Klaas, his grandson Sten and Rik van Dorp
The 76 year old Klaas and his 53 year old son Rik are pigeon fanciers with a solid reputation in Rotterdam, and in the whole of The Netherlands in recent years as well. Klaas was keeping pigeons at an early age, and his son Rik was destined to get involved in the sport one day as well. In the meantime Klaas’s grandson Sten has also developed an interest in pigeons. He keeps a limited group of pigeons on his own, while offering a helping hand to his father and grandfather. Klaas and Rik started to get serious about their hobbies in 1977, eventually developing into a highly successful team of champions. They have been particularly successful in recent years, winning the titles of 4th national loft champion sprint and Superstar Sprint for pigeon magazine De Duif in 2013. It marked their rise to national fame. 2014 proved an unforgettable season:
3rd National champion middle distance 3rd Ace Pigeon olds WHZB/TBOTB 1st Olympiad Pigeon Budapest with Olympic Mistery (Cat. G) 1st Olympiad Pigeon Budapest with Olympic Gipsy (Cat. H) Winners of Golden Pigeon for De Duif magazine
A section of the lofts with the aviaries
It takes a collection of excellent pigeons to win such renowned titles and championships, and this is clearly the case for this loft. Their current pigeon family is based on three crucial bloodlines. The first one is the old Van Loon breed, obtained from former champion Piet Becht (Rotterdam, NL). Youngsters of “Jaarling Koppel” have been particularly successful in races of up to 400km. The second important bloodline comes from their good friend and great fancier Jan Ouwerkerk (Lekkerkerk, NL). The two lofts obtained and exchanged many pigeons, usually with great success. For instance, Jan Ouwerkerk became national champion in the one day long distance in 2005, and his three strongest cocks that season (the ’83, ’84 and ’69) were heavily based on the Van Dorp breed. The third and final bloodline consists of pigeons of Bart & Jurgen Geerinckx (Wommelgem, BE), whose top class pigeons were introduced here for the first time in 2006. The current generation of racing birds clearly illustrates that these three bloodlines have been a great match. Rik explains: “Our own old breed tends to be somewhat faster in the sprint races but the Geerinkx based pigeons were clearly stronger in the demanding middle distance and one day long distance competition.” Rik and Bart Geerinckx have become close friends over the years, and they hear each other every week. Rik has been getting a lot of advice, which he appreciates a lot. We will be taking a closer look at some of the champions in their collection but we start with an overview of their best results in the past two seasons:
Peronne 247 km 16,716 p.: 5-7-14-26-30-40-52-etc. (77/99 including 48x 1:10) Meaux 350 km 15,713 p.: 3-6-8-16-26-66-99-etc. (63/95 including 43x 1:10) Bourges NPO 558 km 16,992 p.: 9-17-53-69-etc. (19/40 including 11x 1:10) Nanteuil 333 km 6,771 p.: 13-14-21-22-32-55-etc. (51/69 including 34x 1:10) Argenton NPO 631 km 6,926 p.: 1-11-etc. (20/30 including 14x 1:10) Duffel 94 km 1,970 p.: 1-2-3-4-5-6-10-11-21-etc. (38/46 including 25x 1:10) Mantes 380 km 5,943 p.: 9-16-21-53-60-80-87-etc. (31/60 including 18x 1:10) Asse-Zellik 118 km 3,906 p.: 7-8-10-11-12-14-20-etc. (59/77 including 40x 1:10) Asse-Zellik 118 km 5,485 p.: 1-2-3-4-5-20-21-22-25-26-etc. (65/98 including 53x 1:10) Peronne 247 km 2,936 p.: 6-7-13-14-etc. (36/58 including 26x 1:10) Peronne 247 km 2,870 p.: 6-14-16-17-18-30-31-32-40-etc. (39/50 including 25x 1:10) Bourges 558 km 646 p.: 1-11-12-20-30-etc. (12/30 including 6x 1:10) Duffel 94 km 1,484 p.: 2-3-4-5-6-7-18-19-20-21-etc. (41/48 including 28x 1:10) Duffel 94 km 1,955 p.: 2-3-4-6-7-8-9-10-12-etc. (41/50 including 27x 1:10)
The Olympiad pigeons
The real eye catchers in the loft of Klaas and Rik are of course Olympic Gipsy and Olympic Mystery. Both these hens represented The Netherlands in the 2015 Olympiad in Budapest.
Blue whitepen hen Olympic Gipsy was 1st Dutch Olympiad Pigeon category H superior old birds in Budapest, and she was 3rd Ace Pigeon allround in the national WHZB/TBOTB competition. She won 24 prizes in 2013 and 2014, 20 of which were won 1:10. Her best results include:
3rd Meaux 350 km 15,713 pigeons 4th Argenton 631 km 3,148 pigeons 8th Asse-Zellik 118 km 5,669 pigeons 20th Sens 424 km 10,420 pigeons 21st Mantes-la-Jolie 380 km 5,943 pigeons 15th Nanteuil 333 km 3,686 pigeons
Click here for the palmares of Olympic Gipsy. The sire of Olympic Gipsy is Zorba, and the dam of Zorba is a direct Geerinckx pigeon, being a direct daughter of their Geschifte Tom. The dam of Olympic Gipsy is Zinzi, which is in turn a daughter of NL04-110. The 110 has won a 2nd NPO Tours (10,979 p.), a 2nd Ablis (7,299 p.) and a 7th Le Mans (7,464 p.). The dam of Zinzi is a Geerinckx pigeon as well. You can find the full pedigree of Olympic Gipsy here.
The other Olympiad Pigeon of Van Dorp is Olympic Mistery; she was 1st Dutch Olympiad Pigeon in category G superior yearlings. She won a 1st NPO Argenton, along with several other impressive prizes. She won 14 prizes as a one year old, including 12 per ten. These are her best results:
1st NPO Argenton 631 km 6,926 pigeons 7th Peronne 247 km 16,716 pigeons 15th Sens 424 km 10,420 pigeons 9th Mantes-la-Jolie 380 km 5,943 pigeons 13th Nantueil 333 km 6,771 pigeons 8th Quievrain 178 km 3,439 pigeons
Click here for the palmares of Olympic Mistery. This hen again illustrates the successful introduction of the Geerinckx pigeons in this loft. Her sire is a son of Tarzan x Blauw Vierzonneke. Tarzan has won several top prizes as a racing bird, while Blauw Vierzonneke is a full sister of the 1st National Argenton 2012 against 12,447 pigeons. The dam of Olympic Mistery is Lichte Schift, and she comes from the finest bloodlines of the Poelman brothers (Rotterdam, NL). Lichte Schift is also the dam of Miss Troyes, winner of a 7th NPO Bourges (9,376 p.) and a 2nd Troyes (1,110 p.). Click here for the pedigree of Olympic Mistery.
Klaas and Rik bred pigeons from these two champions for the first time in 2015:
Youngsters of Olympic Gipsy:
NL15-007 10th of 2,449 p. (7 prizes in 11 races) NL15-008 5th of 2,449 p. and 11th of 2,645 p. (6 prizes in 11 races) NL15-128 9th of 2,449 p. NL15-129 31st of 2,498 p.
Youngsters of Olympic Mystery:
NL15-130 31st of 3,815 p. (6 prizes in 11 races) NL15-131 84th of 3,815 p. (6 prizes in 11 races)
The Kleine Jan dynasty
NL04-2082680 Kleine Jan
In addition to these two champions, Kleine Jan has proven to be an invaluable pigeon in this loft as well. This cock comes from a daughter of the renowned H8 pair of Jan Ouwerkerk. This pair also bred the 83 and 84 of Jan Ouwerkerk, with which Jan won the title of National Loft Champion one day long distance in 2005 (see earlier). Click here for the full pedigree of Kleine Jan. Direct youngsters of Kleine Jan have won an impressive 13 first prizes in major races. His descendants illustrate once again the successful introduction of the Geerinckx breed: a number of youngsters of Kleine Jan were paired to pigeons of Geerinckx, and they have won several top prizes as well. We take a look at some of these youngsters and their prize winning descendants:
NL10-091 Lilly (dochter Kleine Jan)
1st Lille 14,159 p. 1st Nijvel 2,103 p. 3rd Duffel 4,707 p. 6th Peronne 9,251 p. etc.
Lilly was paired to a 50% Geerinckx pigeon, and she is now the dam of:
Miss Bourges: 7th NPO Bourges 13,592 p.
Sara: 1st Duffel 1,024 p.
2nd Asse-Zellik 2,970 p.
6th Duffel 1,970 p.
19th Meaux 15,713 p.
20th Asse-Zellik 3,906 p.
etc.
Sammy: 1st Asse-Zellik 2,970 p.
4th Quievrain 3,439 p.
7th Peronne 2,971 p.
8th Peronne 9,955 p.
etc.
NL10-092 Duffy (daughter Kleine Jan)
Duffy won a 1st Duffel (2,725 p.), a 3rd Peronne (9,251 p.) and a 7th Peronne (16,771 p.). She was also paired to a direct Geerinckx cock, with which she became the dam of NL13-1208013 Bayli. You can find the full pedigree of Bayli here.
NL13-1208013 Bayli
Bayli was 15th National Ace Pigeon middle distance in 2014, and has won the following top prizes:
1st Peronne 2,973 p. 3rd Duffel 1,970 p. 5th Duffel 3,267 p. 6th Meaux 15,713 p. 6th Peronne 2,897 p. 9th Quievrain 1,022 p. 16th Mantes 5,943 p. 21st Nantueil 6,671 p. 24th Sens 10,420 p.
An overview of Bayli's palmares can be found here.
NL12-844 Amy (daughter Kleine Jan)
1st Duffel 1,970 p. 2nd Peronne 10,824 p. 2nd Pommeroeul 3,162 p. 7th Nivelles 4,309 p. 10th Asse-Zellik 5,669 p. 10th Nanteuil 2,614 p. 14th Nanteuil 6,771 p. 16th Duffel 2,097 p. 27th Peronne 5,478 p. 27th Quivrain 3,439 p. etc.
NL11-201 Evy (daughter Kleine Jan)
1st Pommeroeul 842 p. 3rd Peronne 8,762 p. 12th Peronne 9,251 p. 14th Pommeroeul 3,162 p. etc.
She was 3rd Ace Pigeon in Province 5 Rayon West already as a young bird, and she became 1st Ace Pigeon Province 5 Rayon West in 2014 as a one year old.
NL09-909 Benny (son Kleine Jan)
5th Nijvel 5,484 p. 6th Duffel 4,707 p. 8th Nanteuil 14,669 p. 9th Pommeroeul 1,432 p. 21st Strombeek 3,284 p. etc.
Four first prizes have been won so far with youngsters of Benny.
To conclude
As you can tell from this overview, Kleine Jan is an invaluable pigeon in this breed. Kleine Jan’s descendants, along with the successful introduction of Geerinckx, have enabled Klaas and Rik to achieve great success, making them a nationally renowned loft. It goes without saying that they will continue to breed new generations of prize winners in the season to come. In addition, they did a few joint breedings with two Olympiad Hens and a number of breeding cocks of Bart Geerinckx this season. You can tell that these fanciers have a great passion for pigeons: Klaas is the silent force and Rik is dedicated to achieve success. They are always looking to do better but they are satisfied with their current results as well. Rik really enjoyed his visit to the Budapest Olympiad with Bart Geerinckx. He also enjoyed the attention that his pigeons received over the course of the season, but he is glad that they can now focus on keeping and raising pigeons again.