Tournelle-Hua Feng (Rummen)

1st National Champion KBDB Great Middle Distance old + yearling 2024

1st National Bourges 7,617 yearlings – fastest of 13,146b.

2nd National ace KBDB Great middle distance youngsters

3rd National ace KBDB Great Middle Distance yearlings

Pigeon racing is a family sport at the Tournelle home. Davy’s father Patrick, his grandfather Ferdinand and numerous uncles were all devoted pigeon fanciers. Even today, mom Ann and dad still assist Davy in taking care of his winged athletes.

Davy: “Yes, I come from a real nest of pigeons. My parents still help me and are very involved in my pigeon play. So was my grandfather. He passed away in 2020; however, you should know that ’20 was a top year here in the loft (1st Nat. Tulle, 1st Nat. Argenton, 2nd Nat. Gueret, 3rd Nat. Tulle, 3rd, 8th and 13th Nat. ace pigeon…). Of course I found it painful and very sad that my grandfather had passed away, but I was so happy that he was still able to experience the successes of that year. For someone who had a passion for pigeons all his life that was a nice moment to say goodbye.”

“Tiesto”

Tournelle is not a big mouth, not an agitator; however, he also does not mince his words and usually has a clear opinion. Regularity and passion are the two credos he uses in his pigeon racing. Like all champions, he watches, listens and learns. The things he does are partly reasoned and partly done by feeling. That indispensable “feeling” that every good fancier possesses.
In 1997, Davy began racing in his own name. The base of his colony Tournelle consisted of the “old strain” of father Patrick. The current colony is largely built around progenitor “Tiesto” (B05-2217970) from the line of “Bonnie” and “Clyde” of Clement Robben.
Davy boasts that they have always kept their best pigeons. They therefore still form the basis of the colony. Two of his best current breeders obviously also come from the Tiesto line, namely “Tiesto Hero” (B18-2038382) and “Fantasy Boy” (B18-2146084), the father of “Tiesto Mulan”.
“Fantasy Boy” is also sire of, among others, 3rd Nat. ace KBDB great middle distance 2024, 1st Nat. Bourges 7,617 b., 1st Nat. Zone Chateauroux 5,803 b., 1st Int. Prov. Orleans 2,669 b., 5th Nat. Sancoins 12,962 b., 9th Nat. Chateauroux 22,196 b., 66th Nat. Bourges 9,654 b., 106th Nat. Bourges 18,785 b., 110th Nat. Issoudun 14,758 b., 125th Nat. Chateauroux 4,003b., 136th Nat. Argenton 5,160 b…

“Tiesto Hero” is (grand)father of 5th, 30th, 59th, 66th Nat. ace Great middle distance young KBDB 2024, 22nd and 29th Nat. ace great middle distance yearling KBDB 2024, 1st Charleville 2,764 b., 2nd Prov. Orleans 8,699 b., 4th Nat. Vierzon 5,780 b., 5th Prov. Chateauroux 2,230 b., 19th Nat. Argenton 17,666 b., 20th Nat. Souillac 6,085 b., 34th Nat. Bourges 19,369 b., 35th Nat. Chateauroux 15,322, 46th Nat. Argenton 11,184 b., 46th Nat. Argenton 11,177 b., 67th Nat. Vierzon 5,780 b., 67th Nat. Sancoins 12,962 b., 69th Nat. Bourges 26,549 b., 87th Nat. Bourges 7,617 b., 95th Nat. Argenton 11,184 b., 95th Nat. Bourges 26549 b..

He is also great grandfather of Davy’s best youngster last season, “Jason Dream” (B24-2067360), 2nd Nat. ace KBDB Great middle distance 2024 youngster, 13th Nat. Vierzon 16,892b. 111th Nat. Bourges 26,549b., 7th Prov. Chateauroux 2,230b. (116th Nat. 15,060 b.).

Of course quality was regularly added over the years. So he bought together with pigeon friend Kenny Raets “Golden Dirkje” (B21-5050087) of the loft Bosmans-Leekens, a daughter of “Triple Bas” (B19-5037186, 1st Nat. Geuret 12,888 b.) and a great-granddaughter of Bas Verkerks “Olympic Fire Eyes”, and “Golden Dirkje” was paired with “Fantasy Boy” mother of “Tiesto Mulan”, 1st Nat. Bourges 7617 yearling and 3rd Nat. ace Great middle distance yearling 2024.

Tournelle-Hua Feng

Davy married Evy, had two children (Julie aged 13 and Mathisse aged 8) and started working as a cook in a nursing home. However, the pigeon racing went very well, there was more and more demand for his pigeons and due to reforms in the care sector, he had had it more and more with a full-time job in the rest home. Moreover, the pigeon world was becoming more and more professionalized and he felt the need to go along with it. So in 2015, he decided to take the big step and become a pigeon pro. Since then, he still works two days a week at the retirement home.

Since this year Davy has been racing in combination with his Chinese friend and business partner Chen (Hua Feng is the name of his loft in China). Davy just keeps doing his thing as he has been doing for years with his by now proven colony. Chen provides the necessary reinforcement and fresh blood. So this year, 1st Nat. Gueret 20,569 b. (“‘t Geuretje” Olivier Geyskens), “Cowboy Athena” (father of “’t Gueretje” and in the meantime also father of 1st & 2nd Prov. Bourges 2023 and 2024), and “Liona” (5th Nat. Ace pigeon Great middle distance young 2024, Matthias Coel) joined the Tournelle breeding loft on Chen’s instructions.

Davy: “Our cooperation is a win-win situation for both. You know, those Chinese would like to come and race here, but it’s not so obvious. Just imagine being dropped over there yourself and having to race with the pigeons! So having someone who knows the game here and who can teach them the tricks of the trade is ideal for them. The cooperation also goes very smoothly. We talk about the pigeons and he certainly says what he thinks, but he will never force anything. I make the decisions and that’s the way he wants it.”

Indeed, Chen will not have complained about this cooperation yet. After all, he happened to be present the day “Tiesto Mulan” won 1st Nat. Bourges yearlings this year. Not bad the first year of their collaboration, for Tournelle already his ninth national victory. Davy will certainly not regret his step to pigeon pro.

Davy: “Don’t complain at all. After all, I really enjoy doing it and the results are good. I don’t feel any extra pressure as a professional; I just do my thing and keep doing it. I hate losing, but I am a good loser. By this I mean that I always want to win, but I can accept when someone was better. What I do is keep my son somewhat away from the pigeons. This may sound strange, many may just try to push their kids towards pigeons, but I certainly don’t. As much as I love doing it, I often find myself thinking that there are easier ways to make a living. A “9 to 5 job” gave me less stress anyway. A disadvantage of the pigeon sport is also that not only do you have to make sacrifices yourself; the sport also makes your loved ones make sacrifices. I want to protect my children from that. I don’t want them to have to make those sacrifices too.”

Basketing every race

Davy races everything, from sprint to long distance, old, yearling, cocks, hens and youngsters. His answer to our question what he likes best is everything, but the national races 500-750 km are his favorite races. Before, the focus was only on the old and the yearlings, but his friend Jelle Roziers taught him the love and the tricks of the youngsters. Davy: “Racing with the youngsters is more intensive and I like that too.”

In the loft there are 60 breeding couples. Three rounds are bred, including one round from the racers. This year they started with 170 old/yearlings of which about 100 are left. They race on classical widowhood.

Before the race, the hens get to see their partner, the cocks do not. Why do the hens get to see their partner and the cocks don’t?
Davy: “That’s where I got the mustard at the time from the widow Smeulders (Bekkevoort), who also did that. That way the hens’ hormones are tempered a bit and the cocks stay calmer this way.”
When they come home, the cocks are allowed to be with their partners until it is dinner time at 5 p.m., then they separate. When the hens come home, they first go to their own loft. After about an hour, this group is separated into a white and a yellow team. After that, first one and then the other team will join their regular cock for about an hour.

Annually Tournelle breeds about 300 youngsters (of which about 130 are left now). He never selects youngsters on appearance. He doesn’t care how they look, performance counts. This only happens in their yearling year, all youngsters are normally allowed to pass. Last year he had to remove some extra cocks at the end of the season simply because there were too many left and he certainly does not want to increase his pigeon stock. The 40 old racers currently still in the loft have all raced top 100 national several times.

Davy is a big proponent of lots of training tosses. Once the spring weather was satisfactory it was started. The old and yearlings were tossed intensively for 2-3 weeks, daily if the weather permitted, up to 120 km (up to the French border). After that, they go into the basket weekly and are prepared for the heavier work through speed and middle distance. At home, they train once and preferably twice a day. The cocks can train freely and the hens are kept flying with the flag.

The youngsters are tossed a lot. They are tossed daily from the beginning of May, building up in the first 3-4 weeks 1-1-2-2-3-3-5-8-15-25-25-35-35-35-35…. And at 35 km then finally they continue to be tossed until they have done the first time 120 km with the local. They are released in good weather, but also in bad weather or dark weather: they have to try to find their way back in all circumstances.

Once they have flown 120 km with the club, they fly 120 km every Wednesday. Resting is not an issue here. This pattern is maintained until mid-September. After all, Davy learned from Patrick, rest rusts. By the way, this ragging is one of the many tasks that dad takes care of.

Davy: “Without my parents and certainly the help of my father I would not have achieved what I have already achieved. Playing with so many pigeons in a professional way is not doable on your own. We are a close team and everyone has his tasks. For example, father also takes care of the breeders. I didn’t win anything on my own, we are a team. I do make the final decision, but I don’t just decide anything on my own.”

Here we tick off an important point. Being a pigeon fancier is sometimes a lonely hobby/profession. However, a fancier is not an island, alone you are nowhere. The pigeon world is also a world of masters, apprentices, competitors, colleagues and above all many pigeon friends.

Davy learned a lot from his father and grandfather. He listens to and learns from colleagues. Jelle Roziers is such a friend/teacher, during the season they hang on the phone daily, outside of that several times a week. But also friends and colleagues like Kenny Raets and others are important in Davy’s experience of pigeon racing.

In the time when young Davy (17-18 years old) was just sticking his nose to the pigeon window there was one Michel Vanlint who went over all tongues. Davy: “I got to know him because he basketed at our place. Like many, I probably learned a lot from Michel. You are never too old or too young to learn! Certainly not when someone like that wants to share his knowledge. That’s like getting soccer lessons from Lionel Messi. Every crumb of knowledge you can pick up is a bonus. I’m not too shy to ask that kind of enthusiast. Thanks to Michel, for example, I started selecting very strictly.

Oh well, you can learn so much from champions like that. I may have nine national victories on my record now, but that certainly doesn’t mean I know “it”. I still constantly ask for advice and learn every day.

Regularity and structure

At Tournelle, the day follows a strict schedule. The hens are released at 5:45 am, they train for an hour and at 7 am they are fed until 7:30 am. The same for the cocks, but they train from 7 to 8. The youngsters go out in small groups.

In the afternoon, the hens train from 15 to 16h and get food at 16.30h, the cocks train from 16.30h to 17.30h and eat at 18h. Every day follows the same schedule and we never deviate from it for 5 minutes, never!

Davy: “I find this regularity very important, as well for the pigeons as for the fancier. It ensures that the pigeons are hungry at the right time and for the fancier it gives structure. When you have as many pigeons as we do, you have to have structure otherwise everything goes haywire.”

Tournelle uses Anthoons’ feed mixtures (recup and sport select) and Versele-Laga’s energy. Davy likes to keep feeding simple and always full feed. Every day they get peanuts and sweets. Towards the race, the energy is increased and when they return home, they get the same food as when they left. After the race they also only get food when they are all separated. Davy also gives a lot of grit and of by-products he is a big fan of the products of Röhnfried.

As for medical supervision, he likes to play short on the ball. For tricho they get a pill every 14 days and every week yellow drops are administered. When necessary, something for the respiratory is also given.

Davy: “It’s certainly not that I don’t want to say what we give, but it varies. We also go to different vets. One is better for this, the other for that. The same goes for their products. Every cook has his specialties after all. One thing I dare say. Of course, the time of over-medicating has passed, but without medication it won’t work either.

We say goodbye to Davy with the question of what he would still like to win. If he gets to choose which would be his tenth national win, which one would he choose?
Davy: “If I really may choose just do a national race with the youngsters, and do immediately ‘THE’ flight with youngsters, Bourges! But maybe what is even higher on my wish list is winning a national ace pigeon. That remains one of the most beautiful things you can experience in your career.