Lebbeke: This is pigeon sport on the highest level … a real top fancier … a man who knows how to score with a very little team. These words sounds all very "ready-made" but let me explain everything. In 2003 Marcel, with his wife Celine, had a superb racing season. They had the 1st national ace-pigeon K.B.D.B. on the long distance, 2nd general champion K.B.D.B., 9th national Champion KBDB long distance. With these kinds of results, the very small eyes of the Taiwanese fanciers go a little bit wider open and they lay so many Taiwanese dollars on the kitchen table that even Marcel didn't know what to do. Result: the national ace-pigeon, together with his parents and some other top birds went to the land where they eat rice every day with chopsticks. Three other widowers got a ticket for the breeding loft. All those "deals" are all quickly made, but if I tell you that our friend has only 19 widowers (inclusive of year birds), then I don't need to explain further.

No wonder that by the beginning of the season, Marcel told everybody that he didn't expect a lot of the season 2004. But if there is a superb quality of birds present in the lofts and the fancier himself is super-motivated to do everything for his birds, well then miracles can happen. And so it went. The beginning of the season was not as expected (Marcel was in the hospital for a few weeks), but afterwards everything went like in "the old days" with even a double provincial victory.

Please believe me-this loft is extremely strong. And before I forget, in 1997 Marcel won the 1st national La Souterraine against 9578 youngbirds and in 1998 the first national Perpignan against 5834 old birds also good for the 3rd international against 15944 old birds.


FATHER-IN-LAW

Marcel relates, "the pigeon sport was totally unknown to me, until I had special feelings for my 'girlfriend.' My future father-in-law was a farmer and a pigeon fancier, and we have to tell it like it is. He was the champion here in the area on the short-distance. Pigeons… pigeons and again pigeons… that was the only thing I heard when I visited my girlfriend. On a beautiful morning in the spring my father-in-law gave me a basket full of just-weaned babies. 'Start racing pigeons,' he said, 'that is not so difficult… you will see.' I went home with those birds, built a loft, and within a very short time, I was the only fancier in Lebbeke who couldn't win a single prize."

"That had to change, and the method of my father-in-law (not cleaning and racing with nest birds) was thrown away. Cleaning the lofts every day and widowhood with cocks--that was my game, and suddenly I could win top prizes." Marcel continues, "My girlfriend became my wife, and when we built our house I built above the central heating system a pigeon loft. Still today, I'm still racing on this loft so we must have built it very well in those days."

"Meanwhile," Marcel says, "I also looked for new birds and so I went to Benoni De Rauw. He became my 'pigeon-teacher' and when I didn't win good results, I visited him to ask what I was doing wrong. I was lucky that I got a helping hand from my wife, because when I was out to work she helped a lot in the pigeon loft. Quievrain (short distance - 70 km)) was our game, and I can say that I was in those days 'the man to beat.'"


DE RAUW - SABLON

And as with a lot of other fanciers, when you have won everything on the short distance you're always looking for that little step further. Marcel observes, "To do this I realised very clearly that I needed other birds, and so I contacted Frans Sablon and Etienne De Rauw. The pigeons of the Rauw-Sablon combination are well-known. Due to the fact that Frans Sablon became my neighbor, along with the fact that Frans was taking care of the stockbirds of this partnership, it was very easy to now and then obtain some eggs or youngsters from the best stockbirds. A lot of De Rauw-Sablon pigeons came into my loft, and I can say that even now 80% of my colony is based on those birds. Certainly the youngsters of the 'Asduifkoppel' played a very important role."

Marcel relates, "The base-bird of my loft is 'Vader van de Smallen' (4560548/91). The 'Vader van de Smallen' comes from 'Blauwen Barcelona' (4002911/90 - de Rauw - Sablon) X 'Blauwe Bourges' (4002926/90- The Rauw-Sablon). The 'Blauwen Barcelona' is a grandson of the world-famous 'As' from Jef De Ridder (St Ulriks-Kapelle). 'Blauwe Bourges' is a daughter of a grand-daughter of the 'As' from Jef De Ridder."

" 'Vader van de Smallen,'" Marcel explains, "is father and grand-father of a lot of top birds."

Here we give you some examples:

Mother of 1st National
Ace Pigeon 2003











Father of the two
best youngbirds
in 2004



T