Jo Bauters (40) has gained a reputation as an excellent middle distance fancier in just a few seasons’ time, after making the transition from sprint to middle distance just three years ago. He is now the proud winner of a provincial and a national first prize, something many fanciers have never been able to accomplish in their entire career.
This means Jo knows what he is doing. He is an accomplished businessman as well, running a successful company in roofing and carpentry together with his brother Nico. His pigeons provide a great way to forget about his professional life from time to time, and that is why he was not really fond of the sprint competition. In a provincial and national longer middle distance race, you can really take your time to watch your pigeons arrive home together with family and friends. An early arrival is always an exciting prospect, and his national victory from Poitiers has made him even more enthusiastic about the longer middle distance.
Jo got involved in the sport via his father Andre (77), a retired beer supplier who was well known in the town. Andre was an excellent sprint fancier, but Jo convinced him to go one step further. They basically used their sprint pigeons for the middle distance, and it proved a great success. This means the sprint pigeons of his father Andre were quite suited for the middle distance as well. The breed of Andre Bauters was mainly based on pigeons of the Gevaert-Van Schoorisse combination from Ronse, which they obtained via Eddy Vandendriessche. The bloodlines of Marcel De Beck and the De Schepper-De Temmerman combination from Merelbeke were introduced later on as well. To further strengthen his pigeon breed for the longer races, Jo also purchased pigeons of David Vermassen (Gavere), Luc De Maesschalk (Zele) and Frederik Everaert (Zwijnaarde), some of the most successful fanciers from around the region.
Fabian, not your ordinary pigeon
It is every fancier’s dream to take a national win with your very best pigeon and Jo Bauters saw this dream come true last weekend. His pigeon Fabian took the win in a fairly tough race from Poitiers, due to a lot of headwind. He was clocked at 14:57’05” over a distance of 563.869km, resulting in a velocity of 1111,98 m/min. This is the second important victory in his career, after having already won a first provincial from Bourges. This is his list of achievements in the middle distance:
-Fabian BE11-4239270
In 2014:
Poitiers Nat 12,379 p. 1
Bourges Club 378 p. 12
Souppes s/Loing 151 p. 5
Pont St.Maxence 286 p. 19
Souppes s/Loing 115 p. 31
In 2013:
Angerville 305 p. 3
Bourges 219 p. 8
Prov 1,721 p. 38
Argenton 321 p. 12
Prov 3,161 p. 49
Montluçon 449 p. 19
Prov 3,550 p. 197
Chateauroux 550 p. 24
Prov 4,287 p. 160
In 2012:
Bourges 265 p. 1 (16 July)
Prov 2,473 p. 1
Argenton 791 p. 3
Prov 5,487 p. 4
Nat 22,384 p. 24
Bourges 217 p. 5 (29 July)
Prov 2,175 p. 55
Montrichard 430 p. 60
Prov 3,796 p. 311
Chateauroux 460 p. 104
Prov 4,660 p. 703
You can find his full pedigree here.
Fabian appears to be a promising breeding pigeon as well. He is the sire of the 3rd prov. Vierzon.
The old birds of Jo Bauters were in great form, and they did really well in the four longer middle distance races they competed in:
24/5 Chateauroux 245 olds: 3-15-69 (3/3)
31/5 Bourges 378 olds: 10-12-37-60-69-85 (6/6)
07/6 Chateauroux 188 olds: 5 (1/2)
14/6 Poitiers 303 olds: 1-23-102 (3/6)
Nat 12,379 olds: 1-676
We think this national win will motivate Jo Bauters to keep going. He likes working with a small but talented group of pigeons in his loft, with the focus on quality. Congratulations Jo, Mieke, Andre and the rest of the family!