‘For the last few days there was clearly a ‘cutting edge’ to the pigeons when they were training… there was speed in them and Aarsele seemed to be too small… it was as if it was full of pigeons… they were ‘sown’ in the skies… then you know that they are in condition! Then, of course, the ‘hope’ grows… but as to achieving this ‘stunt’… no, no-one expected that! At the same time this is inconceivable and… ‘Unforgettable’! These are the words of a still clearly emotional son Stefan Ally…their two pigeons stormed home straight to their goal ‘side by side’… in a nice straight line, straight out of the ‘hole’… so as they put it here in the area of West-Flanders say. It was Mrs Ally who noticed them first… the pigeons just had to fight it out as to who entered the trap first, and pocket the national victory… although of course the pigeons didn’t know this!
To be honest… we hadn’t expected the pigeons so early… we were the first reports on the live results on PiPa… there were hardly any reports when our 2 pigeons came storming home! Then we knew that they must be ‘very early’ … but we didn’t directly think about ‘national victory’… although we secretly hoped so, but there was always the possibility of a pigeon landing further away says Stefaan. It was followed by a ‘nerve-racking’ hour… other pigeons remained the 2 ‘fastest’ on the internet but you never know if one or another pigeon has arrived home with a higher velocity! In the early evening the definite outcome was given, followed by the ‘relief’…they could celebrate!
They clocked both pigeons at 16h01’59” and 16h02’07”, a third pigeon followed a few minutes later at 16h07’09”… from a distance of 693,217 Km gave a velocity of 1244,56- 1244,26 and 1233,15 m/min … good enough for 1-2-3 National… only Filip Deprol from Oedelem, who in a millimetre sprint, could place himself just in front of the 3° Ally pigeon with 1233,22 m/min… with a margin of say 1 ½ to 2 seconds! The ‘Top-5 National entirely coloured West-Flanders with in place 1-2-4 Norbert & Stefan Ally, 3° is Filip Deprol and 5° Vanhee-Decoster from Jabbeke… the first stranger in the results is East-Flemish Chris Hebberecht from Evergem in 6° place ‘national’… with his ‘super crack’ B08-4351119… which scored ‘top national’ for the 4° time in a row (Brive-Cahors-Limoges-Souillac), and a current coefficient of 0,427% adds strength to his ambitions of being a candidate for ‘National Ace pigeon Long Distance KBDB’!
A ‘glory day’….
Sunday the 18th of July will always be given a ‘special colour’ on the calendar in the Norbert Ally home, when they stunted nationally against 7.039 participating pigeons (558 less than last year 2009) and this in a competition raced in real ‘pigeon weather’… after an extra night in the basket, because for the 3° week in a row the pigeons… due to adverse weather conditions in Central France… could not be liberated until Sunday!
It was then a ‘glory day’ for the Ally family… a day not to be forgotten. Although we have to add that the ‘Ally pigeons’ have ‘something’ with Souillac… in his basketting club ‘De Arend’ in Rekkem, they don’t call Norbert ‘Mister Souillac’ for nothing… It is the 3° year in a row that they have managed to ‘stunt there in Aarsele from this liberation place, with
In 2008: 2-3-5-7-9-10° Provincial Souillac 1.712 pigeons… with the first 3 nominated at the front and so 6 within the first 10 prizes provincial!
In 2009: 2-5-12° Provincial Souillac 1.444 pigeons
In 2010: the apotheosis with 1-2-4° National Souillac 7.039 pigeons!
They also achieved a magnificent series last Sunday, with locally:
Souillac Club Rekkem 289 o.b. 1-2-3-16-19-24-27-38-39-48-49-57-69-74 (14 op 19)
Provincial 1.568 o.b. 1-2-4-64-69-88-96… etc (Prov ‘Top-100’)
National 7.039 o.b. 1-2-4-89… etc. (provisional national prognosis)
Stock building and care
Norbert & Stefan’s colony consists for 70% of pigeons from grandmaster Gaby Vandenabeele from the nearby Dentergem…descendants from virtually all the stock lines and top pigeons of the maestro from Dentergem moved to Aarsele, the latest acquisitions were a few direct sons of the ‘Bliksem’! This year they started with 70 widow cocks (40 old birds and 30 yearlings), and each year 150 youngsters are severely tested… which are bred from a 1° + 2° + 3° round… from the 3° round only the cocks are let out. The youngsters are raced with the sliding door… and 1 loft in widowhood with old hens. These are then released into the loft… and whoever is home first can choose an old hen!
The widowers are coupled early, so take part in winter breeding… and at the beginning of April they are allowed to brood for 3 days before going into widowhood! The accent lies then on the provincial ‘grand middle distance’ and national ‘extreme middle distance’… in short, races between the 400 and 700 Km. The 3 first pigeons from Souillac which then ended up in places 1-2-4 nationally… had only flown Limoges Derby 2 weeks previously, and they now realize that this is best. Seeing as how 2010 can be considered as extremely ‘difficult’… there were also only (3) other ‘rested’ pigeons entered wherefrom they had only flown 3 weeks ago from Argenton and 4 weeks ago from the provincial Limoges at the end of June… it was precisely these pigeons who were unsuccessful from Souillac. The hens are never shown before basketting… the pigeons are locked up in their box and are given their nest dish for 15 minutes. For Souillac a few empty boxes in the loft were opened… the pigeon which won 2° Nat Souillac, conquered a different box… maybe that gave him extra motivation!
Norbert is a veterinary surgeon by trade and enjoys a strong reputation in the area… our visit to this national victor was then an ideal opportunity to go deeper into the care, preparations and his view on the ‘medical picture’. In Aarsele the widowers train 2 x per day for an hour… and these trainings are the ‘ideal measuring tool’ for the condition of the pigeons… because it is the ‘level of condition’ with which the pigeons are basketted that determines the results for a great deal. Let us take a look at the condition building step for step towards a following basketting by the Norbert & Stefan Ally household. According to our hosts, the care that the pigeons receive directly when they return home is the most important… and is aimed at ‘prevention’! Although Norbert is a veterinary surgeon… his busy schedule means that he doesn’t always have time to thoroughly examine his ‘own pigeons’ when they return home from a race. According to Norbert pigeons which have stayed in the basket for 3 or 4 days has somehow come into contact with ‘trichomonasis’… that’s why, when the pigeons return home, they are given a pill orally. Examining a few pigeons shows whether further treatment is necessary. This is very important says Norbert… because tricho germs can be the underlying cause of ‘head sickness’… that’s why ‘when necessary’ the ‘heads’ are also directly treated!
For this they are treated ‘individually’ with antibiotics in the form of a ‘pill’! This has the advantage of being able to use the ‘perfect’ dose (for 2 to 3 days)… with which one is certain that the pigeons have been given ‘enough’. These products for ‘head sickness’ have the hallmark of giving the drinking water a ‘bad taste’… as a result of which the pigeons drink less, and so don’t digest enough of the ‘product’, which means that the ‘cure’ has little or less effect (with the danger of resistance)… in addition, some of the particles oxidize quite quickly as a result of which they have no effect after a few hours in the drinking water, or they react to the lime in the water… that’s why they prefer to treat the pigeons with ‘pills’ ! For feed they are firstly given ½ super diet- ½ racing mixture and the following day ‘super diet’ topped with yoghurt enriched with a few drops of vitamins and amino acids… this is supplemented with ‘nutri power’ (granules from the firm Natural)… this small amount of protein builds the muscles back up… and this is all very easily digested, especially when compared to the use of peas and beans as a source of protein for the building up of the muscles again! This is then used on day 2 and 3 after the homecoming… and starting the following day, feed is given that is easily digested… varying between the ‘Vandenabeele mixture’, ‘Casaert-mixture’ and ‘Gerry Plus’… in other words, low-protein mixture! The name is not important, the accent here lies on ‘quality’! Towards basketting they are then fed more ‘Super Widowhood Plus’… and the last two days the majority of the feed consists of a mixture of ‘Energy Plus’ Versele and ‘Turbo Energy’ from Matador… so a very ‘rich’ mixture. Norbert finds that the ‘granules’ in the Plus-mixture are especially an extra advantage…his pigeons were taught toe at it from an early age as they are raised with ‘Start Plus’ from Versele-Laga… a mixture that they are also given for the first few weeks after the races have finished! The most important thing is… to keep the pigeons eating until the last day… they have to ‘keep eating’. The names of the firm or of the mixture in question don’t actually play a role, according to Norbert… the emphasis lies on ‘quality’ and ‘freshness’! You can be sure that ‘storing’ so many food supplements (including the ‘granule’) as well as the feed itself, plays an important role… especially by extremely warm temperatures so as we have had over the past few weeks… because ‘oxidation’ can also occur by the feed… and then it quickly loses its feeding value!
And vitamins and/or supplements Norbert?
People sometimes ask me… which are the best ‘vitamins’ to use? I always answer… those from the ‘fridge’! Here also… vitamins oxidise easily (especially by high temperatures)… and then quickly loses its quality! Especially preparations with Vitamin B12! Why else do you think it says on the bottle keep ‘cool and dark’? If I then sometimes enter lofts by fancier and I see the sacks just lying around in the hall or simply in the loft… then I have my doubts! There are many good preparations on the market, but you have to read the leaflet thoroughly! Says Norbert Ally, with a warning finger… not only a professional at that level, but also someone with a treasure of practical experience!
The winners!
Time to take a closer look at the ‘winners’… the ‘stuntmen’ from Souillac!
-The ‘1° National Souillac’ B06-3061102
Father: ‘Ronaldo’ B98-3243085 (also sometimes just called ‘Roland’), who originates from the very old ‘small’, but ‘very strong’ colony of Roland De Waele from Dentergem… a fancier with a ‘small basket’, who stopped with the pigeon sport at the end of the ’90’s… Roger & Dirk Speybroek from Vinkt also race strongly with these pigeons, whilst the 1° Nat Argenton Yearlings 2010 from Andre Van Herzeele from Nazareth also has on father’s side a cock stemming from Roland De Waele… he was a small fancier, but an ‘extremely good’ one!
The ‘Ronaldo’ was about the ‘best breeder’ over the last few years in the lofts of Norbert Ally. His wins include
6° La Souterraine 1.691 p.
3° Prov Brive 3.200 p., and 22° Nat 22.026 p.
22° Prov Chateauroux 7.201 p.
46° Prov Argenton 2.459 p. etc....
Mother: ‘Mathilde’ B05-2254002... self 3° La Souterraine 118 p., 10° Argenton 141 p., 18° Bourges 548 p., 28° Blois 453 p… and bought in the auction F.Vandenbrande as daughter of the ‘Gollem 815/02’ (a 100% Jules & Jos Engels, Putte as grandson of the super breeder and stock father ‘231’/86) x ‘Mother Mathilde 759/02’ (daughter of super crack ‘Frimo 114/00’ with his 1° Toury 250 p., 1° Bourges 334 p. and 11° Nat Bourges 15.581 p… x ‘Sister Aline 231/001’, sister of the 1° Nat La Souterraine ’96… and granddaughter of the 1° Nat Limoges Vandenabeele).
It was not the first win for the 1° Nat. Souillac , because he had already won 1° Prov + 1° Nat Argenton Zone A 1.389 p… a selection of highlights from his honours list:
’06 La Souterraine 224 p. 2
Prov 1.605 p. 6
’06 Gueret 301 p. 24
Prov 1.734 p. 109
’07 Ablis 402 p. 34
’07 Argenton 152 p. 1
Prov 573 p. 1
Zone A 1.389 p. 1
’08 Brive Prov 1.746 p. 103
Zone 4.381 p. 407
’08 Limoges o.b. 500 p. 29
Prov 2.274 p. 102
Zone 5.549 p. 212
Nat 11.995 p. 428
Derby 237 p. 18
Prov 1.362 p. 60
Nat 6.016 p. 236
’08 Souillac Prov 1.712 p. 263
’08 Argenton 86 p. 5
Prov 1.060 p. 94
Nat 5.208 p. 817
’09 Chateauroux 560 p. 33
Prov 4.293 p. 343
’09 Brive Prov 2.770 p. 199
Nat 17.456 p. 382
’09 Limoges 316 p. 28 (20 June)
Prov 2.216 p. 129
’09 Limoges 370 p. 4 (4 July)
Prov 2.170 p. 12
Nat 11.869 p. 38
’10 Limoges 295 p. 67 (20 June)
Prov 2.300 p. 425
’10 Limoges 397 p. 39 (4 July)
Prov 1.929 p. 205
’10 Souillac 289 p. 1
Nat 7.039 p. 1
Pedigree 1steNational Souillac
-‘Brother Rappen’ B08-3081193
Winner 2° National Souillac 2010! Full brother of the Rappen" (B05-3083805), a real ‘crack’ which now resides in the breeding loft. This brother of the 2nd National Souillac raced a.o. Vichy 14/1314; Bouillon 3/284; Bouillon 1/90; Orleans 1/687 and 1/701; Tours 25/3320; Brive 363/16007; Nantes 8/747; Souillac 60/1712 etc…
Father: the ‘Rapid’ B00-3017502… won 15 x per 10 above Paris including 1° Brive 263 p. in ’02 + 35° Nat Brive 25.352 p.! He comes out the very best breeding couple, in other words the ‘stock couple’ of the 90’s, namely:
GF: ‘Son Wittenbuik’ B92-3233107, direct Gaby Vandenabeele… he is , amongst other things, father of ‘Aske’ and ‘Bieke’ or the 1° + 2° Prov Ace pigeon youngsters, from ‘Primus’ (who is grandfather of the 4° Nat Souillac 2010), the ‘Rapid’, the ‘Langen’, and ‘Kim’ etc…
(and son of the legendary ‘Wittenbuik 112/88’ Vandenabeele x ‘Jeanine 552/89’)
GM: ‘Tineke’ B95-3192525, self 2° Bourges 339 p., 8° Prov 3.450 p. and 70° Nat Bourges 31.666 p.. (and daughter of the top breeding couple ‘Blauwe Bliksem 109/92’ x ‘Brave 420/93’
Mother: ‘Half-sister Falco’ B03-3160379… direct Eric Vermandere, Oekene… and half-sister of the wondrous ‘Falco’ from Gaby Vandenabeele…
GF: the ‘Noël’ B97-3129754… top breeder and father of ‘Clijsters’: 1° Intnat Pau and of ‘Falco’!!!
GM: ‘Late Witoog’ B00-2407073… originating from C.Hennes (line 8° Nat Ace pigeon KBDB x Daughter Wittenbuik Gaby Vandenabeele)
This ‘Brother Rappen’ performed as follows:
’08 Blois 293 p. 16
Affil 767 p. 38
’08 Clermont 820 p. 80
’08 Tours 604 p. 30 (9 Aug.)
Prov 2.903 p. 128
’08 Tours 469 p. 45 (16 Aug.)
Prov 3.091 p. 148
’08 Tours Prov 2.410 p. 131 (23 Aug.)
’08 Tours 349 p. 10 (30 Aug.)
Prov 2.349 p. 42
’09 Orleans 198 p. 14
’09 Ablis 328 p. 32
’09 Tours Prov 3.642 p. 186
’09 Limoges Nat 16.893 p. 2500
’09 Tulle 124 p. 9
Prov 718 p. 52
Nat 7.467 p. 112
’10 Chateauroux 604 p. 10
Prov 4.093 p. 43
’10 Brive 552 p. 13
Prov 2.868 p. 41
Zone A 6.470 p. 77
Nat 16.815 p. 113
’10 Limoges 295 p. 25 (20 June)
Prov 2.300 p. 139
’10 Limoges 209 p. 19 (4 July)
Prov 1.104 p. 120
’10 Souillac 289 p. 2
Nat 7.039 p. 2
Out the mother of this 2° National (daughter "Noël") they had also already bred an ‘extreme long distance topper’ (in combination with "Son Goeroe": Goeroe flew 1st National Dax 2003 and is from Jacques Muylle, Zonnebeke). The 06-3198070 raced 7/7 in the extreme long distance with St.Vincent07: 19/177; Tarbes08: 55/4660; Perpignan08: 220/7603; Tarbes09: 757/4812; Perpignan09: 383/7364; Montauban2010: around the 250th National; Tarbes2010: 31/1104… Class then!
-The ‘Lucky’ B06-3061226
Winner 4° Nat Souillac 2010 and also 1° nominated from Souillac!
Father: the ‘Laten ‘ B05-3215749 directly placed in the breeding loft
GF: ‘Primus’ B98-3242939 super racing pigeon with 1° Clermont 864 p., 12° Prov Angouleme 3.373 p., 33° Nat Limoges 24.084 p., 55° Nat Limoges 16.945 p., 55° Nat Souillac 7.358 p. (out the stock couple ‘Son Wittenbuik 107/92 x ‘Tineke 525/95’… see detailed description here above by ‘Brother Rappen’).
GM: the ‘Goeie Picue’ B97-3119817 won as youngster 7 x per 10 with a.o. 1° Clermmont 588 p., 1° Chartres 1.043 p., 2° Chartres 568 p., 4° Blois 323 p.. and ‘Ace pigeon Bruges Championships’)
Out ‘Nest brother Laten’ 750/05 they bred the top pigeon: "Black Surprise"; 07-3127662 which last year won four tops at national level with: Bourges 96/27506; Argenton 28/3682; Souillac 41/7597 (2nd provincial) and Tulle 67/5676 p. Raced this year two weeks before Brive the 9/4093 from Chateauroux Prov, to unfortunately never return from Brive.
Mother: ‘Sister 1° Prov La Souterraine B05-3083738
GF: ‘Son Crack 304’ B97-3155999 self an extra racing pigeon with 7° Bourges 354 p., 7° Bourges 184 p., 7° Tours 105 p., 13° Chateauroux 882 p., 14° Blois 507 p…!
GM: ‘Goed Blauwke’ B00-3017521... 3° Gueret 136 p., 8° Clermont 250 p., 23° Blois 725 p (out the ‘Laten 599/90’, a grandson of stock father ‘Kleinen’ Gaby Vandenabeele… x ‘Blauw Norman 293/97).
The ‘Lucky’ is more or less the current ‘star racer’ of the loft with the following performances to his name
’06 Clermont 522 p. 30
’06 Gueret Prov 1.734 p. 188
’07 Orleans 1.207 p. 118
’07 Argenton 636 p. 2
Prov 5.134 p. 5
Oude 343 p. 3
Prov 2.401 p. 5
’07 Bourges 257 p. 12
Prov 1.279 p. 95
’07 Argenton 152 p. 15
Zone 1.389 p. 112
’08 Bourges 371 p. 2
Prov 2.010 p. 3
Nat 19.084 p. 10
’08 Angouleme Pro 2.070 p. 361
’08 Argenton Prov 2.246 p. 227
’08 Souillac 363 p. 4
Prov 1.712 p. 3
Zone 3.625 p. 35
Nat 7.315 p. 259
’09 Ablis 692 p. 47
’09 Argenton Prov 3.387 p. 562
’09 Souillac Prov 1.444 p. 224
Nat 7.597 p. 1263
’09 Tulle 164 p. 9
Prov 780 p. 28
Nat 5.676 p. 44
’10 Tours Prov 2.898 p. 221
’10 Bourges Prov 2.170 p. 153
Zone 6.154 p. 540
Nat 22.476 p. 2521
’10 Poitiers Prov 2.128 p. 201
’10 Tours Prov 2.285 p. 604
’10 Limoges 397 p. 14
Prov 1.929 p. 80
’10 Souillac 289 p. 3
Nat 7.039 p. 4
Three superior racing pigeons, which are anything but chance hits, but without doubt very strong extreme middle distance racers, who from Souillac, performed a real ‘spectacle’ by possessing the top 3 nationally… where the ‘Lucky’ eventually stranded by 2 seconds, and had to be satisfied with a 4° place Nationally… after his 2 loft companions who signed for double ‘national victory’! A victory that caused the champagne corks to pop… and which they will enjoy in Aarsele for a long time to come… because this is a victory ‘to be framed’! Wherefore a big congratulations to Norbert, Stefan and the entire family Ally! This was simply… monumental!