Peter, with his daughter Gwen and his father Arie
Peter van de Merwe has been a household name in The Netherlands for decades, having won numerous national and provincial first prizes over the years. He claimed an impressive 21 victories in the NPO competition since 1987, and he gained an international reputation with his outstanding breeders, including Replay. Peter and his daughter Gwen sold their entire collection of breeding and (old) racing birds to make a fresh start in 2015, with nothing but a group of yearlings. Peter started the season with a team of 102 pigeons and Gwen had 26 racing birds, which were all raced in double widowhood. It was agreed to take great care of this racing team, which is founded on the bloodlines that made Peter world famous. Only a limited group of pigeons was basketed for the two one day long distance races, which are usually the most important goals for Peter and Gwen. Despite a lack of experience one of their pigeons won a 1st National Chateauroux (591km) against 37,819 pigeons. Peter also won a first prize in the demanding NPO race from Ruffec (722km) against 4,133 pigeons. In fact, he won a 1st, 3rd and 4th in the teletext race from Nanteuil against 15,640 pigeons. The young birds had a great season as well. These are his best results of 2015:
Chateauroux NPO 5,907 p.: 1-10-27-28-32-33-41-51-58-63-64-67-79-95-99-etc. (33/55) Ruffec NPO 4,133 p.: 1-10-12-14-26-32-46-55-61-69-81-89-etc. (20/45) Nanteuil NPO 15,640 p.: 1-3-4-etc. Quievrain 2,993 p.: 1-3-4-6-9-16-28-29-35-41-46-50-53-54-55-58-68-69-71-etc. (62/123) Asse-Zellik 2,155 p.: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-14-34-36-41-42-46-58-etc. (46/65) Duffel 1,064 p.: 1-2-3-4-8-9-12-13-16-21-22-23-24-25-26-27-28-30-etc. (66/104) Nantueil 2,192 p.: 1-4-6-7-8-9-15-16-17-18-23-24-25-26-27-30-32-34-40-42-43-55-56-etc. (77/113) Pont-St.-Max. 6,152 p.: 2-6-7-8-11-13-19-20-22-23-29-31-39-40-43-46-51-59-etc. (80/105) Morlincourt 2,366 p.: 3-6-8-1217-19-21-23-25-26-29-30-39-40-41-49-51-60-64-68-etc. (70/115)
Gwen:
Duffel 1,064 p.: 5-6-7-10-11-14-15-18-20-38-39-etc. (23/28) Duffel 2,637 p.: 1st and fastest in the release in Prov. 5 Duffel 3,544 p.: 1st Peronne 941 p.: 1st Peronne 602 p: 1st Nantueil 545 p.: 1st Pt.-St.-Maxence 445 p.: 1st Nantueil 364 p.: 1st (and 2nd 21,853 p.)
This overview shows that they won two victories in the NPO and a national first prize with their yearlings. We introduce you to the winners of a 1st NPO Nanteuil, a 1st National Chateauroux and a 1st NPO Ruffec.
NL14-1061646 Rivaldo (1st NPO Nanteuil)
Rivaldo won a first prize from Nanteuil against 15,640 pigeons. The sire of Rivaldo is United, 2nd National Ace Pigeon Young Birds TBOTB in 2009. The dam of Rivaldo is Natalie, a daughter of super class breeder Replay. Click here for the full pedigree of Rivaldo.
NL14-1061493 Jara (1st National Chateauroux)
Jara claimed a national first prize from Chateauroux against 37,819 pigeons. This hen had already shown her potential earlier on with a 12th NPO Nanteuil against 16,722 pigeons. Click here for the pedigree of Jara.
NL14-1061575 Alivierro (1st NPO Ruffec)
Alivierro came in first in the demanding race from Ruffec, covering 722km in ten hours and 15 minutes, with a velocity of 1175 mpm. It was not his first important achievement, as you can tell from his palmares so far:
1st NPO Ruffec 4,133 p. 8th Prov. 5 Peronne 19,772 p. 11th NPO Nanteuil 16,722 p. 11th Asse-Zellik 556 p. 13th Pont-St.-Max. 445 p. 44th Morlincourt 11,191 p.
The sire of Alivierro is Big John Jr. and he comes from Guy van der Auwera (Gooreind/Wuustwezel, BE). The dam of Alivierro is Fenna, and she is another daughter of Replay. You can find the full pedigree of Alivierro here.
A successful team of young birds as well
The team of yearlings has been in great form but Peter's young birds have had a great season as well. His young birds won the following prizes at national level:
1st Ace Pigeon Young Birds PIPA ranking (6 prizes) 3rd Ace Pigeon Young Birds PIPA ranking (6 prizes) 11th Ace Pigeon Young Birds PIPA ranking (6 prizes) 7th Ace Pigeon Old Birds Sprint/Middle Distance PIPA ranking (10 prizes) 2nd Golden Pigeon winner The Netherlands 1st Golden Pigeon winner Junior (Gwen) 2nd National Ace Pigeon Young Birds WT (formerly known as the WHZB/TBOTB) 4th National Ace Pigeon Young Birds WT 7th National Loft Champion Aangewezen Jonge Duiven (Peter) 8th National Loft Champion Aangewezen Jonge Duiven (Gwen)
Gwen won an additional six top three prizes in the national young birds' championships.
As you can see, this racing team won a 1st, 3rd and 11th prize in the category ace pigeon young birds and a 7th prize in the category old birds sprint/middle distance PIPA rankings. We will take a closer look at the pigeons that won these championship prizes.
NL15-1708672 Jill
Jill became Best Ace Pigeon Young Birds PIPA ranking 2015 (6 prizes), and she also won a 4th prize in the national WT competition (the former WHZB and TBOTB). She finished in first place in the PIPA ranking thanks to the following results:
2nd Duffel 79 km 2,355 p. 1st Duffel 79 km 1,064 p. 13th Pt.-St.-Maxence 316 km 11,162 p. 25th Nanteuil-le-H. 326 km 14,183 p. 18th Troyes 393 km 7,553 p. 12th Asse-Zellik 106 km 1,306 p.
Both the sire and dam of Jill come from the loft of Guy van der Auwera (Gooreind/Wuustwezel, BE). Click here for the full pedigree of Jill.
NL15-1708827 Adele
Adele became 3rd Ace Pigeon Young Birds PIPA Ranking 2015, having won the following prizes:
2nd Pt.-St.-Maxence 316 km 11,162 p. 10th Morlincourt 275 km 15,984 p. 24th Nanteuil-le-H. 326 km 14,183 p. 2nd Duffel 79 km 1,064 p. 28th Quievrain 170 km 2,993 p. 25th Quievrain 170 km 1,208 p.
This pigeon won a second prize in the national WT competition as well. The sire of Adele is another pigeon of Guy van der Auwera. The dam of Adele is a daughter of the renowned breeder Replay, which has already bred numerous big champions. Click here for the pedigree of Adele.
NL15-1708728
The 728 finished in 11th place in the PIPA ranking. The sire is Darwin, winner of numerous top prizes. He is a grandson of top breeder Replay. The dam of 728 is Olivia, winner of a 1st Tours (327 p.), a 1st Nanteuil (562 p.) and a 1st Vierzon (204 p.). Olivia is a granddaughter of that same Replay. Click here for the pedigree of the 728, which finished in 11th place in the PIPA rnaking for Ace Pigeon Young Birds with the following prizes:
19th Moeskroen 154 km 22,012 p. 3rd Quievrain 170 km 1,208 p. 49th Troyes 393 km 7,553 p. 3rd St.-Quentin 239 km 439 p. 143rd Morlincourt 275 km 15,984 p. 322nd Pt.-St.-Maxence 316 km 11,162 p.
NL14-1061592 Makke Bontje
As we said, Peter and Gwen were successful in the PIPA ranking for Best Sprint-Middle Distance Pigeon (10 prizes) as well. Their top class pigeon Makke Bontje, which is raced by Gwen, won an impressive 7th place thanks to the following palmares:
1st Duffel 79 km 2,637 p. (and the fastest of the entire release of 12,000 pigeons) 3rd Nanteuil-le-H. 326 km 6,295 p. 6th Nanteuil-le-H. 326 km 3,306 p. 2nd Duffel 79 km 1,023 p. 8th Nanteuil-le-H. 326 km 2,235 3rd Duffel 79 km 753 p. 6th Duffel 79 km 1,243 p. 12th Peronne 243 km 2,247 p. 22nd Quievrain 170 km 1,208 p. 115th Quievrain 170 km 4,117 p.
The sire of Makke Bontje is a 100% Leo Heremans pigeon of the Van Toor brothers (Vlaardingen, NL). The dam is Flora, and she comes from Son Cocktail x Louise. Click here for the full pedigree of Makke Bontje.
Prepared for the future
After selling their collection of breeding and (old) racing birds Peter and Gwen made a fresh start in 2015, and they quickly managed to start winning prizes again. Numerous top results and national championship titles, including that of 1st Best Ace Pigeon Young Birds in the PIPA rankings, have shown that this is a pigeon collection with great potential. These pigeons are quite likely to play an important role in The Netherlands in the seasons to come.