Focus on the long distance and the extreme long distance
Striving for success by racing with a large group of birds - it sounds like pigeon racing has a new trend. The idea behind this strategy is to basket a large number of birds, in the hope of winning a few national top prizes and gaining national acclaim. Well, this is a race approach that the Loobuyck family from Aalter is not too fond of. They gained a reputation by winning races with a small pigeon family: they race with just a handful of pigeons (often just two or three), and they focus on the long distance and the extreme long distance. And they do have an impressive list of achievements. They have won quite a few championship titles over the course of 2019 as well:
1. Champion six day Belgian Entente 2019 (in a team with Alfons & Rik Bral) 1. Best pigeon from Cahors 2018-2019 – PIPA ranking 1. General Champion Marathon Fondclub Eeklo 2019 1. Champion Marathon old birds Fondclub Eeklo 2019 1. Champion Marathon YLs Fondclub Eeklo 2019 2. Champion Long Distance YLs Fondclub Eeklo 2019 7. Champion Long Distance olds Fondclub Eeklo 2019
And let's not forget the many first prizes that they won at club level in Valence olds, Limoges II olds and Aurillac YLs. This resulted in several top prizes at national level:
01/6 Limoges Nat 13,569 olds: 168-347-863-1183-1288-1322… (12/16)
16/6 Cahors Nat 6,903 olds: 39-98… (3/5)
22/6 Montauban Nat 5,408 olds: 89-1281 (2/5)
29/6 Agen Nat 3,935 olds: 29-634 (2/3)
29/6 Agen Nat 4,650 YLs: 146-955 (2/2)
05/7 Limoges II Nat 9,661 olds: 6-102-133-728… (7/7)
05/7 Barcelona Nat 7,301 olds: 401 (2)
13/7 Aurillac Nat 3,584 YLs: 13-242-272-598… (13)
19/7 Marseille Nat 2,239 olds: 129 (2)
29/7 Narbonne Nat 3,873 olds: 54 (2)
29/7 Souillac Nat 4,056 YLs: 51-82-147-169-895-917 (6/9)
29/7 Souillac Nat 3,737 olds: 124-816-823 (3/5)
02/8 Tulle Nat 6,206 olds: 48-179 (2/3)
02/8 Tulle Nat 7,155 YLs: 115-310-613 (3/6)
They have had many successful racing seasons, thanks to a group of direct descendants of their first national winners and ace pigeons:
1. Nat. Perigueux 1998 1. Nat. Montauban 2016 1. Nat. Jarnac 2017 1. Nat. Ace Pigeon long distance olds KBDB 2016
Their palmares easily could have been even more impressive: they were just a few seconds away (2 to be precise) from a prestigious international victory from Marseille (they settled for 2nd Nat. and Internat. Marseille). And they also missed out on a national first prize from Bordeaux, due to a control ring not being clocked in time (the pigeon arrived home in time but they forgot to clock the control ring). Their palmares is quite impressive nonetheless.
1st Best pigeon from Cahors 2018-2019
Jos and Jan claimed a first prize in the PIPA ranking for best pigeon from Cahors 2018-2019 with one of the leaders of their racing team:
-Kristal BE15-4008368
38. Nat. Cahors 6,356 p. ’18 (747,292 Km) 98. Nat. Cahors 6,903 p. ’19 37. Nat. Limoges 9,162 p.
He is a full brother of long distance star Robijn, winner of:
45. Nat. Montluçon 19,298 p. 50. Nat. Brive 8,674 p. 80. Nat. Brive 3,850 p.
Sire: Diamant BE09-4101742
Himself an outstanding racing bird and winner of a 1st Narbonne of 199 p. - 7th Nat. Narbonne of 6,583 p., a 1st Montrichard of 174 p. and many other top results in the national long distance. He is a brother of the fantastic Keikop, which means he is a son of top breeder Bonte Hebberecht 968/05 (a direct Chris Hebberecht) x Daughter 1st Nat. Castres (Hendrik Mortier). Bonte Hebberecht is also a grandfather of a 1st Nat. Jarnac of 5,134 p. (the fastest of 10,251 pigeons) in 2017.
Dam: Nest sister Barca Fonne BE11-4078087
She is a wonderful breeding hen. She is a sister of several prize winners: a 1st Nat. Montauban of 4,327 p., a 3rd Nat. Montauban of 3,990 p., a 13th Nat. Aurillac of 3,584 p., a 48th Nat. Tulle of 6,206 p., a 59th Nat. Souillac of 3,641 p., and a 75th Nat. Argenton of 22,384 p. She is a daughter of top breeder Fonne 032/05 (himself winner of a 1st club and 40th Nat. Narbonne of 6,801 p.) x Superkweekster 772/09 (granddaughter of a 1st Nat. Perigueux).
Click here for Kristal's full pedigree.
This is another descendant of the successful bloodlines of Perigueux and Fonne (from the late Alfons Hoste). Fonne's breeding potential clearly reflects in the achievements of his youngsters and grandchildren. Let's have a look:
1. Nat. Montauban – 4,327 p. 3. Nat. Montauban – 3,990 p. / 1. club 150 p. / 2. prov. 884 p. 3. prov. St.Vincent – 514 p. / 19. Nat. 3,053 p. 9. prov. Barcelona – 1,829 p. / 147. Nat. 8,764 p. 13. Nat. Aurillac – 3,584 p. / 1. club 47 p. / 8. prov. 602 p. 48. Nat. Tulle – 5,326 p. 50. Nat. Brive – 8,674 p. 59. Nat. Souillac – 3,641 p. 75. Nat. Argenton – 22,384 p. 75. Nat. Tulle – 5,326 p. 78. Nat. Brive – 9,049 p. 89. Nat. Narbonne – 4,571 p. 96. Nat. Brive – 5,286 p.
One of the greatest stars in the Loobuyck pigeon family in recent years was without doubt Bronze Star, a grandson of top breeder Fonne. This is his palmares:
-Bronze Star BE14-4283218
2. Prov St.Vincent 512 p. ’18 3. Nat St.Vincent 2,777 p. ’18 203 Nat Cahors 6,356 p. ’18 250 Nat Perpignan 3,966 p. ’18 78. Prov Brive 1,622 p. ’17 152 Nat Bourges 23,155 p. ’17 278 Nat Jarnac 4,167 p. ’16 342 Nat Argenton 13,629 p. ’16 Enz…
Sire: De Tulle BE13-4156911
Brother of a 1st Nat. Montauban of 4,327 p. in 2016, and a son of Fonne BE05-4071032 (winner of a 1st club and 40th Nat. Narbonne of 6,801 p.) x Superkweekster BE09-4101722 (from Son 1st Nat. Perigueux Vechter 191/98 x stock dam Daughter 20 649/04 Van Damme-Boddaert).
Dam: Omega BE11-4078060
A daughter of Alfa BE10-4173123, a full brother of Stouten (1. Prov Tulle, 1. Ace Pigeon long distance Meetjesland), Superkweekster etc. (bred from Vechter191/98 x stock dam Daughter 20 – Van Damme-Boddaert). Alfa was paired to Geschelpt De Rauw BE09-4101766, and she is a direct Etienne De Rauw, from the best lines of Marcel Aelbrecht: the line of Goede Blauwen x granddaughter Marseille.
Click here for the full pedigree of Bronze Star.
Sjaak Van de Velde & Son from Breskens (NL) had one of the best yearlings in the extreme long distance in The Netherlands in their collection: Grandson Fonne. This excellent bird won a 22nd Nat. St. Vincent of 2,570 p. and an 89th Nat. Pau of 3,551 p., which are excellent results! It is clear that this Fonne bloodline is currently one of the best bloodlines for the long distance and the extreme long distance in international pigeon racing. It is one of the strongest lines of the Loobuyck pigeon breed.
These are truly fantastic racing birds that can claim top prizes in the national and international races of the long distance and the extreme long distance, along with the descendants of Fantoom (15th Nat. Limoges of 10,448 P., 4th Nat. Tulle 6,695 p., 94th Nat. Souillac 7,045 p.), Perigueux (1st Nat. Perigueux), Stouten (1st Prov. and 4th Nat. Tulle 7,467 p., 1st Ace Pigeon long distance Meetjesland), Bordeaux (moral winner of a 1st Nat. Bordeaux and the sire of Spirit; 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon long distance KBDB 2016), Keikop (winner of a 6th Nat. and 15th Internat. Tarbes 12,537 p., 57th Nat. Montauban 5,438 p., 64th Nat. Tarbes 4,812 p., 109th Nat. Brive 17,546 p. etc.), and Jen's Favourite (61st Nat. Barcelona 7,791 p., 75th Nat. Barcelona 8,764 p., 86th Nat. Perpignan 6.248 p.). And the aforementioned Bordeaux and Fantoom are in fact two grandsons of Perigieux. These are incredibly strong long distance athletes!
Suppliers of winners in other lofts in 2019
The Loobuyck pigeons not only excelled in their own lofts in the national competitions in 2019; they were at the basis of many other national successes in other lofts as well. For instance, the winner of a 1st National Montauban 2019 for Marnick De Witte stems from the line of the 1st Nat. Perigueux of Jos & Jan Loobuyck from its mother's side. And the winner of a 2nd National Montauban 2009 of Gabriël Van Overstraeten is a grandson of top breeder Keikop of Jos & Jan Loobuyck. Those are excellent references indeed!
The Loobuyck pigeons are capable of winning races at national and international level, and they are able to breed new generations of equally gifted birds. This means Jos and his son Jan can look towards the future with confidence, thanks to the breeding potential of their pigeon family. After all, pigeon racing is about one thing and one thing only: winning races!