Martin de Poorter from Zeeland (Sluis, NL) takes the challenge!

Martin de Poorter from Sluis in Zeeland is undoubtedly a great champion! When he sold all of his old birds from 2009 and before (except for the youngsters) in 2010 we wondered how long it would take him to win top prizes again. 2012 was the first season at a new location and it proved a very successful year!

Since 2012 the pigeons of De Poorter are housed in a loft along the Smoutweg in Sluis. These pigeons know how to win top prizes! Martin has had quite some successes and 2012 was not his first successful season. In fact he has won several great results and national ace pigeons over the years. We give you an overview of his biggest achievements::

1st NPO Argenton         against 3,467 pigeons
1st Prov Beckingen       against 4,852 pigeons
1st Prov Peronne         against 8,473 pigeons
1st Prov Pommeroeul      against 3,815 pigeons
1st Prov Pommeroeul      against 4,555 pigeons
1st Prov Mantes-la-Jolie against 8,049 pigeons
2nd NPO Gien             against 4,349 pigeons
2nd Prov Orleans         against 6,036 pigeons
2nd NPO La Souterraine   against 3,388 pigeons
2nd Prov Pommeroeul      against 3,815 pigeons
3rd Prov Pommeroeul      against 3,815 pigeons
3rd NPO La Souterraine   against 3,388 pigeons
3rd Prov Morlincourt     against 7,487 pigeons
4th Prov Morlincourt     against 7,487 pigeons
4th Prov Pommeroeul      against 4,555 pigeons
4th NPO La Ferte Jouarre against 13,461 pigeons
4th Prov Pommeroeul      against 3,815 pigeons
5th NPO Orleans          against 3,882 pigeons
5th NPO Orleans          against 3,354 pigeons
7th Prov Morlincourt     against 7,487 pigeons
7th Prov Mantes-la-Jolie against 4,555 pigeons
7th NPO Pithiviers       against 6,184 pigeons
8th Prov Pithiviers      against 8,461 pigeons
10th NPO Chateauroux     against 4,386 pigeons
10th NPO La Souterraine  against 4,033 pigeons

This resulted in the following championship titles:

1st Loft Middle Distance young birds Entente 1
1st Loft Middle Distance Entente 1
1st General Ace Pigeon Entente 1
1st Marathon Zeeland Middle Distance
1st Ace Pigeon Middle Distance Marathon Zeeland
1st Ace Pigeon One Day Long Dist. Marathon Zeeland
1st Champion One Day Long Dist. Marathon Zeeland
1st Champion Natour Entente 1
1st Ace Pigeon General Entente 1
4th Dutch W.E.N.C. pigeon Middle Distance
8th Dutch W.E.N.C. pigeon Allround
10th Olympiad pigeon Middle Distance

In 2012, Martin was particularly successful in the race from St. Vincent, where he won a first national in The Netherlands against 3,161 pigeons, as well as a third international against 13,085 pigeons. The winning pigeon is a wonderful Belgian cock that was named Rainman and he has the bloodlines of A and R De Saer. Let’s talk about that later, because he has other results worth mentioning as well. Think for instance of the teletext notations that were won from Gien, Pithiviers, Chateaudun and Bordeaux! It is clear that the quality of the De Poorter breed is demonstrated season after season!

About the future

Martin has had a turbulent career in pigeon racing. First he moved to a different loft, then he became a father (he is very proud of his child!) and now he will sell his allround birds. "A new loft and a fresh start," says Martin. An important factor in this all round pigeon breed is Wittenbuik of Gaby Vandenabeele. It is widely known that this bloodline strengthens your pigeons. It is not surprising that his pigeons take the lead in races of between 200 and 1,200km! This is a great bloodline for Martin and it brought success to his loft.

Top class pigeons

One of this season’s absolute stars was of course Rainman. This talented pigeon was purchased direct from Piet Blancke & Team BDS from Belgium; he won a first national for the Netherlands from St. Vincent against 3,161 pigeons and a third international against 13,085 pigeons. An impressive feat! Click here for the report and the results of this race and further information about this pigeon (for instance how it arrived home in heavy rain)!


Click here for the pedigree of 'Rainman'


The wing of 'Rainman'


The parents of 'Rainman'

Another champion in this loft is of course, Time Bandit; a great pigeon with the bloodlines of Benny Steveninck. You might have heard of him as he is quite a famous champion in Belgium! This pigeon originates from the lines of Gueret & Chipo, which is the main line in this pigeon. Time Bandit has won, for instance, three first prizes:

Gien            1/ 232
   =            2/ 671
   =            2/3,776
Breuil-le-Vert  1/ 341
   =            1/1,078
   =            7/6,101
La Souterraine  1/ 105
   =            3/ 420
   =       NPO 15/2,751
Breuil-le-Vert  9/ 462
   =           24/1,658


(Click here for the pedigree of 'Time Bandit')

We saved the best for last: the top class pigeon De Rauwdauwer is an amazing champion. He is incredibly versatile! He has a great list of achievements in the NPO competitions. To those who are not familiar with pigeon racing in The Netherlands: you could compare the NPO races to provincial races! Take a look at this:

Bordeaux        1/  421
   =      NAT   8/ 4,447 (covering 818km in a single day)
   =      INT  14/10,724
Orleans         1/  384
   =            2/ 1,079
   =            2/ 6,067
Bourges         2/  167
   =            4/  605
   =      NPO  28/ 4,847
La Souterraine  3/  101
   =            4/  385
   =      NPO  25/ 4,911
La Souterraine  3/  113
Orleans         5/  207
Breuil-le-Vert 13/  388
Peronne        14/  517
Argenton       14/  169
Narbonne NAT   82/ 3,968 (covering 907km in a single day)


Click here for the pedigree of 'Rauwdauwer'

This pigeon has demonstrated his talent in almost every race and over almost every distance! This is obviously a versatile champion and an invaluable addition for the fancier who decides to purchase this bird. Martin himself is also a great champion of course who will now focus on international racing. Their opponents will be on their guard in 2013. We wonder what will happen when he's up and running... Martin, good luck with your new challenge!