Maarten Huijsmans has a fantastic start to the season
The 2019 season and previous years
We have seen some spectacular results from Maarten Huijsmans in recent years in Province Brabant 2000, both in the sprint and the middle distance. It resulted in a national podium spot in the national championships NPO for four years in a row. And we reckon he does not intend to settle for less in 2019. Even though we have only had eight races this season, Maarten has already made quite an appearance, winning the title of Grandmaster from Melun in Province 2 Brabant 2000 (hosted by pigeon magazine Het Spoor Der Kampioenen).
Victories from Melun, Pont St. Maxence and Sens
The sprint race from Pont St. Maxence in Brabant 2000 place in the last weekend of May, and it had 2,325 pigeons at the start line in Rayon 1. Maarten had already claimed a first prize in the middle distance race from Melun the week before. And Maarten is competing for the win in the very first days of June as well, now in the race from Sens. We will be discussing each of his first prize winners but we start with an overview of some of the team's best results, paying particular attention to the prize percentages.
13 April Quiévrain 2302 p. 124 km 3-4-6-25-26-28-32-49-etc.(20/42) 5 May Peronne 3620 p. 196 km 6-8-9-11-12-13-14-21-27-33-etc.(35/38) 12 May Melun 3481 p. 338 km 2-4-5-6-19-20-27-34-36-etc.(26/30) 18 May Melun 2693 p. 338 km 1-2-4-8-9-13-14-21-24-31-32-35-36-39-48-etc.(24/28) 25 May Pnt.St.Maxence 2325 p. 270 km 1-17-47-etc. (16/34) 1 June Sens 2165 p. 370 km 1-6-16-18-26-29-etc.(20/24)
3rd National Ace Pigeon NPO winner Pont St. Maxence
NL18-3811439 winner in Pont St. Maxence of 2325 p.
The race from Pont St. Maxence in province Brabant 2000 was scheduled for the last weekend of May, and it was a rather difficult sprint race. Maarten Huijsmans took the win in Rayon 1 of 2325 pigeons with racing bird NL18-3811439, a 3rd Nat. Acebird NPO. This first prize adds to an already impressive palmares; this bird claimed quite a few prizes in his year of birth. This 18-439 finished for instance in third place in last year's National Pigeon Championship young birds (NPO). Both his parents were excellent racing birds as well, with several first prizes to their name. Click here for the full pedigree of 18-439.
Blue Dream, winner in Melun
NL17-3724604 winner in Melun of 2693 p.
The pigeons from Brabant 2000 were basketed on 18th of May for Melun, the second middle distance race of 2019. A total of 2693 pigeons were basketed in Rayon 1. Maarten's team delivered a great overall result, with the two year old hen NL17-3724604 Blue Dream taking the lead. And she did great in the build-up to this race as well, claiming a 14th Peronne (3620 p.) and a 5th Melun (3481 p.). Blue Dream is clearly capable of doing great things: she finished in 13th place in the PIPA Ranking for best sprint/middle distance pigeon in The Netherlands in 2018 (with 10 prizes). Blue Dream is a daughter of NL12-1698913 Super Cees, the 4th Best cock in the national competition WHZB 2015, paired to NL13-1316012 Doutzen. Doutzen was in turn the 2nd best hen in the national competition WHZB 2015. Super Cees and Doutzen have proven to be a perfect mix. Click here to browse through the pedigree of the 17-604.
Doutzen is proving to be an excellent breeding hen
NL13-1316012 Doutzen, its youngsters did exceptionally well in Melun
Maarten had four pigeons in the top ten (in Rayon 1 of 3481 pigeons) in Melun on 12th of May, which illustrates the incredible strength of this team. All four racing birds are in fact related to one and the same breeder: their dam NL13-1316012 Doutzen. We already talked about Blue Dream, the winner from Pont St. Maxence. Her sister NL15-1777233 happened to be in the leading group in Melun as well. Three weeks later, that same sister takes the win in Sens in Rayon 1, beating 2165 pigeons.
Sister Blue Diamond, winner in Sens of 2165 p. and 2nd Melun of 3481 p.
NL15-1777233 Sister Blue Diamond, 1st Sens 2165 p.
Racing hen NL15-1777233 Sister Blue Diamond, second place winner in Melun, is an important component of the hens' team of Maarten Huijsmans. And she needed just three weeks' time to do even better than her second place: she proved the fastest in Sens in Rayon 1 of 2165 pigeons in the first weekend of June. Here is Sister Blue Diamond's palmares:
1st Sens 2165 p. 2nd Melun 3481 p. 3rd Morlincourt 2200 p. 3rd Creil 2123 p. 3rd Gien 934 p. 5th Bierges 3061 p. 5th Pithiviers 1264 p.
Doutzen’s daughter Cindy takes 6th Melun 3481 p.
NL18-3811423 Cindy, daughter of Doutzen, winner of a 6th Melun of 3481 p.
Doutzen's breeding value showed again in the form of the one year old hen NL18-3811423 Cindy, the fourth descendant of breeding bird Doutzen to finish in the top six in Melun. Doutzen was paired to another prestigious breeding cock, Olympic Roel (3rd Cat. G Olympiad Brussels 2017), which adds to her reputation as a breeder. Cindy has done really well over the course of the 2019 season, claiming the following prizes in three consecutive weeks:
5 May Peronne 27 - 3620 p. 12 May Melun 6 – 3481 p. 18 May Melun 13 – 2693 p.
High expectations
There are quite a few sprint and middle distance races still coming up, so we are looking forward to Maarten's next top result. His pigeons have gotten a taste for victory, and it looks like nothing can stop them now.