Wim (l) and Bertrik (r) Murk
This father/son combination has been making a name for themselves in the marathon competition in The Netherlands with just a limited number of racing birds. Among their best results are two international victories from St. Vincent and Bergerac, and two first prizes NPO from Orange and Perigueux. Their pigeon breed is still mainly founded on the bloodlines of K. and G. Kiekebelt (Drijber, NL); Rosy's Son is a good example of a talented Kiekebelt descendant in this team (see below). Another invaluable breeder in the lofts of Wim and Bertrik is Legend Jantje (Jan van Straten, Utrecht); she has bred a countless number of talented birds in the lofts in IJsselstein, as well as in many other lofts. And fellow fanciers Wim and Sven van Houten have provided this team with another fantastic breeder that has played a fundamental role in this success story. This article talks about a few of the pigeons that have really helped this loft excel over the years. What most of these pigeons have in common, is that they had a successful racing career in the marathon distance before turning into an invaluable breeder.
NL12-1388401 De Teen
De Teen is a talented new breeder in IJsselstein, and his pedigree explains why. His sire is Ger-ko, winner of a 1st NPO/National Perigueux of 4,347 pigeons as a yearling, with an impressive 30 minute lead. His dam is Fenna, a 7th National Ace Pigeon WHZB and winner of a 2nd NPO Bordeaux (2,465 p.), a 60th Int. Brive (7,213 p.), a 71st Int. St. Vincent (3,490 p.) and a 71st NPO Perigueux (3,811 p.). Fenna was purchased by grandmasters Freialdenhofen & Sons from Alderhofen (Germany), where she is now the dam of a 1st National Agen 2015 and the grandmother of a 1st National Agen, a 2nd National Agen and a 3rd National Narbonne (2018). Click here for De Teen's full pedigree. He is now the sire of:
66th NPO Orange 71st Int. Marseille 76th Nat. Marseille 82nd F.U. Agen/Bordeaux 96th Int. Pau (hens) etc.
NL13-1017493 Helen
Helen was also transferred to the breeding loft following a successful racing career. She was 1st Ace Pigeon Pau over three seasons (2015-2017) in the ZLU competition. Even at internation level no other pigeon had a lower coefficient across three seasons. She won this ace pigeon title based on the following prizes:
90th Nat. Pau 3,433 p. (2015) 23rd Nat. Pau 3,788 p. (2016) 141st Nat. Pau 3,526 p. (2017)
This hen was eventually raced for a total of seven marathon races, in which she claimed 7 top prizes, including five national/international top 58 results. This makes Helen one of the most successful hens in the marathon in recent years. Here is a look at her list of achievements:
23rd Nat. Pau 2016 1.049 km 3,788 p. (arrival at 01:22am after 17 hours of racing) 36th Nat. Marseille 2016 994 km 3,320 p. 51st Int. Pau (dv) 2017 1.049 km 3,017 p. 61st Nat. Narbonne 2015 1.000 km 5,338 p. 90th Nat. Pau 2015 1.049 km 3,433 p. 58th NPO. Bergerac 2014 866 km 1,673 p. 469th NPO. Périgueux 826 km 1,970 p.
These top prizes resulted in several titles, including:
1st Nat. Ace Pigeon Pau ZLU 2015-2017 10th Dutch Olympiad Pigeon Marathon Brussels 2017 7th Best pigeon from Pau International (2015-2016) PIPA rankings 11th Best Europeab hen international races 2016 (2 prizes) PIPA rankings 15th Best Extreme Long Distance Pigeon in The Netherlands 2016 PIPA rankings 43rd Best Extreme Long Distance Pigeon in The Netherlands 2015 PIPA rankings
Helen comes straight from the top loft of fellow club members Wim and Sven van Houten (Ijsselstein, NL). Click here for the fantastic pedigree of Helen.
NL12-1388377 Barca 77
This racing bird was particularly successful in Barcelona, winning three top prizes in the las three races from Barcelona, which were particularly hard. As a result, he was 24th national ace pigeon Barcelona for 2016-'17-'18, based on the following achievements:
73rd Nat. Barcelona 2017 4,504 p. 446th Nat. Barcelona 2016 5,239 p. 520th Nat. Barcelona 2018 3,912 p.
Barca 77 completed eight marathon races, winning just as many prizes. He is related to quite a number of talented birds, including "Van Kootenduifje" of Koop and Gerda Kiekebelt, two good friends of Bertrik and Wim. For the full pedigree of Barca 77 click here.
NL10-1438254 Missing Girl
Missing Girl is a hen with an interesting history. She went missing for more than a year as a two year old. She eventually found her way back home, and she was promptly basketed again, after which she won the following prizes:
12th NPO Orange 878 km 879 p. 35th Int. Périgueux 826 km 4,762 p. 69th NPO Bergerac 865 km 3,297 p. 194th NPO Bergerac 865 km 1,198 p.
With her pedigree in mind (she is a granddaughter of Legend Jantje, and the last daughter of top breeder Van Kootenduifje), and with three top prizes to her name, she was quickly transferred to the breeding loft. Van Kootenduivin was herself the dam of as many as 15 national top 100 prizes. The full pedigree of Missing Girl can be found here. And Missing Girl has proven her worth as a breeder as well: she is the dam of a 98th Nat. Marseille (2,750 p.) and a 94th NPO Orange (960 p.).
NL05-1946642 Rosy's Son
The number one breeder in the lofts of Wim and Bertrik is this Rosy's Son. He is a 100% K&G Kiekebelt. The sire of Rosy's Son is Blue Champion, and he is a son of The Eagle x Blue Fairy. The Eagle has a 1st International Brive of 3,520 pigeons (2003) to his name, and Blue Fairy won a 1st National Bergerac of 2,903 pigeons in 2003. The dam of Rosy's Son is Rosy, winner of a 2nd NPO Brive (2,129 p.) and a 13th National Bergerac (3,903 p.). Click here for the full pedigree of Rosy's Son.
This bird is indeed an exceptional breeder. His direct youngsters have won an impressive 19 national top 150 prizes, and he has bred several talented grandchildren as well. Let's take a look at the national top 100 prizes that other fanciers have won with direct youngsters of Rosy's Son:
Le Bernard (raced by Frank Zwiers)
1st Nat. St.-Vincent 2016 990 km 13,472 p.
12th NPO St.-Vincent 2015 990 km 2,128 p.
Constance (raced by Frank Zwiers)
5th NPO St.-Vincent 2015 990 km 2,128 p.
81st Nat. S 1 St.-Vincent 2016 990 km 2,706 p.
Villa (raced by Comb. Verweij-de Haan)
9th Nat. Bergerac 2012 880 km 5,105 p.
33rd NPO Albi 2012 948 km 1,296 p.
64th Nat. Cahors 2010 930 km 10,325 p.
84th Nat. Tarbes 2013 1.063 km 3,015 p.
98th NPO St.-Vincent 2014 1.054 km 1,014 p.
Algoz (raced by Mark van den Berg)
8th NPO Orange 2011 942 km 2,716 p.
54th NPO Orange 2012 826 km 4,762 p.
Karma (raced by Frank Zwiers)
18th NPO Dax 2013 981 km 1,678 p.
20th NPO Bordeaux 2015 844 km 3,371 p.
Dione(raced by Frank Zwiers)
32nd NPO Bordeaux 2015 844 km 3,371 p.
80th NPO Bordeaux 2016 844 km 2,772 p.
NL17-1083008 Narbonne
The last pigeon that deserves an introduction is the talented Narbonne. She was raced for one marathon race as a yearling, where she did really well:
41st Int Narbonne jl 2018 6,423 p. 46th Nat Narbonne 2018 3,082 p.
She was also 6th yearling at national level. She is a daughter of a very promising experiment of Wim and Bertrik, involving breeding cock Inbred Forrest Gump of Freialdenhofen & Sons. As his name suggests, Inbred Forrest Gump is a breeding cock inbred to the world famous Forrest Gump.
Founded on a solid breeding loft
Wim and Bertrik can traditionally rely on a group of top class breeders, which have led this team, and many other lofts, to great results. We reckon many of you still remember Legend Jantje. This hen was a phenomenal breeder, and her name still features in the pedigrees of many of today's best birds. The following descendants of Legend Jantje have claimed a national top ten:
1st Int. Bergerac 2009 865 km 6,919 p. (W.H. Murk and son) 1st Nat. Agen jl 2018 878 km 882 p. (Freiladenhofen & Sohne) 1st Nat. Agen 2015 860 km 1,177 p. (Freialdenhofen & Sohne) 2nd NPO Bordeaux 2010 895 km 2,465 p. (W.H. Murk en Zn) 2nd Nat. Agen 2018 878 km 1,349 p. (Freialdenhofen & Sohne) 3rd Nat. Narbonne 2018 900 km 909 p. (Freialdenhofen & Sohne) 3rd Nat. Ruffec 2013 872 km 3,982 p. (A. Mulderij) 7th Nat. Ace Pigeon Marathon WHZB 2010 (W.H. Murk en Zn) 8th Nat. Ace Pigeon Marathon 2010 (W.H. Murk en Zn)
On top of that, several other youngsters and grandchildren of Legend Jantje were able to finish in the top 100 national, as you can tell from our overview. The descendants of Rosy's Son have been almost just as successful over the years, and several of them have now developed into talented breeding birds as well. These breeders have shown their potential in the lofts in Ijsselstein and for numerous other fanciers. To give you an idea, here is a list of references from 2013 to 2018.