Verweij de Haan Combination (Mijdrecht, NL) is off to a great start in the international marathon competition

With two marathon races with morning release from Pau and Agen behind us, we can honestly say that this has been a great early season for the team: they performed really well in both races.

Besides, Michel and Peter claimed a national top prize in Agen as well: a 13th national old birds and 15th national yearlings.

Peter de Haan (l) and Michel Verweij (r)

Michel and Peter have been playing a lead role in the marathon competition for several years now, both at national and international level. And their in-house De Toon bloodline has been of pivotal importance. This strain's number one breeder is Milos, which stems from a brother of De Toon. The bloodline of Kopie Toon is doing great as well; he is in fact a full brother of De Toon. This inbred line is often used for crossbreeding, and the team has been very successful with this approach for years. The combination has been aiming towards the marathon race with morning release (ZLU races) lately, the reason being that Michel and Peter are more fond of awaiting their pigeons in the evening, by sunset. And they know this is something their pigeons are well capable of.

To prepare for Pau and Agen, most pigeons did at least one 500km race; the yearlings did two. And they have all been basketed for a number of sprint and middle distance races beforehand. The two fanciers agree that two 500 races are not really required but they had had a smooth run-up with fairly undemanding races and few losses. The pigeons were then basketed for Pau and Agen with a three day old youngster. A group of 15 pigeons were raced in Pau, 9 of which claimed a top prize, including a 41st and 45th National. The 1st pigeon in Pau is a granddaughter of Balotelli x his half sister Mila.

Racing bird Balotelli claimed Michel and Peter's first international victory. He played a key role in this race, with the highest velocity of all international pigeons (23,325 birds). This is a terrific result for a fantastic racing bird: besides his 1st National Bordeaux/Agen, he also claimed a 5th National Cahors (5,571 p.) back in 2012, as well as a 6th National Cahors in 2013 (5,359 p.). The sire of Balotelli is Barry, and the dam is another daughter of the team's number one stock breeder De Toon. Click here for the pedigree of the phenomenal Balotelli.

Racing hen Mila claimed an 8th and 10th National Bordeaux-Agen, and she is now the dam of several talented pigeons, including the winner of a 26th National Bergerac. Besides, she is the grandmother of a 3rd Nat. Dax and 31st Nat. Pau. She is a half sister of the aforementioned Balotelli.

National Agen, 13th National (olds) and 16th National (YLs)

The combination claimed a top result in the demanding race from Agen both in the old birds' and the yearlings' race, delivering a great overall result in both categories. Here are the preliminary results (results based on the times of arrival on the PIPA website; there are no official results yet):

Nat. Agen 5,239 olds: 13-36-39-98-133-147-219-etc. (13/21)
Nat. Agen 3,976 YLs: 16-26-44-60-84-86-115-etc. (15/45)

The 13th national old birds (5,239 p.) was won by Frenkie, and the dam of Frenkie is a daughter of Miss Gijsje (Olympiad champion) of Arjan Beens from Genemuiden. The sire is a son of super class breeder Kopie Toon. Click here for his full pedigree.

The 16th National Agen yearlings (3,976 p.) was won by Barbara. She is a granddaughter of Red Rose, which is in turn a granddaughter of stock breeder Milos. Red Rose was herself a 1st Ace Pigeon Perpignan 2014-2016 and a 2nd European Ace Pigeon Pau 2015-2016. And she also happens to be a descendant of top class breeders Kopie Toon and Arjan Beens's Snelle Jelle. Click here for her pedigree.

Excellent results with pigeons of Verweij-De Haan in other lofts as well

This pigeon breed has been doing really well at home, and we have seen many other fanciers excel with the pigeons of Michel and Peter as well. We take a look at some of the references for 2019, which includes most notably a 1st International Pau of 12,119 pigeons for the Baas & Berg combination.

References 2019
Comb Baas/Berg from De Kwakel, 1st Int. Pau, the dam was bred from grandchild Milos.
Comb Baas/Berg from De Kwakel 14th Nat. Pau 3,785 p., bred from sister Messi.
Frank Hage from Woerden, 21st Nat. Pau 3,785 p., bred from a daughter of brother Messi x Ixia.
Tim Hage from Woerden, 25th Nat. Pau 3,785 p., bred from a son of Blauwe Dax.
Comb Hommes from Akersloot 3,785 p., 31st Nat. Pau, bred from daughter Mila (daughter Barry).
Chris Paauwe, 73rd Nat. St Vincent 12,070 p. with a grandchild Jones.
Comb Kester/Verhoef, 1st Peronne 11,279 p. Prov. 5, bred from grandchild Balotelli.
P.Heikamp & v Doorn, 22nd Nat. Agen olds, grandchild Brother Robben.

Click here for a list of references from 2017 and 2018.

As you can see, the pigeons of Michel and Peter have demonstrated their marathon potential both in their own lofts and in other teams. The fanciers put it this way: "We get double the enjoyment: our results at home and their achievements in other lofts."