Absurdism (17-09-23)
Absurdism
Absurdism? No, I don't belong to that movement, although I sometimes have the tendency. Especially last July 16th. There was a seething southwesterly and you could see that by the speeds that the pigeons made. Up to 2,100 mpm.
Now I am not saying anything new when I say that in pigeon racing a distinction is made between speed pigeons, middle distance pigeons and long distance pigeons. 'Vitesse pigeons' ('speed pigeons') would be smarter pigeons for shorter distances, but not strong enough for further. For further you need long distance pigeons. They wouldn't be smart, but they would be slow and strong with a lot of stamina. Piet de Weerd called them 'hangers'.
PRACTICE
In practice, that also turns out to be a bit true. The fanciers with specific long distance pigeons are not involved on the shorter flights. They know that and that's why sometimes they don't even clock.
Many 'sprint guns', on the other hand, do not venture their 'fast rascals' on the further distances, knowing that they cannot handle that.
For example, you once had Jef Schellekens, a formidable long distance player.
I remember from Jef that he once got a very early bird from Etampes, a flight of about 400 km. When I congratulated him on that early pigeon, he said, "Thanks, but too bad for the pigeon. Maybe he should get out. One that is so early on 400 kms. cannot be a good long distance pigeon.'
JULY 16, 2023
Back to July 16. With that wind you would say that you should have speed pigeons to excel. With 120 km per hour certainly no long distance pigeons. Yet you sometimes see with (large) long distance pigeons that they only win prizes at high speeds at short distances and come up short when it is 'heavy' (headwind), no matter how absurd it sounds.
For example, someone referred to a 'long distance player' who normally does not performat short distances and now takes a few pigeons on time. He didn't understand that very well. In Sint Job Jos Joosen, long distance player par excellence, won the 1st prize at 2,000 mpm against more than 1,000 youngsters from Noyon.
BELGIAN
It's been a long time since I was looking for pigeons for the one-day long distance because I thought mine couldn't handle it.
At that time, early 90-ies, I often came to Flanders and often heard the name Vandenabeele singing around it. It was praised and reviled, as is usually the case when someone rises too far above the rest. Anyway, I went to VdA with the American M G and came back with 2 pigeons, a 'son Kleinen' and 'daughter Picanol'.
At the time, Koen Minderhoud played well with Klak birds by Tini van Herpen. Koen also wanted to 'race further’. I pointed him to VDA and he too went there, but alas for me. Those 'VdAS’ disappointed as a young pigeon, at least for me, with Koen they immediately made the difference.
COR LEYTENS
At that time I also became 'close' with Cor Leytens, who made unprecedented results with birds of Rinus van Gastel.
Cor would like to cross them with my birds for example. I gave him 2 pigeons and, it is as incredible as it is true, from one he bred a pigeon that won several first prizes against thousands of pigeons at the speed, (she became1st Olympiad pigeon), from the other he got he bred his 'World Champion' long distance. That's what Cor called him, but in fact he was 2nd in this then popular Versele Laga competition.
At the same time, Rens v d Zijde had the National Ace Pigeon Long Distance, out of 2 pigeons of mine, VdA strain. But poor me, I had removed that 'strain’ by now. "What have I done. Why so little patience?' went through me.
That feeling got even worse when the name of 'Romario' sang around at Olympiads.
Parents were mine and also same line. Romario is often praised as the best breeder ever for O L Races. The Swiss Simon Wolf is doing well with them up till today.
But maybe it wasn't too late.
CULLED
After all, Cor was a kind of friend, I went to him and asked if I could see the father of his World Champion. Wanted to buy a couple of youngsters out of it. Cor: 'Of course you would get those for free, it was your pigeon, but it's no longer there.'
How, he's not there anymore?
Lost? Bird of prey? Or 'just' dead? I asked.
Cor: 'None of that. I took him to the poulterer.'
This couldn't be true. The father of the World Champion to the poulterer?
But it wasn't a joke. Cynical jokes were not his style.
STORY
Because Cor knew that this line (as a young pigeon!) disappointed me, he thought it was risky to put that gift of mine in the breeding loft. He first had to prove himself in the flying loft. But what a disaster that was to me. From 4 km. he was already lost and went in a loft somewhere a few blocks away. That would still be possible to live with if, much to Cor's embarrassment, he hadn't made a habit of it.
Whenever that gift of mine saw a pigeon loft somewhere, he walked in there, it seemed.
Cor: 'Of course I didn't tell anyone that bird was yours.'
In the meantime, purely by chance, a youngster was bred from it. Indeed, the later 'World Champion' long distance.
ALSO BIZARRE:
Much has been said and written about the unexplained losses of youngsters.
-What fellow villager J G experienced I believe because it once happened to me too.
He had started to toss his babies, when he came back home they were already flying above the loft, he wanted to call them in, but they left to never see them again, except for a few.
-In the Dutch town of Boxtel they also experience the same misery every year in the local pigeon club: the very first race with youngsters. The competition lasts several hours, in a neighboring town, 10 km. further, a few minutes, according to the lament of B v d B every year.
-I once experienced something bizarre. A baby could not make it home from his first toss of 5 kms only.
'Tidy is neat,' I thought, 'if it's too stupid to come home from such a distance.' A short time later, he was reported. The birds was in Duffel, 50 km. bird's eye view from here. For the sake of decency, I went to get it back. A short time later phone. From Duffel. The pigeon that was too stupid to get home from 5 km could orient itself without any training from 50 km.
20-190 IS A REAL SENSATIONAL RACER.
It was Ace bird in 2021, 2022 and 2023 !!!!!
In 023 it was 1st ace and a full brother was 2nd Ace. Seldom happens. In the Combine called ZAV they were 2nd and 3rd Ace.
Both in 2022 and 2023 it was within the 20 National Ace birds KBDB.
So within the 20 best Middle distance birds of ALL BELGIUM !!!!