We have a few members from other countries, it would be good to know how racing is going in their country. It would be good to get some future members from different parts of the world, There are a lot of OLR going on all over the world at different times of the year. Summer and winter racing at all distances, I am hoping to put some results up of some OLR that some members are taking part in.
https://oneloftrace.live/
Racing around the world.
This is the OLR Murray and myself are racing in, hoping that some information will come through. When the birds start their training, we will post on how our birds are doing.
http://www.meadowoneloftrace.com.au/Mea ... 02024.html
http://www.meadowoneloftrace.com.au/Mea ... 02024.html
I have to say that the nest mates of both of our entries in the Meadow race, 'Free Beer' and 'Devo's Zillion', are excellent youngsters. Very good. And have taken to the road training like ducks to water. Doesn't mean the ones we sent are any good, but if they are doing as well as these, we are off to a positive start.Devo1956 wrote: ↑Mon May 26, 2025 1:11 pm This is the OLR Murray and myself are racing in, hoping that some information will come through. When the birds start their training, we will post on how our birds are doing.
http://www.meadowoneloftrace.com.au/Mea ... 02024.html
Greetings from the land down under.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.
Weber racing pigeons in Germany, a small video birds coming from behind in a race with tail winds.
https://youtu.be/wXEORhaeUhA?si=WrQ3LyQazIyWBvL-
https://youtu.be/wXEORhaeUhA?si=WrQ3LyQazIyWBvL-
-
From The Chair
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2025 6:05 pm
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The dynamic Dutch partnership of Martijn and Buck de Kruijf from Woerden in the province of Utrecht have unanimously dominated the pigeon sport in recent years in fact we can say with confidence that this is the premiere small loft in the Netherlands . The father and son partnership of Buck and Martijn De Kruijf have set the Dutch racing scene ablaze with astonishing results every year ..Buck began with pigeons (helping his father in in 1980 )and then flew solo in 1983 , then in 2012 in its present form the partnership attained international fame with their “Stephanie”, winner of 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon speed TBOTB and 1st Dutch Olympiad Pigeon speed Budapest 2015. In 2016 they won, among other things, 1st Nat. S2 Fontenay 12,266 p. and the National Derby of Juniors (fastest pigeon in the Netherlands) with their “Dakkapel”. The top pigeon of 2017 was “El Salvador”, 5x 1st and 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon speed and 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon yearlings at the Nat. Competition “De Allerbeste”.In 2018 there was “Super Mees”, 2nd Dutch Olympiad Pigeon Allround Poznan.In 2020, Martijn and Buck won, among other things, 1st Nat. S2 Fontenay 19,100 p. with “Tabitha” and 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon young WHZB with “Special Seven Twenty”, and in 2021 they won 6th Nat. Ace Pigeon Speed NPO and 1st Peronne 1649 p. (fastest Prov. 18,607 p.).2022 Was without a doubt one of the best seasons ever with 16x 1st prize in the combination with among others 1st NPO (east) Issoudun 3481 p. and 1st Nat. S2 Chateauroux 8122 p. (with "Sven BFF") and with that they became 3rd best fancier of the Netherlands NPO and 2nd Nat. Ace Pigeon Allround Pipa-ranking ("Little Mees").In 2023 they did even better with 18x 1st in the combination including 1-2-3-5-7-8-9th Niergnies 954 p., 1-5th Niergnies 1734 p., 1-3-4-5-6th Niergnies 1210 p1st Lennik 2714 p., 1-3rd Niergnies 1248 p., 1-3-4-5-6-9-10th Pont St. Max 1882 p., 1-5-6-8-9th Pontoise 1475 p., 1-7-8-9-10-11-12-13th Melun 1088 p., 13-31-33-47th Nat. Issoudun 27,085 p.), etc. and with 1st Nat. Speed Champion (designated) NPO they can add a new national title to their list of achievements, this in addition to o.a. Olympiad Pigeon Allround Maastricht 2024 and 3rd Nat. Ace Pigeon old/allround Pipa ("Olympic Isa"), 4th Nat. Ace Pigeon yearlings De Allerbeste (22-565) and 4th Nat. Ace Pigeon old De Allerbeste ("Little Mees")!In 2024 they won o.a. 1-2-3-5-12-14-15th Niergnies 3207 p., 1-2-6-7-13-15-17-20th Melun 2000 p., 1-3-5-7-9-10-11th Quievrain 1857 p., 1-2nd Pont St. Max 1285 p., 1-7-8th Niergnies 1060 p., 1-2-3rd Fontenay 644 p., 1-16th Biergies 602 p., 1st Issoudun 509 p., 1st Ste. Maure 393 p., 1-3-6-8th Arras 485 p., 1-2-5-6-7th Niergnies 287 p., 2-3-7-10th Melun 1065 p., 2-5-8-11-13th Pont St. Max 1839 p., 4-5-7-8-13th Arras 1962 p. etc. and with that they were flagged as 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon young NPO, 2nd Nat. Ace Pigeon sprint NPO, 5th Nat. Champion sprint, 4th Nat. Champion young pigeons and 3rd best fancier of the Netherlands at the NPO!
All these results have been obtained with a genuinely small team of quality pigeons , and this my friends is no exaggeration as the entire race team at the start of the season consists of 30 hens and 24 cocks . During our conversation Martijn explained that they “whittle this down to 20 couples of old birds and a total of 65 youngsters, with the lofts measuring 90 cm x 120 cm for the hens
160 cm x 240 for the youngster
300cm x 160 for the cocks and after the flights the hens as well .
So lets look now at how both Martijn and Buck motivate their colony of marvellous racing machines in order to achieve such staggering success while competing against household names such as Gerard and Bas Verkerk and the iconic Willem de Bruijn. I will let Martijn explain after all there is nothing better than getting information straight from the champions themselves. “we fly with hens and cock paired with each other and they go to the same race points however they dont see each other before the race, only on their return , also on Wednesday after a short training flight in order to prevent the hens pairing with each other , they learn the game quickly!” When it comes to young bird racing the policy at this loft due to limited space is to race young cocks and hens together and once the longer races begin Martijn and Buck allow them to go to nest on either eggs or a small youngster however it was stipulated to me that if the birds do not perform or are late from races then the nests etc are removed .
When I asked about the lofts procedure In terms of feeding Martijn stated the following: all the birds can eat what they want for 1 hour , at the start of the week (Gerry plus with energy mix added later in the week, the birds are also given Candy mix and minerals from the company Patagoon.
This loft specialises in races from 80 - 650 km approximately 50- 404 miles , the birds used to attain these results are a blend of bloodlines from the likes of Willem de Bruijn, Herman Ceusters, Verkerk,Rik Hermans and more recently the long distance blood of fanciers such as Koopman and Bakker,Henri van de berg has been added to the gene pool. I asked what their selection criteria were and Martijn explained “we make our selection based upon race results as we have a limited amount of space , new introductions are tested vigorously in the race loft long before any stock pigeons are purchased . So upon hearing this it strikes me that this not a colony of “paper pigeons “ but of workhorses forged in the fires of fierce sporting competition within which only the strong survive and it is this winning formula which makes Martijn and Buck de Kruijf the brightest jewel in the crown of Dutch pigeon sport , I wish them success for many years to come!
Many other fanciers also succeed enormously with pigeons from Buck and Martijn, but we would like to put one name in the spotlight here, Tom Van Gaver. Tom received 2 young pigeons from the De Kruijf family. One is 20-613 (from the stock couple "Pipa Koppel") and in 2023 he became 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon small middle distance old KBDB and Olympiad pigeon middle distance Maastricht 2024. The other is 20-621 (daughter "Argenton") and she won 1st Prov. Argenton 533 p. / 4th Nat. 2276 p., 1st Prov. Montoire 409 p., 1st Chateauroux 115 p. / 19th Nat. 4003 p., 1st Chateauroux 424 p. / 5th Prov. 3606 p. and in 2024 he became 8th Nat. Ace Pigeon all-round old/yearlings KBDB with a.o. 1st Nat. Zone Sancoins 1027 p. and 2nd Prov. Bourges 1317 p.!
Also at Patrick Noorman the “Kruijfjes” are doing fantastic with 1st Prov. Ace Pigeon all-round / 4th Nat. Ace Pigeon middle distance NPO 2024 and 1st Prov. Ace Pigeon natour 2024, and that with 2 direct from Woerden! And finally Ruud Bakker won 1st NPO Morlincourt 5232 p. in 2024. with a pigeon born from joint breeding with Buck and Martijn!I UK Fanciers such as Alfie Hawthorn and Stuart Wilcox have nothing but the highest praise for the super pigeons of the De Kruijf family and the positive impact they have had on their own lofts .
An exterior view of the entire loft set up , as you can see dear reader here space is at an absolute premium and so its all about quality pigeons .
All these results have been obtained with a genuinely small team of quality pigeons , and this my friends is no exaggeration as the entire race team at the start of the season consists of 30 hens and 24 cocks . During our conversation Martijn explained that they “whittle this down to 20 couples of old birds and a total of 65 youngsters, with the lofts measuring 90 cm x 120 cm for the hens
160 cm x 240 for the youngster
300cm x 160 for the cocks and after the flights the hens as well .
So lets look now at how both Martijn and Buck motivate their colony of marvellous racing machines in order to achieve such staggering success while competing against household names such as Gerard and Bas Verkerk and the iconic Willem de Bruijn. I will let Martijn explain after all there is nothing better than getting information straight from the champions themselves. “we fly with hens and cock paired with each other and they go to the same race points however they dont see each other before the race, only on their return , also on Wednesday after a short training flight in order to prevent the hens pairing with each other , they learn the game quickly!” When it comes to young bird racing the policy at this loft due to limited space is to race young cocks and hens together and once the longer races begin Martijn and Buck allow them to go to nest on either eggs or a small youngster however it was stipulated to me that if the birds do not perform or are late from races then the nests etc are removed .
When I asked about the lofts procedure In terms of feeding Martijn stated the following: all the birds can eat what they want for 1 hour , at the start of the week (Gerry plus with energy mix added later in the week, the birds are also given Candy mix and minerals from the company Patagoon.
This loft specialises in races from 80 - 650 km approximately 50- 404 miles , the birds used to attain these results are a blend of bloodlines from the likes of Willem de Bruijn, Herman Ceusters, Verkerk,Rik Hermans and more recently the long distance blood of fanciers such as Koopman and Bakker,Henri van de berg has been added to the gene pool. I asked what their selection criteria were and Martijn explained “we make our selection based upon race results as we have a limited amount of space , new introductions are tested vigorously in the race loft long before any stock pigeons are purchased . So upon hearing this it strikes me that this not a colony of “paper pigeons “ but of workhorses forged in the fires of fierce sporting competition within which only the strong survive and it is this winning formula which makes Martijn and Buck de Kruijf the brightest jewel in the crown of Dutch pigeon sport , I wish them success for many years to come!
Many other fanciers also succeed enormously with pigeons from Buck and Martijn, but we would like to put one name in the spotlight here, Tom Van Gaver. Tom received 2 young pigeons from the De Kruijf family. One is 20-613 (from the stock couple "Pipa Koppel") and in 2023 he became 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon small middle distance old KBDB and Olympiad pigeon middle distance Maastricht 2024. The other is 20-621 (daughter "Argenton") and she won 1st Prov. Argenton 533 p. / 4th Nat. 2276 p., 1st Prov. Montoire 409 p., 1st Chateauroux 115 p. / 19th Nat. 4003 p., 1st Chateauroux 424 p. / 5th Prov. 3606 p. and in 2024 he became 8th Nat. Ace Pigeon all-round old/yearlings KBDB with a.o. 1st Nat. Zone Sancoins 1027 p. and 2nd Prov. Bourges 1317 p.!
Also at Patrick Noorman the “Kruijfjes” are doing fantastic with 1st Prov. Ace Pigeon all-round / 4th Nat. Ace Pigeon middle distance NPO 2024 and 1st Prov. Ace Pigeon natour 2024, and that with 2 direct from Woerden! And finally Ruud Bakker won 1st NPO Morlincourt 5232 p. in 2024. with a pigeon born from joint breeding with Buck and Martijn!I UK Fanciers such as Alfie Hawthorn and Stuart Wilcox have nothing but the highest praise for the super pigeons of the De Kruijf family and the positive impact they have had on their own lofts .
An exterior view of the entire loft set up , as you can see dear reader here space is at an absolute premium and so its all about quality pigeons .
Thanks for posting that. Yes, Tom Van Gaver is absolutely a rising star. Those who don't know the name soon will.
Greetings from the land down under.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.
Pigeon racing in Australia.
An overview with some thoughts about the pigeon sport Down Under.
By Murray McPhie.
In looking at the pigeon racing sport in Australia we first need to look at the country itself. Australia is immense. Larger than the USA. Great Britain and Europe would fit inside it. The far north of the country is almost within sight of Papua New Guinea, right up in the tropics. Tasmania in the south east is so far south that the next stop is Antarctica.
So there can be no simple description of pigeon racing in Australia.
The writer of this piece moved to Australia from New Zealand 20 years ago. I had raced pigeons in NZ for a long time, with some modest success. The racing there is very much along the same pattern as in Britain, Young birds in the autumn, old birds in the spring. So it was a shock for me when I took up the pigeons again in Australia. I had to unlearn almost everything I knew and adapt to the methods used here.
In many parts of the country there are no separate young bird/old bird seasons. The usual model is one long season, lasting about 20 weeks, starting more or less in the middle of winter and continuing until early summer. Pigeons of all ages compete in all the races. The origin of this is of course in the climate. In the tropical far north, the summer is the rainy season, with storms and massive rain. So they race from early winter until early spring. In the south the winters can be cold, so there is often a slightly later start, at the beginning of spring. Different regions have established by experience what works for them. The limiting factor is always the heat. Australia is a big dry hot place. So the sport has evolved to avoid the summer. With the change in the climate and many regions becoming a little milder and the seasons a little later, some organisations are venturing to program a bit later in the season.
The races always have a lot of the current year's pigeons in them. These would mainly range from perhaps 5 to 9 months old at the start of the season. They are refered to as 'yearlings' here althought few are anywhere near 12 months old. These pigeons will race right through the program to the longest races, even over 1100 kilometres (700 miles). These younger pigeons perform extremely well in these races.
There are relatively few older pigeons raced here. There is a saying, and it seems true, that it takes a good pigeon to last two seasons in Australia. I see two main reasons. The sport is tough here. The territory the pigeons race over is unforgiving, more so in the longer races. In some areas there is little shelter, no water and no landmarks for many miles in every direction. The birds are obliged to fly long distances with no relief. Added to that the raptor population is large and growing. In a race the pigeons can face repeated hawk attacks It is unsurprising that after one season a lot of them have no enthusiasm for it.
Secondly, because of the nature of the racing, the pigeons must be very fit and very well educated to give them the best advantage. So the young birds are trained hard and often. To not do so is not being kind to them, it is just sending them unprepared. The heavy training and racing takes it's toll, by season's end they are tired.
In Australia there are two sorts of racing. City racing and Country racing.
The city racing, as in the Capital cities like Sydney and Melbourne is a booming, dynamic sport. After WW11 many migrants came from Greece, Italy, Holland, Eastern Europe and Malta. They bought the love of the sport with them. In more recent years there have been arrivals from the middle east and all around the Asian region. All of them love a bet and the excitement of the sport. In the big cities are many Federations and Combines, and thousands of pigeons are sent every week. Pigeon racing is thriving, against all the predictions.
In the country, where I am, the sport is more modest. Many country towns and cities have pigeon clubs, some quite large, some with only a few members. Race entries are smaller, and the racing can be very tough, with pigeons often arriving on their own. In some ways a win in the country racing can be more satisfying than winning one from a bunch of thousands where the pigeon is covered from attack and carried home.
Large lofts and large teams of pigeons are very much the norm in Australia. Teams of about 100 young birds have always been normal, but in recent years starting the season with 200 or even 300 or more is not exceptional. The successful flyers are willing to spend a lot of money on their lofts and pay top prices for pigeons. With air travel the latest top bloodlines from around the world are soon in Australia.
The main system used is simply racing the pigeons to the perch unmated, as is normal with young birds. Since it is winter few race pigeons that are paired or use any sort of widowhood system. The logistics of managing a team of a couple of hundred would prevent it anyway. Many flyers greatly prefer hens to cock birds. The hens are easier to manage and adapt well to the system racing to a perch. Cocks start getting fired up in the spring, chasing hens and wearing themselves out, and are considered a nuisance. There are of course some who do very well with cock birds.
Australia is a big place, and in some clubs the members are spread widely, and travel to clubs for hampering and clocking off is a major consideration. Also pigeons need to be up to the task of flying on their own, sometimes for long distances. The sport has challenges here, but for the racing pigeon fancier, the challenges only make it more worthwhile.
An overview with some thoughts about the pigeon sport Down Under.
By Murray McPhie.
In looking at the pigeon racing sport in Australia we first need to look at the country itself. Australia is immense. Larger than the USA. Great Britain and Europe would fit inside it. The far north of the country is almost within sight of Papua New Guinea, right up in the tropics. Tasmania in the south east is so far south that the next stop is Antarctica.
So there can be no simple description of pigeon racing in Australia.
The writer of this piece moved to Australia from New Zealand 20 years ago. I had raced pigeons in NZ for a long time, with some modest success. The racing there is very much along the same pattern as in Britain, Young birds in the autumn, old birds in the spring. So it was a shock for me when I took up the pigeons again in Australia. I had to unlearn almost everything I knew and adapt to the methods used here.
In many parts of the country there are no separate young bird/old bird seasons. The usual model is one long season, lasting about 20 weeks, starting more or less in the middle of winter and continuing until early summer. Pigeons of all ages compete in all the races. The origin of this is of course in the climate. In the tropical far north, the summer is the rainy season, with storms and massive rain. So they race from early winter until early spring. In the south the winters can be cold, so there is often a slightly later start, at the beginning of spring. Different regions have established by experience what works for them. The limiting factor is always the heat. Australia is a big dry hot place. So the sport has evolved to avoid the summer. With the change in the climate and many regions becoming a little milder and the seasons a little later, some organisations are venturing to program a bit later in the season.
The races always have a lot of the current year's pigeons in them. These would mainly range from perhaps 5 to 9 months old at the start of the season. They are refered to as 'yearlings' here althought few are anywhere near 12 months old. These pigeons will race right through the program to the longest races, even over 1100 kilometres (700 miles). These younger pigeons perform extremely well in these races.
There are relatively few older pigeons raced here. There is a saying, and it seems true, that it takes a good pigeon to last two seasons in Australia. I see two main reasons. The sport is tough here. The territory the pigeons race over is unforgiving, more so in the longer races. In some areas there is little shelter, no water and no landmarks for many miles in every direction. The birds are obliged to fly long distances with no relief. Added to that the raptor population is large and growing. In a race the pigeons can face repeated hawk attacks It is unsurprising that after one season a lot of them have no enthusiasm for it.
Secondly, because of the nature of the racing, the pigeons must be very fit and very well educated to give them the best advantage. So the young birds are trained hard and often. To not do so is not being kind to them, it is just sending them unprepared. The heavy training and racing takes it's toll, by season's end they are tired.
In Australia there are two sorts of racing. City racing and Country racing.
The city racing, as in the Capital cities like Sydney and Melbourne is a booming, dynamic sport. After WW11 many migrants came from Greece, Italy, Holland, Eastern Europe and Malta. They bought the love of the sport with them. In more recent years there have been arrivals from the middle east and all around the Asian region. All of them love a bet and the excitement of the sport. In the big cities are many Federations and Combines, and thousands of pigeons are sent every week. Pigeon racing is thriving, against all the predictions.
In the country, where I am, the sport is more modest. Many country towns and cities have pigeon clubs, some quite large, some with only a few members. Race entries are smaller, and the racing can be very tough, with pigeons often arriving on their own. In some ways a win in the country racing can be more satisfying than winning one from a bunch of thousands where the pigeon is covered from attack and carried home.
Large lofts and large teams of pigeons are very much the norm in Australia. Teams of about 100 young birds have always been normal, but in recent years starting the season with 200 or even 300 or more is not exceptional. The successful flyers are willing to spend a lot of money on their lofts and pay top prices for pigeons. With air travel the latest top bloodlines from around the world are soon in Australia.
The main system used is simply racing the pigeons to the perch unmated, as is normal with young birds. Since it is winter few race pigeons that are paired or use any sort of widowhood system. The logistics of managing a team of a couple of hundred would prevent it anyway. Many flyers greatly prefer hens to cock birds. The hens are easier to manage and adapt well to the system racing to a perch. Cocks start getting fired up in the spring, chasing hens and wearing themselves out, and are considered a nuisance. There are of course some who do very well with cock birds.
Australia is a big place, and in some clubs the members are spread widely, and travel to clubs for hampering and clocking off is a major consideration. Also pigeons need to be up to the task of flying on their own, sometimes for long distances. The sport has challenges here, but for the racing pigeon fancier, the challenges only make it more worthwhile.