Their best pigeon won an 8th prize overall against 4,611 pigeons over five races. They did not miss a prize in any of the five one day long distance races, which is quite impressive.
Achievements of 2013
These are the results of the most important races for this partnership in 2013:
25-05 NPO Breuil-le-Vert old birds 473 km 12-13-21-46-48-69-90, etc. 4,564 p. (27/40) 08-06 NPO Sens old birds 553 km 10-11-14-22-23-27-38-43-75, etc. 6,386 p.(29/40) 23-06 NPO Orleans old birds 628 km 4-5-33-57-104, etc. 4,533 p. (23/38) 06-07 NPO Chateauroux old birds 744 km 3-30-33-99, etc. 3,112 p. (19/30) 20-07 NPO Pithiviers old birds 593 km 13-15-17-30-36-52-60-74-77-82, etc. 4,494 p. (32/40) 17-08 TT Pommeroeul young birds 322 km 2-3-23-97-99, etc. 6,885 p.(19/34) 01-09 NPO Morlincourt young birds 430 km 5-6-12-83, etc. 12,197 p.(10/30)
They did very well in the other races as well, just take a look at their achievements:
20-04 Gennep old birds 120 km 7-14-19-24-25-28-39-64-94-96, etc. 2,832 p. (46/94) 18-05 Nijvel old birds 283 km 5-11-21-22-29-40-47-48-98, etc. 2,436 p. (29/85) 25-05 Pommeroeul old birds 322 km 11-13-44-45, etc. 4,799 p. (19/24) 08-06 St. Quentin old birds 394 km 1-4-17-19-20-28-29-31-32-56-57, etc. 1,222 p. (25/32) 22-06 St. Quentin old birds 394 km 7-8-10-15-16-54-55-56-57-66, etc. 1,176 p. (14/25) 29-06 Peronne old birds 402 km 9-33-43-55-71-82-88-92-102-103, etc. 1,288 p. (17/25) 24-08 Hapert young birds 177 km 5-7-19-20-25-26-60-70, etc. 1,667 p.(24/33) 31-08 Wychen old birds & young birds 118 km 3-4-5-6-8-9-10-16-17-18-20-63, etc. 10.186 p. (32/35) 08-09 Boxtel old birds & young birds 151 km 17-30-31-32-84-87-90-102-109, etc. 9,242 p.(30/34) 15-09 Hapert old birds & young birds 176 km 16-20-22-24-25-26-27-50-52-54, etc. 6724 p. (36/45)
This partnership’s best one day long distance pigeon is the NL12-5210186. This hen performed as follows in the NPO races:
Sens NPO 8-6-13 552 km 10 – 6,386 p. Chateauroux NPO 6-7-13 743 km 30 – 3,112 p. Orleans NPO 23-7-13 628 km 5 – 4,533 p.
Her best result in 2012:
Morlincourt NPO 1-9-12 430 km 13 – 5,731 p.
Her results in the sprint competition are even more impressive:
Wychen 31-8-13 117 km 3 – 10,186 p. Lommel 8-9-12 186 km 7 – 9,059 p. Boxtel 8-9-13 151 km 30 - 9,242 p.
It seems that her ability to make a fast start comes in very useful in the one day long distance competition. Click here for the pedigree of the NL12-5210186.
The 737 NL13-5309737 is one of their best young birds. This hen managed to arrive home very quickly a few times and she had a number of excellent results:
Pommeroeul 17-8-13 321 km 2 - 6,885 p. Morlincourt 1-9-13 430 km 6 – 5,379 p. Wychen 20-7-13 176 km 23 – 4,302 d.
This excellent hen originates from a breed that has won many prizes in big races. Click here for the pedigree of the NL13-5309737.
System
A lot has been said about the approach of this partnership. To cut a long story short, Ham Vredeveld and Robert Leemhuis ask quite a lot from their racing pigeons. Their pigeons are raced every week from early April until the final race of the season, as is the case in many other lofts. In addition the pigeons have to complete two training flights of around 80km every week if the weather allows. This is also the case when the season is well on its way. The pigeons are put to the test very often so they have to be in good shape. That is why they are often given egg powder and electrolytes in addition to their regular diet. When the racing birds arrive home some grit and fresh minerals are provided as well. Their wonderful lofts are easy to maintain and they are very cleverly built. They have thought about everything and they have applied years of experience in this loft. It is needless to say that this has led to excellent results.
Love Pair
When taking a look at their achievements you cannot overlook the descendants of the famous Love Pair. One of the most successful pigeons of 2013 that originates from these bloodlines is the cock Payboy NL10-5011610. This blue coloured cock has won the following top prizes:
Moeskroen/Menen (rayon) 320 km 1 – 2,110 p. St. Quentin (rayon) 394 km 1 - 1,222 p. Boxtel (afd. 10 Zuid) 151 km 4 – 10,968 p. Pithiviers NPO 593 km 30 - 4,494 p. Morlincourt NPO 430 km 31 – 4,550 p. Pithiviers NPO 593 km 53 – 7,749 p. Troyes NPO 523 km 57 - 8,079 p. Orleans NPO 628 km 66 - 6,611 p.
Payboy was bred from the amazing Game Boy, which won the title of second national Young Ace Pigeon in 2001, winning, for instance, a 1st Beek 3,935 p, a 4th Hasselt 12,302 p, a 4th Hasselt 6,152 p. and a 10th Maaseik 6,926 p. Click here for the pedigree of NL10-5011610 Payboy.
The impressive performance of these two cocks is undoubtedly related to the golden Love Pair (Boy x Queen). This illustrates one of the key aspects in our sport: good quality pigeons. The Vredeveld-Leemhuis partnership knows very well that great pigeons are bred from great pigeons.