Kevin & 'Marcelyne' right after the national victory from Argenton against 18,390 yl.
However, we cannot say that Kevin was an unexperienced fancier when he started the season 2016. In the past few years he has been showing his worth in the national races of the longer middle distane, and he became one of the best from his province. He has won several provincial and interprovincial victories in these races (more or less one per season) since 2013. He also booked several national top 100 prizes despite an unfavourable geographical situation, with one of the shortest distances at national level. His direct opponents hardly had any time to learn to know this fancier and his breed, as Kevin was planning to pursue a career at national level. But he was ahead of schedule, and his season was simply astonishing. Nothing could stop his pigeons, not even the very bad flying conditions during most of the 2016 season. His pigeons competed in the longer middle distance week after week, and mostly the hens. This goes to show that he owns a strong breed, from the breeders to the racing birds. The results have been astonishing: early prizes from the first to the last races, a national victory and, as a cherry on the cake, the 2nd National Ace Pigeon longer middle distance YLs KBDB. How did he do it? First if all he clearly defined his ambitions: the longer middle distance races. Once his pigeons went above Paris, Kevin never looked back. Once his pigeons flew La Souterraine, Kevin decided not to go further. His best pigeons are then basketted for the national races and are never again basketted for shorter distances. It allows his team to perform at a constant level and to basket a strong group for each race. Moreover, Kevin is a fancier who is constantly seeking the small extra thing that could lead him to gain a few precious seconds. He clearly has an eye for detail. Feeding, system, accomodations: everything is analysed at the end of the season to know if something can be improved. But the most important thing will always be the quality of the pigeons. As a result, Kevin has a strong basis and he selected only the best pigeons for his pigeon loft, using strict criteria. This is how we can explain his current success.
A golden pair
In pigeon sport, there are numerous so called 'golden pairs'. But we have to admit that each loft owes its success to some incredible pigeons: sometimes a stock cock or a stock hen, sometimes a golden pair. Kevin relies on a golden pair that is still very young: both the cock and the hen were born in 2013. The cock is bred from a crossing between the old strain of Kevin and a hen from Hiroshi Miyashita (herself Hebberecht x Gevaert-Van Schorisse) while the hen comes from the Van Gestel brothers (province of Antwerp). The first top youngster bred from this pair was the dam of the recent national winner from Argenton. This hen is the '114/14' and she was 1st Ace Pigeon GMD Derby Hainaut and 1st Ace Pigeon GMD Noyau 1000 in 2015 with 3x 1st to her name. The second top youngster is 'Ambre', 2nd National Ace Pigeon GMD KBDB 2015.
You might have guessed it already: 'Ambre' is a daughter of this golden pair while 'Marcelyne' (1st national Argenton) is a granddaughter. These are some strong references for this really young golden pair whose descendants might continue to win first prizes and early prizes at national level.
Now, let's meet the two stars of 2016:
- 'Marcelyne' (BE15-1014621)
2016:
1. Argenton nat 18,363 p. (highest speed from 31,939 p.)
1. Nanteuil 476 p.
5. Vierzon iprov 675 p.
17. S-nat 2,644 p.
6. Montluçon 126 p.
39. Iprov 1,398 p.
807. Nat 10,753 p.
12. Nanteuil 291 p.
13. Toury 574 p.
27. Nanteuil 1,130 p.
28. Soissons 486 p.
Click here to check her pedigree.
A small detail is that the golden pair can be found twice in the pedigree of 'Marcelyne', as her great-grandparents (from her father's side) are also the parents of the cock from the golden pair. That's how we find the influence of the golden pair both through the sire and the dam. Exceptional!
- 'Ambre' (BE15-1014603)
2. National Ace Pigeon longer middle distance YLs KBDB '16 1. Bourges I rég - 361 p. 37. national zone - 6,756 p. 87. national - 19,889 p. 1. Châteauroux reg - 322 p. 4. national zone - 8,863 p. 98. national - 29,591 p. 2. Argenton regional - 285 p. 24. national zone - 5,133 p. 40. national - 18,363 p. 2. Montluçon regional - 126 p. 11. provincial - 962 p. 428. national - 10,753 p. 2. La Souterraine reg - 105 p. 9. provincial - 633 p. 231. national - 9,580 p. 8. Vierzon regional - 205 p.
Click here to check her pedigree.
Best results in 2016
16/04 Nanteuil regional (164 km) 495 yl: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 31, ... (31/46) 23/04 Nanteuil regional 508 olds : 1, 7, 8, 29, 43, 44, 49, ... (15/26) 01/05 Nanteuil regional 823 olds: 2, 4, 17, 18, 21, 22, 34, 35, 36, 64, ... (15/25) 718 yl: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 12, 13, 19, 23, 30, 33, 34, 43, 45, 46, 58, 67, ... (27/39) 15/05 Vierzon regional (382 km) 229 olds: 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 16, 17, 19, 20, ... (18/25) 205 yl: 1, 3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 19, ... (19/39) 1.775 olds Iprov: 7, 11, 12, 15, 21, 25, 29, 63, 65, 85, 87, 151, ... (21/25) 675 yl Iprov: 2, 5, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 31, 37, 40, 48, 66, ... (19/39) 20/05 Bourges regional (387 km) 219 olds: 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 14, 16, 20,... (14/25) 361 yl: 1, 4, 7, 15, 17, 24, 33,... (12/38) 10/06 Châteauroux regional (432 km) 180 olds: 1, 2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 15, ... (11/18) 322 yl: 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 16, 18, 26, ... (15/24) 2.577 olds Iprov: 5, 9, 12, 43, 54, 66, 114, 115, ... (13/18) 2.063 yl Iprov: 1, 21, 24, 25, 29, 49, 52, 63, 67, 111, ... (15/24) 25/06 Argenton regional (461 km) 169 olds: 2, 8, 12, 13, ... (13/15) 285 yl: 1, 2, 3, 8, 10, 12, 20, ... (10/12) 1.773 olds Iprov: 6, 50, 70, 76, 113, ... (13/15) 2.005 yl: 1, 2, 3, 25, 28, 42, 77, ... (10/12) 16/07 St-Soupplets (172km) 1273 yb: 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 25, 53, 64, 67, 101, 105, ... (48/83) 13/08/2016 Toury (286 km) 246 yb: 1, 3, 5, 6, 11, 12, 17, 18, 25, ... (16/31) 27/08 St-Soupplets (172 km) 266 olds: 1, 2, 16, 18, 21, ... (3/24) 848 yb: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 22, 25, 35, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 66, 67, 80, 81, 82, ... (43/64)
Kevin, congratulations for your wonderful season and see you next year for new adventures!