Anthony and Edwin complement each other as fanciers
The combination
The Derksen v/d Keuken combination consists of the two brothers-in-law Anthony Derksen and Edwin v/d Keuken, who have joined hands. And they happen to be business partners as well: they run their own company called Madison, which produces pillows, for instance for garden chairs. The year 2014, when Anthony and Edwin moved into each other's neighbourhood, was the starting point of the Derksen v/d Keuken combination. And they each have a number of dedicated tasks. The 30 breeding pairs are kept in Anthony's loft, who also looks after them. The 48 racing pairs live in Edwin's lofts, where Athony helps with the daily caretaking. His day starts at 6 in the morning, when he releases the hens for a one hour training flight. The cocks take off at around 7, and these are then looked after by Edwin. The process repeats itself in the evening from 5 o'clock, although the racing cocks are now the first ones to be released.
Highly successful with pigeons from top teams
As for their pigeon breed, they opted for the shortest way to success, which means they obtained pigeons from renowned teams. They introduced for instance pigeons of Gerard & Bas Verkerk, Edwin Hoogland and the Reedijk-Jongekrijg combination. This proved an excellent choice, judging from some of their best achievements in recent years:
2015 2nd Olympiad Pigeon cat. G Budapest with Olympic Madison
2017 1st National Ace Pigeon allround cat. D. 'de allerbeste' competition with Maxima
1st National Ace Pigeon old birds cat. H. 'de allerbeste' competition with Maxima
2nd National Ace Pigeon allround national competition WHZB with Olympic Maxwell
1st National champion middle distance nominated (NPO)
5th Nat. Olympiad Pigeon old birds cat. H with Golden Angel
5th Nat. Olympiad Pigeon cat. F young birds with Supertalent
2019 3rd Olympiad Pigeon cat. D allround Poznan with Olympic Maxwell
They claimed victory in the NPO in Chateaudun in 2015 against 6844 p., in Bourges (North) in 2016
against 2706 p., in Nanteuil in 2017 against 7946 p. and again in Bourges in 2018 against 3263 p.
Provincial victory in Morlincourt
NL18-1509702 Daut. Olympic Madison - winner in Morlincourt 7778 p.
The combination has been in great form again in 2019, with excellent overall results both in the sprint and the middle distance, as well as in the one day long distance. They had several early arrivals, resulting in six first prizes in CC3 in Province East Holland. The one thing still lacking was a victory at provincial level, which they eventually added to their palmares last weekend, in the race from Morlincourt. A total of 7778 pigeons had been basketed in province 9, and they had to cover more than 400km in soaring temperatures. This race was bound to be won by a talented athlete.
Natour pigeon
The winner from Morlincourt is the blue coloured yearling 18-702 Daut. Olympic Madison. She was basketed only five times for the natour competition as a youngster. The fact that she claimed a prize in each of these races was of course a positive sign, and she proved her worth again in 2019. This is her palmares:
1st Morlincourt 402 km province 9 of 7778 p. 3rd Fay aux Loges 591 km CC3 province 9 of 827 p. 25th NPO province 9 of 6704 p. 50th Chalons en Champagne 412 km CC3 province 9 of 2423 p.
Noble origins
The 18-702 is related to some invaluable bloodlines. Check her pedigree to find out which ones. As her name suggests, she is a daughter of NL13-1719175 Olympic Madison, one of the most prominent players in this racing team in recent years. She had been paired to NL15-1706779 Son Olympic Solange, a direct son of Olympic Solange, arguably the best hen in today's collection of father and son Verkerk. We present to you the two parents of this first prize winner.
Olympic Madison
NL13-1719175 Olympic Madison, 2nd Nat. Olympiad Pigeon cat. G Budapest 2015
The dam of the winner from Morlincourt is Olympic Madison. She has been invaluable both in the racing and breeding loft. She proved her worth as a racing bird with a title of 2nd National Olympiad Pigeon Cat. G Budapest 2015, having won for instance a race from Tongeren against 2739 pigeons. And she left her mark in the breeding loft as well, as the dam/grandmother of:
1st Boxtel 12469 p. 1st Morlincourt 7778 p. 1st Nanteuil 5442 p. 1st Heusden-Zolder 2517 p. 1st Laon 1794 p.
Son Olympic Solange
NL15-1706779 Son Olympic Solange, a son of Olympic Solange G & S Verkerk
The sire of the 18-702 deserves special mention. This NL15-1706779 was bred from two renowned breeders of G & S Verkerk. Olympic Solange, the dam of 15-779, speaks to the imagination of course. She claimed first prizes in NPO races from Argenton and Vierzon, she was 1st National Ace Pigeon in the national WHZB competition in 2008, and she was an Olympiad Pigeon in 2009. We were not surprised to hear that her son has now developed into an excellent breeding bird for the Derksen v/d Keuken combination. He is the sire or grandfather of the following prize winners:
1st Morlincourt 7778 p. 1st Nanteuil 5442 p. 1st Laon 1783 p. 1st Chateaudun 1428 p. 1st Duffel 1205 p.
Promising results
The month of July marks the start of the second half of the season, and now is the time to capitalize on the results of the first half of 2019. Judging from their previous results, we reckon Anthony and Edwin are up for this task.