Erik Plant, a sprint and middle distance specialist
Erik Plant
Erik is 49 and he lives in the town of Leuvenheim together with his wife Bea and their daughter Kirsten. Eric recently started working in construction after having been looking for a new job for one and a half years. He got involved in the sport from a very early age, as his father Gerrit Plant used to play together in a combination with his brother Jan as the Plant brothers. They demonstrated their expertise as sprint fanciers in 1963, winning the title of best fanciers in The Netherlands. Erik started keeping pigeons with his father later on as well, and they raced together until 2002. Erik eventually started running his own loft from his current home in 2004. His father Gerrit watched his son's results, and he would sometimes take over his pigeons when Erik was on holiday. Unfortunately, Gerrit passed away last year. Erik is a member of pigeon union De Hoven in Zutphen, a union that counts many successful fanciers, including Marcel Sangers. Erik's pigeon collection consists of 13 racing pairs kept in total widowhood, as well as 7 breeding pairs that breed approximately 40 young birds every season.
One of the highlights of 2014
The 2014 season
Erik has had many highlights this season, including the following prizes in province 8, South 4, district 1:
26-04 Asse-Zellik 185 km 2683 pigeons 10-11-25-69-80-95-etc.(16/24) 03-05 Feluy 217 km 2732 pigeons 1-49-50-52-86-87-91-etc.(15/24) 17-05 Quievrain 251 km 2671 pigeons 3-4-etc.(12/20) 24-05 St.-Quentin 319 km 1584 pigeons 7-20-38-62-67-etc.(7/14) 31-05 Soissons 358 km 1595 pigeons 5-7-10-13-49-50-72-74-91-etc.(12/20) 14-06 Meaux 417 km 1120 pigeons 1-5-14-31-etc.(7/17) 28-06 Moeskroen-Menen 250 km 774 pigeons 2-32-35-44-58-81-86-88-etc.(12/19) 26-07 Soissons 358 km 577 pigeons 1-7-8-42-82-87-91-92 (8/10)
It is partly thanks to these excellent results in district 1 that the following championship titles have been won:
Sprint old birds 1st nominated and 2nd not nominated / 1st and 5th ace pigeon Middle distance old birds 2nd nominated and 1st not nominated / 3rd, 4th and 8th ace pigeon At national level Erik won the title of 5th national loft champion sprint 2014
The pigeon breed
Much of Erik's success can be attributed to the old bloodlines of Janssen and Meulemans that he obtained from his father. His breed was further strengthened with pigeons of Arie & Jos van Roon (Brummen, NL - Heremans-Ceusters), Hans & Evert-Jan Eijerkamp (Brummen, NL) and Alwin Petrie (Brummen, NL).
NL05-2110684 Blauwe Garfield, stock sire for Erik Plant
The number one stock sire of this loft is NL05-2110684 Blauwe Garfield, which originates directly from the loft of Hans and Evert-Jan Eijerkamp. He is a grandson of NL97-5774804 Garfield, world champion young birds in the Versele-Laga competition in 1997. Garfield was paired to NL97-1518432 Marianne, 3rd world champion young birds Versele-Laga 1997. The dam of Blauwe Garfield is a daughter of NL93-1990328 Porsche Bond of Alwin Petrie, and a granddaughter of Wonderboy 06 of Bertie Camphuis. Blauwe Garfield has been paired to two hens and he has bred an impressive number of great racing pigeons, including the winner of a 1st national Mantes-La-Jolie in 2009. Click here for the pedigree of Blauwe Garfield; you can find the palmares of his descendants here.
NL08-1096259 Dreamlady
Top class hens
Erik's pigeon loft is home to a number of hens with a proven record, including NL08-1096259 Dreamlady. 2010 was an exceptional season for Dreamlady, winning an ace pigeon title in province 8 and finishing in 9th in the national The Best of the Best competition, amongst many other national stars. She originates from such illustrous Heremans pigeons Jackpot, Rossi, and Spinneke. Click here for the pedigree of Dreamlady; you can find the palmares of Dreamlady here.
NL12-1233983 Single Woman, 1st ace pigeon sprint/4th ace pigeon middle distance 2014 province 8, South 4, district 1
Single Woman
One of the direct daughters of Dreamlady is NL12-1233983 Single Woman. Her sire is NL07-1367949 Kanibaal, a cock from the renowned Bak 9 pair of Arie & Jos van Roon. Click here for the pedigree of Single Woman. The excellent palmares of Single Woman has resulted in the title of Ace Pigeon Sprint (province 8, south 4, district 1) in 2014, and she finished in 4th place in the middle distance ace pigeon championship. In addition, she finished in 6th in the middle distance teletext race from Meaux. We take a look at her best results of 2014:
19-04 Duffel 158 km 8 – 2656 p. 26-04 Asse Zelik 185 km 10 - 2683 p. 03-05 Feluy 217 km 1 – 8043 p. 24-05 St. Quentin 319 km 16 – 4738 p. 14-06 Meaux 417 km 2 – 3332 p. (6th middle distance teletext race 26-07 Soissons 358 km 15 – 1932 p. 07-06 St. Quentin 319 km 27 – 1328 p.
Single Woman was kept in the widower hens' loft in 2014, so she was not paired to a cock. She did have a breeding bowl available after each race however, which appears to have motivated her to give her best.
Posthumous honour
After the passing of his father Gerrit, Erik had committed himself to doing everything he could to make 2014 a fabulous season. He wanted to put the Plant pigeon breed in the spotlight for the last time, and he saw his efforts rewarded with a 5th place in the national loft championship in the sprint. Erik was really satisfied about his season.