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News > Jos Thoné

Jos Thoné:
1st National Champion KBDB Youngbirds National Races and
Olympiad Bird Oostende
Short Distance 2007

by Stefan Mertens

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Jos Thoné

A view of
Jos's lofts

Another loft
view

Jos watches for
the racers
from here

An aviary for
the breeders

Inside the
breeding loft

A box for a
breeding couple

Deep Impact

As: Do I still have to introduce him? I don't think so. Thanks to the top results of his pigeons, his name has become known world wide by all the pigeon fanciers. Those who have never heard the name Thoné or never read or talked about his extreme performances are "strange" guys in our favourite sport. Without any doubt, Jos Thoné is a name known across the globe in the realm of pigeon racing. Jos Thoné is also a man of the world.

"I never get attached to success," says the wonder boy from Niel-bij-As, "and every year I'm extremely motivated to put one or other top results on paper." We can only confirm what he says. In 2006, his results were of the highest level. Not only did he win four provincial races, but he also became 1st provincial champion yearbirds, he had the 1st provincial ace-pigeon youngbirds long distance and middle distance, and he won for the 4th time the championship of the magazine "De Duif." Amazing.

With "Avril" (B03-5071209) Jas had an Olympiad bird category short distance in Ostend and on the same weekend he was also celebrated as 9th national champion KBDB yearbirds, 11th national champion KBDB great middle distance and most important of all 1st national champion KBDB on the national races with the young birds. "One of the nicest titles in my whole career," Jos exclaims.

NATIONAL CHAMPION

To win the national championship young birds you have to take the best three results with your first and second nominated young bird. You can choose out of four national races: namely Bourges, Argenton, La Souterraine and Guerret. The fancier can choose between the national or the zonal result.

Race	# of birds	1st nomin.	2nd nomin.
Bourges	26,984	378	83
LaSouterraine	13,964	46	381
Gueret (zonal result)	2,735	23	131

Jos won with a very low coefficient of 10.3965%, this ahead of Marc Van Hautte from Smetlede (18.0241%) and Jef and Jo Claeskens from Zonhoven (21.5505%).

The "flag-bearer" of 2006 is without any doubt young bird 5150043/06, better known as "Deep Impact." This nice lady won three out of six prizes! She was 46th National La Souterraine out of 13,965 pigeons, 83rd National Bourges out of 26,984 pigeons and 23rd National Zone C Gueret out of 2,735 pigeons. It is no surprise that these achievements made her Provincial ace pigeon KBDB young pigeons long distance. She's an extraordinarily beautiful hen that descends from the best middle distance breeds of Thoné. Her father is the nest brother of "Artificial Yutta" who is an excellent racing hen that became ace pigeon middle distance and who descends from "Sars" (line National I Schellens through Herbots) coupled with "Utta" who is a grandchild of "Sumo." "Sumo" is the grandfather of the 1st and 2nd international Narbonne and the 1st and 2nd international Dax.

Deep Impact's mother is a direct daughter of "Napoleon," another top bird of Thoné's loft. "Napoleon" was coupled with "Fortuna" who has won the 11th Nat Bourges against 67,985 pigeons as a youngbird and for this top performance won a car! "Fortuna" is a grandchild of "Superman," national ace pigeon middle distance in 1984. So we can say that "Deep Impact" is a breeding product in which we can discover all the main pigeons of Thoné's loft!

"Casanova"

Long-distance
hens

Racing hens for
short- & middle-
distance

"Avril"

"Avril's" Olympiad
honors

"Sumo"

"Dora Mar"

"Yutta"

Jos with the
widowers

Individual
heating

The other two head prizes were provided by pigeon 06-5150217, also known as "Casanova." In the race of La Souterraine, he obtained the 381st place against 13,965 young birds. From Bourges, he achieved the 378th position out of 26,984 pigeons. Worth mentioning is the fact that this pigeon has won 12 prizes in 2006, among them a first prize from Melun against 3,321 pigeons. These results made him first provincial ace pigeon KBDB Limburg young pigeons middle distance. "Casanova" descends from a grandson of "Sumo" but his pedigree also shows "Superman's" blood. The mother is a hen from the loft of Frans Maas. "Casanova" was bred in the loft of Frans, who is a friend of Jos Thoné.

Pigeon 06-5150002 took care of the sixth needed top prize. He was 131st from Gueret of a total of 2,735 pigeons in Zone C. He is a product of an inbred of "Napoleon." The father is a direct son of "Napoleon," and there is also a brother and a sister of "Napoleon" on the mother's side, and not just anyone: namely, "Nefertete" (sister of "Napoleon") who won the national race of Bourges '96 (hens). Furthermore, there's also a sister of "Sumo" and a son of "Superman" mentioned in the pedigree of pigeon 06-5150002.

OLYMPIAD " AVRIL"
To have an Olympiad bird is always something special, and since the Olympiad 2007 was held in Belgium, Jos did everything to have an Olympiad bird. Thanks to his white angel "Avril," the name Thoné was again noted by the top fanciers of Belgium and the world! "Avril" was crowned princess of the short distance, managing to achieve no less than 14 pure first prizes during her career. She has also obtained 56 prizes (without doublings), of which 35 were in 2005 and 2006.

In 2005, she became 1st National ace pigeon short distance of the magazine "La Colombophilie Belge," 2nd provincial ace pigeon KBDB short distance, and 2nd West-European ace pigeon "Country Cup short distance." As a young bird, she performed very well in the national races. Some top results are 179th national La Souterraine against 13,988 b. and 52nd National Vichy against 11,510 b.

"Avril" descends from the breeds of "Napoleon," "Sumo," and "Superman," with a touch of "Milton"-blood. In the early nineties, "Milton" was "the star" of the loft of Jos's friend Dirk Leekens.

"DORA MAR"

While we are mentioning a lot of topbirds, we can also put "Dora Mar" into the spotlight. On the first national race from Bourges, Jos had the quickest bird of his province. This top result was made by "Dora Mar," named after Picasso's most expensive painting. "Dora Mar" obtained 19 prizes (without doublings) this year alone, and she achieved her second provincial victory in the Melun race on 26 August. "Dora Mar's" father is "Bonk," who won a 39th Nat. Argenton against 23,493 pigeons. "Bonk" is once again a grandson of "Sumo," but he also has some blood of the breeds of other main pigeons such as "Napoleon" and "Superman" running through his veins. "Bonk's" mother is by the way a sister of "Emperor," the father of the 1st and 2nd International Dax.

"Dora Mar's" mother is none other than "Yutta." "Yutta" is a daughter of "Sars," who is in his turn a son of the "National I" of Schellens (through Herbots). "Yutta's" mother is "Utta," a granddaughter of "Sumo." By the way, "Jutta" won the following top results: 1st prov., 2nd Nat. Vichy against 11,510 b., 1st Prov. La Souterraine of 448 b., 2nd Prov. Chateauroux 630 b., etc. In 2004 alone, she has garnered no less than 20 prizes without doublings.

THE SEASON 2007

When we visited Jos, we were in the middle of the month of April, and we were very curious about the situation at that moment in the lofts. His system has already been explained a thousand times, but we want to note the new things. Let's start with the young birds. From the 1st and the 2nd round, Jos has around 200 youngsters. The different ages are still separate, and they also train at different moments. The first group trains well for 45 minutes, but the second group is not that active.

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Youngbirds
land on the ground

Jos in his loft

A machine helps
to disinfect
the lofts

Basket for straw
or vegetables

The reason? Jos says, "I think there's one big reason why this group of youngsters is not that active. The reason is that they're a little bit ill. It is a matter of having three or four youngsters that are very ill, and I refuse to take them out of the group. I want the other birds to create a lot of strength to become immune to a lot of diseases. You understand what I mean. At this moment I prefer that the group is ill and that they strengthen their immunity, than to cure them right away with all kinds of antibiotics. But be careful and note the following things very well. First of all, this is the first year that I am trying this method. I don't have any prior experience, and secondly I want the young birds to become strong and not the disease, so I am really watching out that not too many youngsters become ill. Otherwise, I will certainly treat with the best antibiotic."

"When they start to train better," Jos continues, "I will also start tossing them. Sometimes people ask me if I toss my youngsters a lot. This is hard to say. This depends on two facts, namely the condition of the youngbirds and secondly the weather. If everything is OK, I certainly like to toss them a lot. Experience is very important for the youngsters. For the rest, everything will be the same as all the other seasons. Maybe one new thing. This winter I started to give a lot of acids in the drinker. Almost every day I put acids together with fresh made Colombine Tea in the drinker."

"If you want to follow this system," Jos cautions, "I advise you to give these products over a very long time. Don't give this on just one or two days in the week. No, give these acids and Colombine tea over three or four weeks, and you will be surprised how nice the pigeons look. When the vet Vandersanden came just before the racing season started to examine my old birds, he didn't find any tricho, any coccidiosis or any worms. Did this have something to do with the fact that my birds got a lot of acids and tea?"

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Trophies

"Sedna I"

"Nationaal Hero"

"Gouden Grijs"

"Sini"

"Concerning the old and yearbirds," Jos continues, "I have four lofts and in those four lofts there are 64 couples ready to race. In 2007, I will focus on the middle- and long-distance races. Till now (middle of April) everything goes well because I have already clocked four first prizes. Believe it or not, but on the weekend of April 1st "Casanova" won the 1st prize and "Deep Impact" the 2nd. That is something I'm proud of! By the old and year birds I'm going to follow the system which I'm accustomed to doing."

Results

I will spare you lengthy lists of achievements but the following results of the past season cannot be withheld:

Bourges National 19,061 old pigeons: 23,28,32,34,53,70,164,… (17/26)

Vierzon Provincial 2,605 old pigeons: 17,25,31,200,366,597 (6/7)

Limoges Provincial 1,024 old pigeons: 2,5,12,26,85,87,… (8/12)

Montlucon 176 old pigeons: 1,2,3,5,7,… (8/8)

Gien 471 yearlings: 1,2,3,4,6,8,…. (11/20)

Barcelona National 11,802 pigeons: 63,99,109,139,.. (6/13)

La Souterraine National 13,965 pigeons: 44,46,140,150,225,…(33/51)

We could carry on like this for quite a while. Thoné achieved more than 45 first prizes in 2006.

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