It is hard to ignore the extensive list of achievements of the Vanhee family from Wervik, which allows them to play a key role both at the national and international middle distance. Taking a look at the numerous top-results at the Ten Brielensteenweg in Wervik, we came to the following summary, a spectacular number of victories over a period of almost 80 years and over three generations of top-class sport:
21x 1° National victories 2 x 1° International victories 16x 2° National 4x National Champion middle distance KBDB 2x General Belgian Champion KBDB 3x winner of Olympic golden medal 2x winner of Olympisch silver medal
To this day, the Vanhee-pigeons keep their place at the top of international racing, simply because numerous other lofts have been making considerable progress thanks to the Vanhee pigeons. At national level for instance: the family Norman, the family Gyselbrecht, loft A.D.L. Derweduwen, Roger Florizoone, Guido Vandenbulcke, Luc Vancoppenolle, Jef Deridder, Eric Limbourg, just to name a few. But also at international level: Bucher (Switserland), Günter Nies, Peter Grup and Peter Trost (Germany), superstar Marcel Braakhuis and Wilfried Stiel (The Netherlands), whose ‘Lana’ has won ‘Best international Barcelona pigeon 2007’ for the Netherlands over five years Barcelona, and whose ‘Leonardo’ won 1° national ace pigeon Perpignan 2003-2007 (over five years’ time), etc. These lofts all owe many of their successes to the Vanhee stock. And one of the most renowned and well-known breeding lines of today, the “Dream Couple” De Rauw-Sablon, has some Vanhee-origins as well, namely the golden ‘Motta’-line. The ‘Albert’ (the cock of the ‘Dream Couple’) is the result of inbred of the famous ace pigeon ‘Deridder’ (2 times 1° Prov Ace pigeon middle distance), whose pedigree two times includes the ‘Geschelpte Brive 819/78’. And he was in his turn bred from the ‘Motta Vanhee’ of Roger Florizoone! This also links to the Vanhee-origins at the lofts of both the late Jef Deridder and the late Roger Florizoone, who have both been able to reach the international top at the middle distance thanks to Vanhee. There is also Erik Limbourg, who won national victories in 1991 with 1° and 2° National ace pigeon middle distance KDB, which his strain mother ‘Vaal Motta 157/83 (directly from the ‘Motta’-line Jef Deridder) had a great share in. And she later became grandmother of the renowned ‘Golden Pair’ from Limbourg! This demonstrates the considerable impact of Vanhee pigeons on international pigeon racing, obviously not only for Gerard and Michel Vanhee, but also for all the lofts mentioned above... even to this day!
Some of the current success can be found with (grand)daughter Annemie, who plays under the name of A&M to honour her father. She represent the third generation of the Vanhee family. However, her loft could best be described as a colony in the making, with obvious Vanhee-origins. Father Michel and grandfather Gerard created a colony based on true winners and ace pigeons. Initially, Gerard used to cross top-pigeons most of the time, whereas his son Michel later tried to really embed the features of their pigeons into the stem through inbred and line breeding (turning super cracks into super breeders). We have witnessed this in various loft reports and in the pedigrees of several ace pigeons. The characteristics of their pigeons are always there, sometimes skipping a generation, but then coming to the surface again in the following generation. When both grandfather Gerard and father Michel deceased after a car-crash in 1998, Annemie decided to take over their work, continuing the legacy of Vanhee pigeons. Before the auctioning of all the Vanhee-pigeons in 1999, Annemie managed to breed a round of late youngsters, which then provided a basis for her own stem. That way, she was able to save some of the valuable heritage. She obtained descendants from some of the best top lines, such as ‘Atoom’, (winner of 1° Nat. Mimoges), ‘Motta’ (a top flyer and super breeder), ‘Patrick’, (golden medal at Olympiade Katowice), ‘Napoleon’ (1° Intern. Narbonne) and the old ‘Janssen’-line (line ‘Tobias’: 2° Nat. La Souterraine). Meanwhile, her own stem lines were reinforced with pigeons with Florizoone-origins (for instance the ‘Freddy’-line, with clear Vanhee-origins), which proved to be an instant success! More recently, some new blood lines were introduced, such as Marcel Aelbrecht, De Rauw-Sablon (grandchild Freddy – inbred Freddy), Etienne Meirlaen, Xavier and Raoul Verstraete (a son of Xtra 1° national Cahors 2008 and a hen from the provincial ace pigeon 2011 Magic Ace), B. De Ceuninck (Koopman x Prange, Silver Shadow), Stefan Steenbergen (Zoon Iron Man). Some fresh lines that are to be crossed with the inhouse stem.
Annemie sought and found her place in pigeon racing, and she proved that she is a competent fancier. She actually started in 2001 with the young pigeons. It is of course time-consuming to build up a middle distance-colony from zero, and yet, Annemie already impressed at the middle distance and even the heavy middle distance, not the easiest of disciplines in pigeon racing... This became clear to her in the past seasons: in a number of very difficult races, all of her middle distance racers had their share of bad luck. But fanciers can always put this in a perspective, and so, she did not get deceived by a number of hard races. She actually finished the season with a number of victories and ace pigeons:
1° middle distance Marathon lokaal Ieper (Barcelona – Cahors – Libourne) with 6 out of 6 1° series with 1-2-3 Barcelona 1 ace pigeon Old Ch-Club (only pigeon with 4/4) with BE08-3108567 ‘Potlood Vale Prins II’ 1 ace pigeon yearlings Ch-Club (Bordeaux – Narbonne) 1° Blois young 199 p.
The pigeons with the largest share in these titles can be found below:
-‘Potlood Vale Prins Jr.’ BE05-3105240
Limoges Yl 2006 730° nat. Zone A 7.467 p. 860° nat. 15.504 p. Châteauroux 2007 49° reg. 1.108 p. Montauban 2007 20° reg. 238 p. 293° nat. Zone A 2.101 p. 947° nat. 6.187 p. Montauban2008 8° reg. 223 p. 23° prov. 831 p. 30° national 5.448 p. Brive 2008 283° prov. 1746 p. 2926° nat. 14.521 p. Tarbes 2008 645° nat. 4.660 p. 1179° internat. 12.537 p. Perpignan 2008 44° reg. 413 p. 838° nat. 7.603 p. Brive 2009 763° nat.. zone A 6.089 p. 1007° nat. 17.446 p. Tarbes 2009 31° reg. 428 p. 141° prov. 1.185 p. 491° nat. 4.812 p. 1045° internat. 12.849 p. Perpignan 2009 199° prov. 1.395 p. 962° nat. 7.364 p. 1704° interna. 18.354 p. Montauban 2010 33° reg. 325 p. 131° prov. 1.108 p. 244° nat. Zone A 2.597 p. 387° nat. 6.654 p. Tarbes 2010 280° prov. 1.104 p. 978° nat. 4.576 p. 2395° nat. 15.035 p. Perpignan 2010 15° reg. 252 p. 64° prov. 1163 p. 274° nat. 6.257 p. 394° internat. 15.756 p. Châteauroux 2011 1732° prov. 5.500 p. (A pedigree can be found here)
-‘Potlood Vale Prins II’ BE08-3108567
Full brother of ‘Potlood Vale Prins’ BE05-3105240
1° ace pigeon Ch-Club 2011 Oude (only pigeon with 4/4) Châteauroux 2011 1521° Prov. 5.500 p. Limoges 2011 684° prov. 3.421 p. 1185° nat. Zone A 8.120 p. 1631 nat. 19.373 p. Montauban 2011 245° prov. 1.393 p. 588° nat . 9.091 p. Tarbes-Agen 2011 78° prov. 1.155 p. 296° nat. 4.818 p. 707° internat. 10.695 p.
-‘Geschelpt Bambinootje’ BE10-3110590
Clermont young 2010 15° reg. 487 p. Châteauroux 2011 6° reg. 805 p. 51° prov. 4.072 p. 121° nat. Zone A 10.587 p. 227° nat. 25.263 p. Argenton 2011 3° reg. 617 p. 17° prov. 3.125 p. 41° nat. Zone A 8.000 p. 101° nat. 19.782 p. (A pedigree can be found here)
-‘Blauwe Atoom-Bambino’ BE05-3105207
Ablis 2006 9° reg. 238 old 5° reg. 155 yl. Châteauroux 2007 234° reg. 1.108 p. Montauban 2007 16° reg. 238 p. 205° nat. Zone A 2.101 p. 718° nat. 6.187 p. Châteauroux 2008 655° prov. 3.709 p. Brive 2008 34° reg. 409 p. 231° prov. 1.746 p. 736° nat. Zone A 4.381 p. 2531° nat. 14.521 p. Montauban 2008 785° nat. 5.448 p. Châteauroux 2009 40° reg. 777 p. 261° prov. 4.293 p. Montauban 2009 5° regional 346 p. 30° prov. 1.105 p. 62° nat. Zone A 2.583 p. 151° nat. 7.203 p. Tarbes 2009 71° reg. 428 p. 286° prov. 1.185 p. 953° nat. 4.812 p. 1934° international 12.849 p. Perpignan 2009 233° prov. 1.395 p. 1076° nat. 7.364 p. 1877° internat. 18.354 p. Brive 2010 8° regional 904 p. 29° prov. 2.868 p. 50° nat. Zone A 6.470 p. 80° nat. 16.815 p. Montauban 2010 4° reg. 325 p. 14° prov. 1.108 p. 31° nat. Zone A 2.597 p. 45° nat. 6.654 p. Limoges 2011 36° reg. 995 p. 131° prov. 3.421 p. 209° nat. Zone A 8.120 p. 282° nat. 19.373 p. Montauban 2011 268° prov. 1.393 p. 673° nat. 9.091 p. (A pedigree can be found here)
-‘Flipper’ BE06-3106628 :
Bred from the Stichelbaut-line (yzeren Kennedy) x Vale Prins jr.
Montauban 2008 2° reg. 223 p. 7° prov. 831 p. 8° nat. 5.448 p. Tarbes 2008 248° national 4.660 p. 423° internat. 12.537 p. Châteauroux 2009 63° reg. 777 p. 449° prov. 4.293 p. Brive 2009 704° nat. Zone A 6.089 p. 917° nat. 17.446 p. Tarbes 2009 5° regional 428 p. 29° prov. 1.185 p. 96 ° national 4.812 p. 203 ° internat 12.849 p. Châteauroux 2010 41° regional 756 p. Montauban 2010 936° nat. 6.654 p. Châteauroux 2011 40° reg. 954 p. 240° prov. 5.500 p. Montauban 2011 640° nat. 9.091 p. (A pedigree can be found here)
This is only a small selection of the top-pigeons in the flying lofts of Annemie Vanhee, some of which will soon move to the breeding loft, to hopefully reinforce the colony. For the 2012 season, a total of about 70 race pigeons (including old pigeons and yearlings) and about 30 breeding couples will provide some fresh blood in the young colony. These pigeons are ready to give their best in the 2012 season, and to continue the success stories of Vanhee pigeons. Good luck Annemie!
Most important results for 2011 Vanhee A&M - Wervik
Limoges 4-06-2011 old birds National 19.373 p. : 282 – 533-1004-1426-1428-1631-1898-1910-1978-2006-2491- 2627-2782-2844-3069-3604-3606-3941-4303-4653 (20/46 per 4-tal) Montauban 26-06-2011 National 9.091 p. : 588 –640 –673 –818 -1084 –1129 –1269 –1625 –2230 (9/15) Libourne 25-06-2011 Regional 405 yl : 18 – 28 – 43 – 50 – 71 – 108 -134 (7/14) 3 Prov. 243 yl. : 20 – 33 – 51 – 55 – 80 Provincial 1245 yl. : 81 – 139 – 190 – 216 – 332 Zone A 2833 yl. : 152 – 294 – 420 - 474 National 8269 yl. : 201 – 452 – 725 – 828 – 1676 Bordeaux 02-07-2011 old birds Regional 223 p. : 13 – 46 (2/5) Provincial 927 p. : 59 - 200 National 4866 p. : 151 - 610 Internat. 10622 p. : 212 – 876 Bordeaux 02-07-2011 yearlings Regional 358 yl : 30 – 38 – 58 – 79 – 86 (5/9) Provincial 1045 yl : 142 – 161 – 271 - 348 National 6215 yl : 567 – 653 – 1397 Barcelona 08-07-2011 Regional 652 p. : 41 – 61 – 64 – 89 – 115 – 170 – 214 (7/14) Provincial 1833 p. : 140 – 208 – 215 – 287 – 351 – 512 National 12170 p. 2183 – 2634 – 2677 – 3010 Perpignan 07-08-2011 Regional 183 p. : 14 – 19 – 33 (3/4) Provincial 973 p. : 97 – 129 – 205 Narbonne 30-07-2011 yearlings Regional 372 p. : 16 – 56 -75 – 76 – 89 -91- 110 (7/12) Provincial 1137 p. : 51 – 211 – 285 – 289 – 324 – 327 – 368 3 Prov. 255 P : 16 – 49 – 72 – 74 – 83 - 85 National 7027 p. : 227 – 1155 – 1536 - 1555 International 9966 p. : 313 – 1537 – 2073 – 2100 – 2419 - 2439 Narbonne 30-07-2011 old birds Regional 234 p. :16-40-64 (3/6) Provincial 1980 p. : 154 - 404 National 6428 p. : 282 – 849 - 1426 International 17036 p. : 568 – 1518 - 2574 Ablis 25-06-2011 young birds Regional 500 p. : 6 – 8 – 9 – 15 – 23 – 24 – 25 – 29 - 34- 38 – 39– 47 – 57 – 62 – 63 – 67 – 68 –77 –78 –79 –80 –82 –88 –94 ….. (43/82) Blois 09-07-2011 young birds Regional 273 p. : 3 –4 –8 –9 –14–15–16–21–24–25–28–29–30 …. Blois 23-07-2011 young birds Regional 199 p.: 1–4–9–10–19–20–27–30–39–40–40–49–50– 51–52–54–57–60–61–64–65 (23/56)
Top-100 national Annemie Vanhee :
8° Nat. Montauban ’08 5.448 p. 30° Nat. Montauban ’08 5.448 p. 10° Nat. Cahors ’08 5.441 p. 41° Nat. St-Vincent ’08 8.393 p. 45° Nat. Montauban ’10 6.654 p. 80° Nat. Brive ’10 16.815 p. 96° Nat. Tarbes ’09 4.812 p.