Team BDS, with Dirk Speybroeck in the middle
The interprovincial race from Poitiers was a rather difficult flight: heavy clouds and a drizzle kept this race from having an early release, whereas the shorter middle distance and the sprint races (except for Orleans) did take off very early in the sunny north of France. The race from Poitiers was a close call but skies eventually cleared, and the pigeons were eventually released at 10:15am. A strong north-easterly wind made for a particularly tough race home.
This was a race for thoroughbreds. The sun was shining, there was plenty of oxygen in the air, and the wind was coming from the side. These are the conditions in which the strongest birds inevitably stand out, a race perfectly suited for the pigeons of Team BDS, who clocked the fastest pigeon overall, claiming an interprovincial first prize. The fastest pigeon was clocked at 5:37'05" pm over a distance of 564.428km. Things went very smoothly that day, with most prizes being won within an hour. The pigeons of BDS/Speybroeck claimed the following prizes:
Poitiers club 144 YBs: 1-12-13-19-27-36-41-46 (8/12)
Interprov 1,974 YBs: 1-56-70-145-206-296-395-440 (8/12)
Winners breed winners
This is one of the big clichés in pigeon racing, although we have to admit that there is a lot of truth in it, judging from the pedigrees of so many provincial and national winners. Winning races has been an inherent quality of many bloodlines, and that is what pigeon racing is still about: winning races.
The fanciers behind Team BDS have put a lot of thought into their breed. They have always worked with race winners, ace pigeons and other champions. Their pigeon family is based around birds with a proven record, capable of breeding youngsters that are just as talented as themselves. The latest interprovincial winner from Poitiers is a perfect example, since he stems from several renowned bloodlines:
-Picobello BE18-3106297
1st Intprov Poitiers 1,974 young birds
Sky Walker: the sire of a 1st Intprov. Poitiers, purchased in the PIPA auction of Rudi De Saer (februari 2016)
Sire: Sky Walker BE15-3144509
A direct Rudi De Saer, from an inbred pairing of son x daughter of golden stock dam ’t Goedje, or a pairing of full brother x sister from the same parents, namely:
Grandfather: New Tours BE10-3020802
A supercrack in the lofts of Rudi De Saer. Winner of a 1st Nat Cahors 7,136 p., a 6th Nat Limoges 14,679 p., a 10th Nat Souillac 5,282 p., and an 18th Nat Limoges 13,781 p. He is a son of Groten BE02-3185762 x ’t Goedje BE05-3177035 (she is also the dam of Antonio, 1st Nat Souillac, tours, Bleken, Close, etc.).
Grandmother: Championette BE12-3120037
She is the dam of 3 first prize winners, and she is a daughter of Zoon Groten x ’t Goedje of the invaluable Gaby Vandenabeele breed.
Dam: Daughter Rainman BE14-3100365
Grandfather: Rainman BE11-4245800
A direct Team BDS but a 100% Rudi De Saer. Winner of a 1st Nat St.Vincent 3,161 p. ’12 and a 3rd Intnat St.Vincent 13,085 p., 76th Nat Bordeaux 4,228 p., and 1st Ace Pigeon Eurodiamond in the lofts of Martin De Poorter from Sluis (NL). He is a son of Monty 047 BE08-3190047 (100% Gaby Vandenabeele) x Blue Angel BE08-3190061 (a daughter of the top pair of De Saer: Perigueux x Corry, again 100% Gaby Vandenabeele).
Grandmother: Daughter Marseille BE12-6195979
A direct Jos Joosen, a daughter of Marseille BE05-6306292 (winner of 1st Internat Marseille) x Dochter 161 BE07-6140018. They both stem from the golden Bonga bloodline of jos Joosen.
Click here for the full pedigree of Picobello
You can tell that the apple does not fall far from the tree: this interprovincial winner has no less than three national first prize winners in her pedigree.
A crowning achievement after a really strong 2018
As most of you know, every member of Team BDS focuses on the competition that suits him the most. That means the lofts of Dirk Speybroeck in Vinkt are home to a team of old birds and yearlings raced in widowhood. He has been increasingly focusing on the national long distance races (600 to 800km) since last year.
It goes without saying that the team of BDS/Speybroeck has had a fantastic 2018 season, with several first prizes at club level, and quite a few national top 100 prizes at provincial and national level. It shows that their breeding strategy and their racing approach are spot on.
The 2018 season will go down in history as one of the most demanding ones for our pigeons, especially due to the weekly headwinds and the unusually high temperatures throughout the summer. It took robust pigeons to win races this season, pigeons with strong wings that recovered quickly and that were in great shape, while having excellent orientation as well. It takes a talented pigeon breed and an experienced fancier to come up with a pigeon that combines all of these traits. And Team BDS has been one of the leading names in Belgium for several years now. As a result, Dirk Speybroeck has had quite a number of successes over the course of 2018, including most notably his interprovincial win from Poitiers. Congratulations!
The highlights of 2018
26/5 Bourges 636 YLs: 1-16-27-37-91-148-196 (7/21)
Nat 19,133 YLs: 71-485-789-947-1947-3152-4190 (7/21)
02/6 Limoges 786 olds: 6-20-35-65-130-198-257 (7/9)
Prov 3,111 olds: 18-57-106-204-418-633 (6/9)
Nat 15,789 olds: 119-348-613-1164-2241-3710 (6/9)
23/6 Brive 428 olds: 10-15-44-45 (4/8)
Nat 9,278 olds: 98-143-384-386 (4/8)
23/6 Brive 147 YLs: 4-7-21 (3/7)
Nat 4,384 YLs: 41-67-193 (3/7)
23/6 Argenton 552 olds: 5-62-177 (3/3)
Nat 11,823 olds: 53-799-2630 (3/3)
23/6 Argenton 854 YLs: 5-12-73-94-129-225 (6/8)
Nat 19,859 YLs: 89-159-1018-1280-1776-3512 (6/8)
30/6 Clermont 506 YBs: 1-10-15-16-28-29-31…
07/7 Chateauroux 551 YLs: 5-16-22-23-70 (5/6)
Nat 13,098 YLs: 60-123-210-217-878 (5/6)
07/7 Limoges 387 olds: 17-47 (2/3)
Nat 7,274 olds: 137-429 (2/3)
07/7 Limoges 315 YLs: 9-46 (2/4)
Nat 7,236 YLs: 94-457 (2/4)
07/7 Clermont 476 YBs: 4-8-9-10-23-24-25-27-31-35-38-43-47… (30/67)
15/7 Jarnac 246 YLs: 1-25 (2/3)
Nat 4,940 YLs: 33-450 (2/3)
15/7 Jarnac 259 olds: 2-17-20-53 (4/6)
Nat 5,371 olds: 10-164-172-607 (4/6)
15/7 Fontenay 608 YBs: 4-7-8-18-31-41-45… (19/37)
21/7 Argenton 280 olds: 7 (1/1)
Nat 5,782 olds: 489 (1/1)
21/7 Argenton 323 YLs: 1-68 (2/6)
N.Zone 2,086 YLs: 39-481 (2/6)
21/7 Fontenay 562 YBs: 1-2-3-16-24-36-43-44-56-57-62… (23-56)
The winning pigeon had a 10 minute lead over its loft mate, which finished in 2nd place.
04/8 Orleans 265 YLs: 1-10-24-27-54 (5/5)
Prov 1,329 YLs: 8-54-118-133-255 (5/5)
Prov 1,066 olds: 10-78-147-163 (4/5)
04/8 Angoulême 226 olds: 1-5-19-47 (4/5)
Nat 4,525 olds: 43-72-209-520 (4/5)
11/8 Pontoise 411 YBs: 1-4-5-9-10-16-17-18-21-22-25-27-33-34-35-36-38-39… (31/45)
18/8 Chateauroux 372 YBs: 4-40-41-50-84-100-110-122 (8/18)
Nat Zone 5,438 YBs: 69-529-538-673-1212 (5/18)
18/8 Orleans 341 YBs: 3-4-6-7-11-17-19-22-32… (17/26)
25/8 Poitiers 144 YBs: 1-12-13-19-27-36-41-46 (8/12)
Intprov 1,974 YBs: 1-56-70-145-206-296-395-440 (8/12)
25/8 Pontoise 181 YBs: 4-5-6-7-8-10-11-16… (16/20)
01/9 Argenton 577 YBs: 8-19-30-58-70-124 (6/11)
Nat 16,496 YBs: 505-1182-1488-2136-2535-3906 (6/11)