltje. And she has another top result to her name as well, with a 7th Lessines (21/04) of 4091 pigeons. She is a racing hen with plenty of potential, which she demonstrated in the PIPA ranking of 2016:
6th Best yearling in The Netherlands 10th Ace Pigeon Olds in The Netherlands
And she became 2nd Ace Pigeon in Region C with 16 prizes that season as well.
NL15-1839396 New Nationaaltje, 2 victories in 2018
She did not disappoint
Christian had great confidence in this racing hen, and she did not disappoint. She was part of the collection in Christian's total sale on PIPA in November 2016. The new owner sadly passed away, and his newly obtained pigeons were offered for sale again. Christian repurchased his New Nationaaltje, which he granted the last spot in his racing team. Keep in mind this hen had spent an entire winter in the PIPA transit lofts in Knesselare, which makes her achievements all the more impressive. Click here for New Nationaaltje's pedigree.
Promising
As we all know, great results from the past do not automatically lead to great results in the future. Still, the fact that Christian's pigeons are top contenders in province 7 on a weekly basis inevitably lead to high expectations. His pigeons had to race in all wind directions and in high and low temperatures in the early season, with the speeds of the winning pigeons ranging from 1175 m/min to 1824 m/min, which says a lot. We are confident there is a lot more to come from Christian.