Herman Calon has everything it takes to be a great champion, even though we do not know what that is exactly. He is never satisfied: if he wins five prizes in a row he will try to win even more the next time. He is not really interested in pedigrees, unless it is about top quality pigeons. This brings us to the essence of his loft; good quality pigeons! This is something Herman has gained a great understanding of and it has allowed him to create a successful pigeon breed. In recent seasons this pigeon family has been winning numerous first prizes, both at club level and national level! Herman was forced to pull down his garden sheds (see picture below) in late 2012 so he took the difficult decision to sell his best breeders and racing pigeons for the races of 100-700km on PIPA.
If you are as successful as Herman, it is not an easy task to find further reinforcements for your team. If he decides to purchase new pigeons he will look for special pigeons: pigeons he thinks are unique; pigeons with greater potential, especially as racers. However, we have noticed that a successful loft is more than just a collection of good quality pigeons. You need a good system and a proficient fancier if you want your pigeons to perform well and to be successful. Herman Calon is always focused on his pigeons. The retired fancier takes care of his pigeons from 6 o’clock in the morning until 10 o’clock in the evening. Isn’t that terrific?
Of course it is. A conversation with a fancier like Herman is always inspiring: he tells you what pigeon racing is all about. Herman is known for his versatility and his all round pigeons. They fly very well from distances between 100 and 1,000km. For instance, he won top prizes in the races from Pau and Cahors in 2011, which are marathon races for Herman. 2012 was a great season in the overnight races as well.
At the end of the day there is only one thing that matters: the results and the achievements. That is what makes a pigeon fancier successful. The achievements of Herman give us a good idea of what has been going on in his loft in the last few years. That is why we give you an overview of the best races of Herman Calon and his amazing pigeons, which have won several first prizes in 2012. In fact his biggest opponent is himself, simply because he wins so many prizes in a row. It is self-evident that these successes result in titles as well. To keep things simple we have only included the greatest successes of the 2012 season.
Achievements in 2012:
Pommeroeul against 225 pigeons: 1,4,5,7,13,14,16,25,29,30 etc 15/34
Morlincourt against 276 pigeons: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,9,10,11,12,15,16,17,18,etc 37/57
Morlincourt against 1,471 pigeons: 1,6,9,13,20,21,28,31,38,51,59,etc 37/57
Dax against 68 pigeons: 1,3,16 etc 3/7 =
16th + 84th Provincial against 1145 pigeons
Peronne against 235 pigeons: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,11,12,18,20,22,23,24,25,etc 31/66
La Souterraine against 79 pigeons: 1,3,5,6,7,8,9,11,13,17,20,etc 11/20
Quievrain against 336 pigeons: 1,9,10,15,30,33,34,35,36,43,44,45,47,etc 22/71
Morlincourt against 149 pigeons: 1,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,18,etc 19/40
Peronne against 48 pigeons: 1,6,7,10,11 etc 5/ 17
Quievrain against 650 pigeons: 1,37,40,63,98,etc 8 /21
Quievrain against 183 pigeons: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,15,18, etc 32/61
Breuil le Vert against 102 pigeons: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,- t/m 25.. etc 25/49
Sens against 155 pigeons: 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9,11,13,15,19,20,23,24, etc 23/48
Orleans against 91 pigeons: 1,2,3,4,5,8,11,12,14,19,22,23, etc 12/36
Niergnies against 295 pigeons: 1,3,4,5,6,7,9,10,12,15,16,18,22,23,etc 40/73
Bourges against 100 pigeons: 1,4,5,7,9,11,13,14,15,19,20,23 12/28
Morlincourt against 61 pigeons: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,11,12,13,14,16,etc 14/28
Mantes la Jolie against 900 pigeons: 2,3,23,40,44,61,93 etc. 16/38
Breuil le Vert against 775 pigeons: 2,3,4,5,6,8,13,14,15,16,18,19,20 etc 34/49
Gien against 119 pigeons: 2,3,5,6,7,15,16,17,20,21,22,23,28,etc 13/29
Chateaudun against 137 pigeons: 2,4,8,9,15,18,24,25,27,30,etc 12/29
Mantes la Jolie against 173 pigeons: 2,4,9,11,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,etc 21/40
Morlincourt against 723 pigeons: 2,4,16,18,19,27,40,46,48,53,etc 17/28
Argenton against 92 pigeons: 2,5,7,11,12,14,18,19,21, 9 /29
Tarbes against 56 pigeons: 3,4,8,11 4/ 8
Breuil le V against 217 pigeons: 3,4,5,7,9,10,11,12,15,16,17,18,21,23 etc 28/57
Orleans against 668 pigeons: 3,6,17,57,58,72,92,etc 9 /36
Sens against 1035 pigeons: 3,5,8,13,17,18,19,20,28,34,38,38,68,etc 28/48
Chateauroux against 104 pigeons: 3,5,6,7,8,9,11,13,17,23,25,26,etc 12/38
Peronne against 1,099 pigeons: 4,6,7,33,57,61,73,76,77,78,79,83,etc 35/74
Breuil le V against 1,286 pigeons: 4,14,27,41,46,48,49,51,64,67,70 etc 32/57
As in every loft, the prizes are won by the best pigeons. The best racers in this loft mostly originate from other first prize winners or from very successful pigeon families. This is the most important feature of the Calon loft: it is a homogeneous high performance breed based on the principle of winners breed winners. Herman crosses good quality pigeons with each other and that is what has made him General Champion in Region 1 district Zeeland from 1999 to 2012. It is of course a privilege to be working with such pigeons but he has been working very hard for it in the last few years. He is always looking for better and more unique pigeons, with the will to win and of course a strong body, plumage and character! This auction includes the best racing and breeding pigeons from Herman for the races between 100 and 700km. This is a great opportunity for every ambitious and enterprising fancier (Click here to go to the auction).
The best pigeons of Calon:
We have said before that great performances are usually made by great pigeons. This pigeon family is no exception: it is mainly based on pigeons of Koen Minderhoud (Gaby Vandenabeele) and the Calon breed itself. His last reinforcement was a great success: he added pigeons of Willem de Bruijn from Reeuwijk; more about that later.
(Click here for the pedigrees of: De Crack - Den Sezanne - Den Peronne )
Miss Tours is a great example of the successful combination of Calon x Minderhoud! She won a second NPO Tours and several national/NPO top prizes.
(Click here for the pedigree of Miss Tours)
Herman knew that the pigeons of Willem De Bruijn are highly valuable. The introduction of these pigeons in his loft resulted in the following top class pigeon!
(Click here for the pedigree of Super Willem)
This loft is easy to summarise: this is a top class pigeon family! It has won an impressive number of first prizes with high quality pigeons! Herman Calon is a great fancier. The fact that he is now selling his best racers and breeders does not mean that his opponents will be winning more easily.