2019 has been a truly fantastic racing season for Tom & Marnik Van Gaver; this is their palmares:
2nd Nat. Ace pigeon All-round KBDB 2019 6th Nat. Ace pigeon long distance old birds KBDB 2019 7th Nat. General champion of Belgium KBDB 2019 13th Nat. Champion of Belgium long distance old birds KBDB 2019 2nd Provincial champion Long Distance KBDB East Flanders 2019 4th Provincial Ace pigeon Long Distance KBDB East Flanders 2019 1st Best yearling of Belgium one day long distance 2019 - 5 prizes – PIPA ranking 1st Best old bird of Belgium one day long distance 2019 - 5 prizes – PIPA ranking 1st Ace bird Curreghem Centre 2019 1st General Superstar Long Distance “Gouden Duif” competition 2019 1st General Champion OVV-FVOV 2019
And this means their 2019 season was quite similar to previous years in terms of results. One of the most prominent names in their racing team was Tetske Orléan. Over the past two years, this hen claimed a provincial first prize from Orléans and from Bois.
Click here for Tetske's pedigree.
Tetske happens to be a daughter of a full sister of Miss Blue, namely Deep Traveling 681, BE17-4202681. This hen moved straight to the breeding loft, and that proved the right move. She bred a double provincial winner already in 2019, which is quite unusual. Miss Blue is in turn a great racing hen as well, with an excellent palmares! (see below)
Click here for the pedigree of Miss Blue.
The Ricky bloodline
Another pigeon that has truly excelled in Moortsele last season is Little Ricky, BE18-4070849. He is a son of Ricky, one of the top breeders in this loft. Little Ricky won a 1st Nat. Zone Bourges of 4,227 yearlings. And on top of that, Little Ricky claimed three victories, alongside a 5th Nat. Bourges I of 17,969 p. and an 8th Nat. Tulle 7,155 p., making him this year's 2nd Nat. Ace Pigeon Allround KBDB. The apple does not fall far from the tree, it seems.
Click here for Little Ricky's pedigree.
And Ricky is not only an exceptional breeding bird; he has had quite a successful racing career as well. For Ricky's impressive palmares and an overview of his championship titles, click here.
Ricky, a fantatic racing and breeding bird for the Van Gaver pigeon family.
Click here for the full pedigree of Ricky.
Dark Ricky, BE18-4070811, is another excellent racing bird bred from Ricky. We take a look at his best results this season:
1st Interprov. Jarnac 983 p. – fastest of 2,122 p. 46th Nat. Souillac 4,056 p. 29th Prov. Issoudun 4,505 p. 180th Nat. Argenton 22,826 p. 15th Prov. Orléans 2,721 p.
Click here for Dark Ricky's pedigree.
And his grandson Ricky 77, BE17-4156077 is another Ricky descendant that was able to deliver: Ricky 77 is 9th best pigeon from Limoges 2018-2019 and 15th best pigeon from Tulle 2018-2019, and he is also 25th best old bird across all Belgian one day long distance races with 5 prizes. It shows that Ricky is quite an important breeder indeed.
Click here for Ricky 77's pedigree.
Miss Bombeke, BE18-4057938, a great-granddaughter of Ricky, has had a terrific season as well. She was the best one year old in the long distance with 5 prizes in 2019.
Click here for Miss Bombeke's pedigree.
Click here for an overview of the many top prizes that were won with youngsters of Ricky in 2019.
Sweet 16
Sweet 16 BE17-4163516 is another top breeder in the racing lofts of Tom & Marnik Van Gaver. This pigeon was this year's 6th Nat. Ace Pigeon long distance Fond KBDB, and he is an original Raf Den Haese bird. We take a look at the titles and prizes that Sweet 16 has won across his career:
6th Nat. Ace Pigeon KBDB long distance olds 2019
1. Ace Pigeon Curregem Centre 2019
1. Best old bird long distance Belgium 5-6-7 prizes PIPA ranking 2019
Co-winner 7. General Champ KBDB 2019
Co-winner 13. Nat. Champion KBDB Fond 2019
Co-winner Superstar long distance Golden Pigeon 2019
6. Nat. Cahors – 6,905 pigeons 2019
22. Nat. Brive – 4,442 pigeons 2018
33. Nat. Tulle – 6,206 pigeons 2019
34. Nat. Aurillac – 3,886 pigeons 2019
149. Nat. Tulle - 5,326 pigeons 2018
202. Nat. Souillac – 3,737 pigeons 2019
231. Nat. Bourges – 19,133 pigeons 2018
321. Nat. Libourne – 4,605 pigeons 2019
700. Nat. Limoges II – 9,661 pigeons 2019
820. Nat. Argenton - 15,235 pigeons 2019
Click here for the pedigree of Sweet 16.
Finn
Finn is another breeder, alongside Ricky, that has pushed team Van Gaver to new heights.
Finn, BE15-4211540, was a fantastic racing bird and winner of a 1st Prov. Tulle of 1,591 pigeons in 2016 with an impressive 17 minute lead. He also claimed victory in the zone of 2,761 pigeons, and he finished in 9th place of 7,322 pigeons at national level. But that's not all:
1st fastest of 652 pigeons Vierzon 2017 / 7. prov. 7,057 p. 1st fastest of 263 pigeons La Souterraine 2016 / 12. Nat. Z. 2,545 p. 4th club / 13. Nat. Zone 1,890 pigeons Bourges II 2016 5th club / 29. Prov. 531 pigeons Jarnac / 102. Nat. 3,904 p. 2016 5th club / 37. Prov. 2,095 pigeons Vierzon 2016 6th club / 82. Prov. 7,617 pigeons Chateauroux 2016 / 320. Nat. 29,591 p. And he also wins a 1049th-2023rd-2330th-3701st-4632nd National
Click here for Finn's pedigree.
The parents of Finn are the so-called Finn Pair, a couple that has produced talented youngsters on a regular basis.
The descendants of this super class breeding pair have won an impressive number of top results. For an overview of the achievements of the Finn Pair youngsters from 2016 to 2019, click here.
Tom & Marnik Van Gaver can look towards the future with confidence with such a collection of talented racing and breeding birds. And the Ricky and Finn bloodlines are the type of strains that many fanciers are looking for; these are the cornerstones of a nationally renowned pigeon loft. And we care confident that this ambitious father-son combination will be a force to be reckoned with again in 2020!
Lastly, we have an overview of the best results and championship titles of Tom & Marnik in 2019.