Marco Klein Falckenborg
The 43 year old Marco is married to Desirée, with whom he has two daughters, Lynn (10) and Maud (8). He has been involved in pigeon racing since the age of six. He is really passionate about pigeon racing, which explains why he won a number of first prizes in the WHZB youth competition. His great results did not escape the attention of Hans Eijerkamp, and so the 15 year old Marco became Hans's assistant during the summer. Marco eventually started to develop an interest in finance, which made him pursue a career in the financial business. He is now the financial director of Veld cooling equipment in Groenlo. It is quite difficult to combine such a busy job with a time consuming pigeon loft. Still, that does not keep him from achieving great results on a yearly basis. We take a look at his best results in recent seasons:
Nijvel 226 km 1,846 p.: 1-7-8-9-21-41-etc. (27/54) Salbris 610 km 633 p.: 1-17-22-27-etc. (10/20) Blois 624 km 447 p.: 1-25-31-37-etc. (10/20) Peronne 349 km 823 p.: 2-34-35-50-88-etc. (10/12) Nijvel 226 km 1,756 p.: 1-5-6-7-8-13-etc. (23/36) Menen 275 km 3,885 p.: 1-3-13-21-ect. (17/34) Morlincourt 373 km 1,902 p.: 1-6-13-30-37-etc. (24/40) Peronne 349 km 1,606 p.: 4-31-33-45-etc. (18/20) Tongeren 159 km 7,709 p.: 7-11-43-44-etc. (10/20) Hannut 185 km 6,540 p.: 3-10-40-etc. (9/10) St Quentin 338 km 522 p.: 1-11-20-22-etc. (21/39) Isnes 216 km 2,283 p.: 2-7-10-27-32-33-40-etc. Isnes 216 km 513 p.: 1-2-50-83-etc. (5/9)
not only his old birds performed really well; his team of young birds also showed their talents this season. The following prizes were won in the three closing NPO races in Province 9 NPO South:
Niergnies 315 km 3,487 p.: 9-49-50-56-66-etc. (17/32) Peronne 349 km 2,670 p.: 24-31-56-85-89-111-114-etc. (21/30) Troyes 456 km 1,995 p.: 32-49-65-67-73-87-88-etc. (17/30)
It is thanks to these results that Marco became 2nd Emperor Champion young birds in the VNCC competition in Province 9. He also had the 4th, 5th, and 8th Ace Pigeon young birds in his team. It goes without saying that it takes a top class breed to win such prizes. We cannot discuss every single prize winner but we would like to take a closer look at the following racing birds:
NL14-1554639 New Gaga
One of the pigeons that came to the fore in recent weeks is New Gaga. This one year old hen has already won four prizes so far. These are her best results:
1st St.-Quentin 522 pigeons 1st Isnes 513 pigeons 1st Lommel 118 pigeons 1st Chimay 80 pigeons 3rd St.-Quentin 831 pigeons 8th Niergnies 3,168 pigeons 20th Mons 3,416 pigeons
The sire of New Gaga is 'Porsche 911', winner of two teletext prizes from Blois NPO. The dam is Lady Gaga, winner of the title of 1st Ace Pigeon General in Province 9 both in 2013 and 2014, as well as the title of 5th Ace Pigeon NPO The Netherlands 2013. Click here for the full pedigree of New Gaga.
NL12-1179219 Lady Crack
This hen had a great 2015 season as well, having won four first prizes in the union so far. She has also won the following top 10 prizes in major races:
3rd Hannut 6,526 pigeons 5th Nijvel 1,735 pigeons 7th Tongeren 7,709 pigeons 8th Mons 3,416 pigeons 8th Nijvel 2,029 pigeons 8th Chimay 1,253 pigeons
The sire of this hen is a 100% Ad Schaerlaeckens; the dam of Lady Crack is a daughter of Supercrack 453 of Jo & Florian Hendriks (Nijswiller, NL). This was a very successful pigeon, having won a 3rd NPO Argenton (3,989 pigeons), a 12th Nat. Blois (52,743 pigeons) and a 15th Nat. Châteauroux (33,559 pigeons). Click here for the full pedigree of Lady Crack.
NL11-1286572 Maestro
This cock is a direct son of the aforementioned 'Supercrack 453' of Jo & Florian Hendriks. The dam of Maestro is a half sister of the world famous Kannibaal and Kerkduifje of Kees Bosua (Dordrecht, NL). Kerkduifje won a 1st against 120,936 pigeons from Le Mans, while Kannibaal has won a 1st Peronne (2,003 pigeons), a 1st Ablis (2091 pigeons) and a 1st Pont-St.-Maxence (1,684 pigeons). Click here for the full pedigree of Maestro. Maestro has won the following prizes:
6th NPO Sablis 77th NPO Pithiviers 90th NPO Sens 90th NPO Chateaudun 5th Nijvel 2,211 pigeons
NL11-1508911 Porsche 911
One of the cornerstones in Marco's current pigeon family is without doubt 'Porsche 911'. He is the sire of the aforementioned 'New Gaga' but he was quite a successful racing bird as well. These are his best results in the NPO competition alone:
6th NPO Blois 2,018 pigeons 10th NPO Blois 1,840 pigeons 58th NPO Bourges 1,841 pigeons 65th NPO Bourges 1,408 pigeons
'Porsche 911' has an impressive pedigree as well. His sire is a son of Kezman' of W.J. v.d. Kruk (Tiel, NL) x 'Lammertien' of Cor Leijtens (Oostelbeers, NL). The dam of 'Porsche 911' is a daughter of 'De Figo' of A. & H. Reynaert (Passendale, BE), winner of nine first prizes. Click here for the pedigree of 'Porsche 911'.
NL11-1509962 Mega Mindy
The hen 'Mega Mindy' knows how to win top prizes. Her sire originates from two super class racing birds of C. Terschegget (Elst, NL) and R. van Gastel (Roosendaal, NL). The dam is a grandfather of 'Favoriet' of Heremans-Ceusters. Click here for her full pedigree. These are her best results:
1st Laon 2,412 pigeons 1st Nijvel 2,344 pigeons 1st Nijvel 1,735 pigeons 1st Tongeren 155 pigeons 1st Chimay 106 pigeons 2nd Chimay 1,667 pigeons 6th Moeskroen 1,071 pigeons 10th Isnes 2,088 pigeons
NL11-1286547 Olympic Euro
The last in the list is ' Olympic Euro'. She has won an impressive number of top prizes and she originates from several top class bloodlines. She won four first prizes in the union, as well as the following top results:
1st Moeskroen 3,840 pigeons 3rd Nijvel 2,344 pigeons 3rd Maaseik 1,839 pigeons 4th Pommeroeul 5,174 pigeons 5th Laon 2,412 pigeons 7th Nijvel 1,735 pigeons 7th Chalons 1,318 pigeons
The dam of this top class pigeon is a half sister of 'Euro' of Leo Heremans. The sire comes from the loft of Alwin Petrie and he is a half brother of 'Rossi' and 'Chanel'. Click here for the full pedigree of 'Olympic Euro'.
To conclude
Marco has quite a collection of pigeons that came to the fore in recent seasons. Other fanciers have proven equally successful with pigeons of Marco. For instance, the Buursink-Pluimers combination (Enter, NL) won the title of 1st Ace Pigeon middle distance Province 9 district 1 last year, with a pigeon that originated from two direct Falckenborg pigeons. Marco has managed to achieve great results season after season, despite a busy job and a young family. It goes without saying that he relies on a pigeon loft with nothing but top quality pigeons.