Stef Bals seizes power in province Brabant 2000 as 1st not nominated loft champion
Young and successful
At 25 years old Stef Bals is still a young fancier, although his achievements in recent years put him in the same category as some much older fanciers with much more experience. Stef is well on his way to become a leading player in the middle distance (his favourite competition) one day, as he went on to win a top prize in the provincial race from Sens in early July. He had four pigeons arrive home almost simultaneously, winning a 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th of 4971 pigeons. You can reread our race report here. This top result was the first of several achievements over the course of this season that eventually led to some remarkable championship titles, ranging from the sprint to the one day long distance. He even won a few national titles as well:
1st Not nominated loft champion middle distance province Brabant 2000 1st Loft champion middle distance rayon 2 (Blauwe Doffer) province Brabant 2000 1st Loft champion one day long distance rayon 2 (Blauwe Doffer) province Brabant 2000 4th Not nominated loft champion sprint Brabant 2000 5th Nominated loft champion middle distance Brabant 2000 7th Not nominated loft champion one day long distance Brabant 2000 7th Nominated loft champion one day long distance Brabant 2000 13th National champion not nominated middle distance 20th National champion not nominated one day long distance
His best results
We did not want to include too many results in this article, so we picked only the team's very best achievements of the season:
26-05 Pt.St.Maxence 275 km 13240 p. 1-5-11-34-35-36-37-38-41-64-etc.(21/24) 23-06 NPO Montlucon 586 km 3762 p. 13-27-etc.(4/4) 30-06 Melun 344 km 5678 p. 3-4-27-33-42-44-52-77-etc.(17/22) 07-07 Sens 374 km 4971 p. 1-2-3-4-27-51-54-83-84-etc.(15/17)
NL10-2047584 NPO Men, the stock sire for Stef Bals
NPO Men, the stock sire of Team Bals
As with most other top lofts, Stef is fortunate to have an exceptionally gifted breeder by his side. His NL10-2047584 NPO Men, which he obtained from his good friend and top fancier Maarten Huijmans, has really left his mark on this pigeon loft. The provincal winner from Sens of 4971 p. (and the second prize winner), as well as the third prize winner in the provincial race from Melun of 5678 p. are direct youngsters of this fantastic breeder. NPO Men is a grandchild of Miss Universe, which laid the foundation for the Maarten Huijsmans pigeon breed. Miss Universe is the dam and grandmother of an extensive number of first prize winners, and NPO Men is the sire/grandfather of:
1st Sens 8503 p. (Middle distance teletext race Brabant 2000) 1st Sens 4971 p. 2nd Sens 4971 p. 3rd Melun 5678 p. 4th Melun 5678 p. 4th Sens 4971 p. 5th Pt.St.Maxence 13240 p. 7th St.Quentin 24121 p. 9th Souppes 14695 p.
We introduce you to a son and granddaughter of NPO Men that have both played a role in the team's title of not nominated loft champion in province Brabant 2000.
Golden Yearling 1st Sens prov. Brabant 2000
NL17-3720611 Golden Yearling, 1st Sens province Brabant 2000 of 4971 p.
Racing NL17-3720611 Golden Yearling was respsonsible for a coveted first prize in the race from Sens on 7th of July, adding a provincial win to his name. Golden Yearling, a fabulous blue coloured son of NPO Men, wins the following prizes in Brabant 2000 this season:
1st Sens of 4971 p. 3rd Melun of 5678 p. 13th Peronne of 20806 p.
The dam of Golden Yearling, NPO Girl, originates from the Huijsmans breed, and she forms a stock pair with NPO Men. The pedigree of Golden Yearling can be seen here.
Blue 883 - winner of three top five prizes in Brabant 2000
NL17-1366883 Blue 883, one of the revelations of 2018
Another very talented bird saw the light of day in 2017, bred from a son of NPO Men x NPO Girl. Blue 883 wins three top five prizes in the provincial results of province 2 Brabant 2000 in 2018:
4th Melun of 5678 p. 4th Sens of 4971 p. 5th Pt.St.Maxence of 13240 p.
Click here for the pedigree of Blue 883
Blue Pearl 1st Pt.St. Maxence prov. Brabant 2000
NL17-1366877 Blue Pearl, 1st Pt. St. Maxence prov. Brabant 2000 of 13240 p.
The next yearling to come to the fore in 2018 is NL17-1366877 Blue Pearl. She takes the win in Pt. St. Maxence in Brabant 2000 of 13,240 p. on 26th of May, and she takes another top result in Sens on 7th of July, finishing in third place. Instead of taking the win, she let two of her teammates finish in front of her. She came in third, resulting in Stef claimed the entire top three that day. Blue Pearl is closely related to Miss Universe, which is her grandmother. Click here for Blue Pearl's full pedigree. Let's take another look at her best results of 2018:
1st Pt.St.Maxence of 13240 p. (Brabant 2000) 3rd Sens of 4971 p. (Brabant 2000) (after two loft mates)
A promising future
Stef Bals has repeatedly demonstrated his potential, turning into one of the stars of 2018. Making it to the top is quite a challenge but maintaining your place is a lot more difficult. Stef is now facing the task of trying to match his results of 2018 next season. This reporter is confident that he will pull this off.