A new sporting season also means a new start, which in turn means waiting to see what is going to work this time. No fancier - big or small - can escape this as there are no certainties in the pigeon sport. National grandmasters such as the brothers Freddy and Jacques Vandenheede are no exceptions. For them as well it is a nervous wait to see how the pigeons will perform this time. It is only natural since if one wants to perform at the level of the Vandenheede brothers one must not only have the highest quality present on the lofts, but the pigeons must also be in top shape, and the latter is something you can not guarantee every year as the conditions will vary every season. Just think of the varying factor that is the weather. It was extraordinary cold in April and the start of May then it swapped into an unpredictable and rather wet natour in May and June. This heavily factored into building up the condition of the pigeons.
On top of that, a great number of their phenomenal Ace Pigeons and Top birds were moved into the breeding lofts, as a result, the “top quality” of the racing crew was decimated. The following wonderbirds were moved from the racing crew to their talented breeding loft..
- Classic Pearl: 1st nat. Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB
- Liam: 1st nat. Ace Pigeon all round KBDB
- Gentleman: 2nd nat. Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB
- Kratos: 4th nat. Ace Pigeon all round KBDB
- Golden Buzzer: 3rd nat. Ace Pigeon all round KBDB and 5th nat. Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB
Champions like that do not grow on trees, not even in Kruisem. Still, there is a huge silver lining. Though it was a severe loss for the racing crew, it was also a massive quality injection into the breeding loft. Very few or perhaps no fanciers at the national and international level are able to put a group of such excellent racers on the breeding pans …. Just because quality like that is so rare...
Before the start of season 2021 Jacques - during one of his visits to PIPA- had already told us that in his eyes his racing crew had lost in quality because of this. When put the results onto the paper, the racing season 2021 is three quarters finished for the old birds, we see new talent blossom. So far the brothers have won impressive victories with the 1st Nat. Zone Bourges, 1st Prov Limoges II, they are on top of the rankings for the national championship grand middle distance KBDB with their 1st + 2nd nominated and are in the running for winning multiple Ace Pigeon KBDB titles.
One could correctly claim that new talent is ready to step in the footsteps of their predecessor. A few of the top results up till now are:
Bourges I 2021
National: 34.311 old birds: 9-40-50-104-129-142-175-... (42/57)
National 25.096 yearlings: 31-36-87-... (39/80)
Also won was the 1st Nat. Zone A3 out of 5.255 old birds.
Limoges I 2021:
National 15.547 old birds: 20-40-55-68-93-98-118-127-178-183-187-... (41/52)
Brive 2021:
National 8.807 old birds: 17-29-49-55-58-84-121-129-160-... (20/46)
Limoges II 2021:
Prov 1.828 old birds: 1-9-13-34-51-78-86… (10 pigeons per 10 and 22/28)
Nat. 6.986 old birds: 4-27-37-83-118-181-... and 21/28
Nat. 9.218 yearlings : 37-57-87-103-126-... and 32/59
This impressive series of results shall no doubt be expanded upon in the coming few weeks.
1st Provincial Limoges II out of 1.828 old birds
The provincial victory was secured by the hen Joya, a direct daughter of a 1st Nat Ace Pigeon. There is obvious talent in those genes:
-Joya BE19-4084407
1st Prov Limoges II 1.828 oude ’21 – 4. Nat 6.986 Old Birds
14th Nat Brive 4.238 YL ’20
14th Nat Zone Tulle 1.126 YL ’20
52nd Nat Zone Chateauroux 5.887 Old Birds ’21
138th Nat Limoges I 5.350 Old Birds ’21
140th Prov Limoges I 2.945 YL ’20
230th Nat Souillac 7.514 YL ’20
362nd Nat Argenton 8.939 Younglings ‘19
etc…
Father: Miracle Ace BE11-4244017
1st Nat Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB 2013
Son of Goldfrapp x Morgane
Mother: Zoey BE17-4200087
Half-sister 2nd Nat Ace Pigeon Long Distance YL over 4 races (PIPA-ranking) and 2. Nat Ace Pigeon Long Distance and Extremely Long Distance YL in 2015
Granddaughter of golden stockbreeder 261/91 De Rauw-Sablon…daughter of Luc x Helium
The Ace of the flying crew is beyond a shadow of a doubt Mallos, a long-distance champion who comes from the same line as Joya via his mother, a grandson of Goldfrapp. Till now he has ranked fie times among the national Top-100, among which 3 weeks in a row with the 3-timer Limoges-Argenton-Brive in 2021.
-Mallos BE19-4084324
20th Nat Limoges I 15.547 old birds ’21
58th Nat Brive 8.807 old birds ’21
53rd Nat Argenton 14.787 old birds ’21
31st Nat Souillac 7.514 YL ’20
70th Nat Brive 4.238 YL ’20
etc…
Father: Brother New Freddy BE08-5027812
From fancier Pierre Matthijs, full brother of the 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon Grand Middle Distance KDBD 2010: New Freddy, one of the stockbreeders of the PEC of Nikolaas Gyselbrecht from Knesselare.
Mother: Kyrinia BE15-4130265
Daughter of Kyros (son Goldfrapp) x Ariana (daughter Rivendel: 1. Ace Pigeon KBDB Middle Distance).
Another family member of Joya is the long-distance wonder Wonderful Mattheo, a grandson of Morgane (also grandmother of Joya), who as a yearling showcased his world-class skills by winning the 2nd Nat. Limoges among the yearlings. A summary of his top performances from his honours list:
-Wonderful Mattheo BE19-4084346
2nd Nat Limoges 9.756 YL ’20
17th Nat Brive 8.807 Old Birds ’21
86th Nat Brive 4.238 YL ’20
229th Nat Souillac 7.514 YL ’20
279th Nat Limoges I 15.547 Old Birds ’21
etc…
Father: New Mattheo BE14-4000100
Super breeder and father of 10th Ace Pigeon GHF KBDB ’19, the 21st Nat. Ace Pigeon Allround KBDB `19... and himself a full brother of Annelise: 1st Nat Ace Pigeon GHF KBDB`13
Son of stockbreeder Mattheo 392/05 (son stockbreeder Limoges De Rauw-Sablon) x Morgane (also the mother of Miracle Ace and grandmother Joya)
Mother: Wonderful Lady BE17-4200244
Herself 7th Nat. Ace Pigeon Long Distance & Extremely Long Distance Yearlings KBDB `18. She is a daughter of Hot Spice Junien 003/12 (1st Prov. Junien 1.364 p... and grandson of top breeder Freddy - De Rauw-Sablon) x Domino 122/11 (granddaughter Frans, full brother Limoges De Rauw-Sablon, son of the dream-pair Albert x Paola).
1st Nat. Zone Bourges out of 5.255 old birds
That flying ahead of the flock and winning runs in the family, is once again proven by Top hen Speed Cat. This lady is a strong contender among the candidate ace pigeons KBDB at the grand middle distance with three top prizes in 2021… if she manages to add that critical 4th top prize in the next few races. From her father’s side she descendents from the same line as Mallos. Her father is a full brother of Kyrinia (mother Mallos).
-Speed Cat BE18-4097380
1st Prov Chateauroux 2.355 YL ’19
1st Nat Zone Bourges 5.255 old birds ’21 – 9. Nat 34.311 p.
16th Prov Chateauroux 5.887 old birds ’21 – 105. Nat 24.617 p.
17th Nat Zone Issoudun 1.282 old birds ’21
6th Nat Zone Tulle 725 old birds ’20 - 57. Nat 3.064 p.
50th Nat Bourges 5.294 old birds ’20
70th Nat Zone Argenton 4.572 old birds ’20
98th Prov Chateauroux 3.618 old birds ’20
etc…
Father: Hannes BE15-4130266
Himself 1st Souppes 363 p., 1st Club Tulle 139 p. and 21st N.Zone 2.761 p., 9th Prov Chateaudun 4.634 p... and full brother of Kyrinia, as son of Kyros (son Goldfrapp) x Ariana (daughter Rivendel: 1st Ace Pigeon KBDB Middle Distance).
Mother: Marita BE14-6072367 Van de Wouwer
Direct from fancier Gaston Van de Wouver from Daniel x super hen Tia (2nd Prov 3.562 p., 2nd Prov Montlçon 1.260 p... and a granddaughter of Kaasboer).
Fantastic pigeons and toppers from the current racing crew on the lofts of Freddy and Jacques.
Just before publication we received the results of the last weekend of 17-18 Juli, where at the local level gold was won time and time again and at the national level another series of top prizes was achieved.
Cahors 2021 local 58 Old Birds: 1-10 (2/2)
National 3.651 Old Birds: 8-824 (2/2)
Chateauroux 2021 local 116 Old Birds: 1-2-3-6-9… (6/8)
National 7.099 Old Birds: 4-59-71-113-291… (6/8)
Chateauroux 2021 local 110 Yearlings: 1-6-9… (8/22)
National 10.316 YL: 21-169-251-862-999… (10/22)
It just does not stop for the brothers Vendenheede. A flock of National Ace Pigeons KBDB and 1st National victors on their breeding lofts that are without equel. With direct descendents from this level of quality Freddy and Jacques have dominated the pigeon sport without any opposition and it seems like season 2021 shall be no exception. You can follow it the coming weeks together with us from the front row.