Jouke (l) and Tjeerd (r) Elzinga
When the house of Tjeerd's parents was sold in late 2018, their entire collection of old racing birds was sold as well, in a very successful PIPA auction. However, they decided to keep the team of breeders that had been responsible for their achievements in recent years. And a new round of youngsters of these breeders, which are now kept in Jouke's new breeding lofts, managed to make a successful fresh start in 2019. It will not surprise you that this new generation stems from the descendants of the fantastic Esmee, paired to some other fantastic breeders. These young birds completed a total of ten races, leading to the following list of achievements:
Rethel Nat. S4 425 km 7,154 p.: 11-12-16-39-42-54-64-77-78-80-etc. (43/51)
Duiven 134 km 2,817 p.: 4-5-6-7-30-50-51-69-(34/61)
Prov. 9,528 p.: 7-8-11-13-66-etc.
Deurne 193 km 2,077 p.: 1-2-5-6-13-14-37-68-74-82-83-95-etc. (35/53)
Prov. 17,128 p.: 2-3-7-8-18-19-47-97-etc.
Heusden Zolder 244 km 1,001 p.: 2-8-9-10-25-55-72-73-80-84-86-etc. (26/61)
Bierges 291 km 1,463 p.: 6-7-22-30-39-41-43-61-62-64-etc. (32/52)
Prov. 5,546 p.: 7-8-31-49-74-77-80-etc.
Chimay 370 km 945 p.: 6-10-11-19-24-30-36-37-49-72-etc.
Like we said, the youngsters and grandchildren of Esmee were pivotal in this successful new start.
Super class hen Esmee was born in 2012, and she led to a major breakthrough in the pigeon racing career of Tjeerd and Jouke. She was still a yearling when she became the 9th National Ace Pigeon allround in the TBOTB competition in 2013. Her most important victory was without doubt a 1st NPO Châlons. She claimed victory with a lead of 100 m/min (or 23 minutes), with temperatures reaching 33 degrees, and she was also the fastest of 11,000 pigeons. She claimed an impressive 17 prizes per 100 across her racing career. We take a look at her most important achievements and titles:
1st NPO Châlons en Champagne 479 km 4,269 p. 2nd Sittard 241 km 6,763 p. 4th NPO St. Truiden 274 km 20,435 p. 7th Duffel 259 km 4,022 p. 8th Gennep 168 km 2,788 p. 21st Weert 169 km 3,706 p. 37th Sens 590 km 6,036 p. 43rd Sens 590 km 8,725 p. 67th Gennep 168 km 2,788 p. 70th Auby lez Douai 374 km 12,133 p.
And it was thanks to these results that she was a 2014 Olympiad Pigeon in Budapest, representing The Netherlands in the all-round competition. And she claimed the following titles as well:
2014 1st Ace Pigeon allround WHZB/TBOTB 2014 1st Pigeon Champion one day long distance Prov. Friesland 2014 2nd Ace Pigeon general long distance Prov. Friesland 2014 2nd National pigeon champion one day long distance NPO 2013 9th ace pigeon allround (5th hen) TBOTB 2013 11th yearling allround (9th hen) TBOTB
After an impressive racing career, Esmee develops into an excellent breeding hen. Unfortunately, Esmee got sick in the winter of 2017-2018, and she died a short while later. Despite spending just a few years in the breeding lofts, she bred a number of highly talented descendants, often crossbred with some of the finest bloodlines in The Netherlands. Tjeerd and Jouke were particularly satisfied with a joint breeding involving Jan Hooymans, in which Esmee was paired to the legendary Harry: two national ace pigeons, as well as two national winners put together. Besides, a combination with New Harry led to great results as well. And there was also a joint breeding consisting of Esmee x Porsche 911 (PEC). Needless to say, this team has a lot of confidence for the future. We introduce you to a few super class pigeons that originate from these pairings.
NL15-1850078 Hallilujah (Harry x Esmee)
One of the pigeons from the joint breeding of Esmee x Harry is Hallilujah (click here for his imprssive pedigree). This Hallilujah is the new star of the team in Harkema. He is now the sire/grandfather of several top ten NPO winners, including:
1st NPO Sens 4,666 p. (and 1st 8,762 p.) 1st NPO Morlincourt 8,939 p. 2nd Nat. Châlons 6,919 p. 2nd Asse Zellik 4,122 p. 3rd NPO Morlincourt 7,318 p. 3rd Gorichem 19,430 p. 4th Heusden-Z 8,905 p. 5th NPO Morlincourt 7,318 p. 8th Deurne 17,128 p.
Hallilujah is often paired to New Hope (see pedigree); together they have bred several talented youngsters, including the incredible Prince Esmee. This Prince Esmee won two first prizes NPO in just two weeks' time. A brother of Hallilujah has proven to be a great breeder in the loft of Jan Hooymans: one of his youngsters wins a 10th NPO in Kerkdriel.
And Pieter Veenstra obtained a hen from Hallilujah on PIPA, which was paired to his own dam Esmee. A daughter of this hen claimed a 2nd Nat. S4 in Châlons en Champagne of 3,122 pigeons last year.
Like we said, Hallilujah is often paired to New Hope, although she also bred a brilliant racing hen together with Super Rossie of Peter Theunis: NL17-1371156. This 156 is now one of his best breeding hens. This half sister of Prince Esmee is in turn the dam of NL18-137:
8th Nat. Ace Pigeon YBs NPO 2018 6th Best Ace Pigeon YBs PIPA ranking (6 pr) 1st Quievrain 592 p. (and 2nd 5,971 p. as well as 21st Prov. 13,249 p.) 2nd Quievrain 2,173 p. (and 24th NPO 11,166 p.) 3rd Gennep 7,634 p. (and 14th Prov. 18,603 p.) 79th NPO Morlincourt 5,643 p.
And another of her youngster (NL19-571) proved the best young bird of the team; this is his palmares:
2nd Deurne 2,077 p. (and 3rd Prov. 17,128 p.) 6th Chimay 945 p. (and 49th NPO 5,244 p.) 16th Nat. Rethel S4 7,154 p.
His nest brother wins:
1st Deurne 2,077 p. (and 2nd Prov. 17,128 p.
NL17-4289807 Prince Esmee
Prince Esmee is one of those iconic new pigeons in the loft of Tjeerd and Jouke. He had a sensational 2018 season with two first prizes NPO in just two weeks' time. Although it did not really come as a surprise; he had already demonstrated his potential winning a 2nd Asse-Zellik of 4,122 pigeons. He claimed his two first prizes NPO as a yearling:
1st NPO Sens 4,666 p. (and 1st Nat. S4 8,762 p.) 1st NPO Morlincourt 8,939 p. (and 2nd Nat. S4 17,506 p.) Click here if you want to know more about his sensational two victories.
Prince Esmee is a son of Hallilujah x New Hope, making him a grandson of dream pair Harry x Esmee (to learn more about Prince Esmee's pedigree, click here).
The Fokkinga combination are good friends with Tjeerd & Jouke, and they were given a full brother of Prince Esmee. A son (NL18-512) of this cock proved a highly successful yearling, winning:
37th Nat. Ace Pigeon one day long distance WHZB 2019 45th Nat. Ace Pigeon allround WHZB 2019 15th NPO Sens 6,024 p. 24th NPO Auxerre 4,317 p. 25th NPO Vierzon 1,379 p.
And the descendants of Prince Esmee are expected to deliver in future seasons as well, especially thanks to a joint breeding with top class bird Manu of Gerard Koopman.
NL17-1410114 New Esmee (New Harry x Esmee)
Like we said, Esmee was also successfully paired to New Harry (Jan Hooymans). A daughter of this pair claimed a 6th NPO Roye for Jan Hooymans (raced by Christian vd Wetering). And Tjeerd and Jouke also discovered a successful new breeding hen that comes from this pair: New Esmee. For the pedigree of New Esmee NL17-1410114, click here. This New Esmee is for instance the dam of:
NL18-096: 9th Morlincourt 2,057 p.
5th Quievrain 2,173 p.
20th Gennep 7,634 p.
NL18-097: 7th NPO Vierzon 2,945 p.
9th Orleans 1,631 p.
7th Isoudun 946 p.
78th Peronne 10,473 p.
A solid future
Tjeerd and Jouke wished that Esmee was still in their pigeon collection but fortunately enough this fantastic breeder has bred several top quality descendants. The joint breeding with some of Holland's leading pigeons, such as Harry, New Harry and Porsche 911, have provided a solid foundation for the next several years. Hallilujah, Prince Esmee and New Esmee are just a few of the new stars in their breeding loft at the moment. In their very first season of racing, the youngsters of these new breeders have already proven to be highly valuable. So we expect a lot from them in the next several years as well.