The Visit at Gaston van de Wouver, March 2014!

The feeling that I had when I entered Gaston Van De Wouver’s courtyard  was the same with the one I had in 2007 , whne I worked as a veterinary doctor for an American film, shot in Buftea at the MediaPro studios. It was then that I met , worked with and became friend with Joel Schumacher ( a legendary film director from Hollywood; with just one search on Google, we can see his impressing resume), Henry Cavill (the present-day “Superman”), Michael Fassbender (“300” and more and more top movies), Dominic Purcell (“Prison Break”). These were extraordinary people, that one meets only once in a lifetime.

Gaston was a talkative, cheerful and positive person. In his house I felt a very positive energy, like I never felt elsewhere. I met Mrs. Van De Wouver, who was very open and a warmful person and, very important, she is a fluent speaker of English.Two people full of vitality, though they are 70 already.

Their age and the timing allowed them to have certain habits that are not specific to their age. For instance, Gaston and his wife spend hours on their bikes daily. It’s like a ritual that they do not refuse, unless the weather is bad. All Gaston’s friends and nnot only know that, at certain hours during the day, he is not at home.

To enjoy life as much as possible, and to  make a perfect balance betwen the family nad the doves, Gaston has put automatic blinders at all the  lofts, so that he was not supposed to wake up early in the morning and open the windows for the offsprings to have light. Thus, the master wakes up at 9 evry morning

 

I asked Gaston if in the hot summer days the air in the aviaries does not get too hot (taking into account that Gaston’s lofts do not have aerisiri downwards.) He answered that  during some hot days of the summer, he cannot stay inside due to the high temperature. BUT: “ the doves feel perfect, they gain something, then why would I change anything?”!

Like the majority of the pigeon lovers from Antwerp, Gaston weans the squabs at the beginning on this plate. During those days when the squabs will take courage and jump, Gaston is feeding them out of his hand and speaks to them a lot. The squabs of today and the adults of tomorrow will be very kind and will have a perfect communication with Gaston.

 

 

I found a real family of doves, built around the wonderful “Kaasboer”- Belg 98/6335690. The referrences that this mega breeder has are fantastic and thus we can certainly place it at the same level with “Wittenbuick”, “Wittbuick”, “Bliksem”, “Ace Four” or “Kleine Dirk”. And to support this statement  I have to mention “P’Alme D’Or” the magnificent female dove, granddaughter to “Kaasboer”which in the aviaries of our friend Sebastien Casaert has become a mother of two national Aces in only 3 years: “Amalia” – who won the 1^st place at the Middle Distance Race, Belgium KBDB 2011- and “Nikolaas” – the 1^st place  at the Great Middle Distance Race, Belgium 2013!

Team Florea already has a direct daughter from “Amalia” and a brother to “Amalia”, half brother with  “Nikolaas” and, implicitely, a direct son from “P’Alme D’Or”;

Or I can quote here the loft Race from China that was won last year by the Family Lecke from Germany with a dove that was 100% Van Der Wouver , a dove that won 70,000 Euros as the first Prize and, in the auction after the great Final Race , was sold for 26,000 Euros!!!

*Click for pedigree :

As, after the final auction, he was asked what are the doves he would start again, the great Leo Heremans, the best sprinter of all the itmes  answered with no hesitation: with doves from my friend Gaston!!!

Team Florea Sorin already has 10 doves that are original Van Der Wouver and certainly, this fall, within the total auction that the latter  will hold (minus the offsprings 2014), he will fight with everybody for these wonderful doves.

Gaston is recognized as a specialist for the flight of widowed females and led this method at the level  of an art. He was very open to our questions regarding the system, the mtivation, the food and the pigeonsport- generally speaking. This was the first great champion whom I visit and who told me right from the beginning:” Young man, it is not everything about top doves and food….to my point of view the flight system is very important.” And he explained this system for us. And we noted down everything he said and we’ll certainly appy it.

He smiled agreeing with us , when I told him that this year our doves will fly against his’, in a pair with our brother Vali Burdusel; he said that this is motivating him once more, as he confirmed he has watched Mr. Sorin’s aquisitions on PIPA.

I cannot forget the males that he had at home, the males of the widowed females. The great majority were nephews of “Kaasboer” and they looked perfect when checked “at hand”.

Although in Romania only now he starts to be famous, Gaston has been winning the first places at the county level, in the greatest competition of demifond speed  from the world, ever since the 70’s- 80’s!