Pigeons you can always rely on
We heard countless fanciers complain about the wind during the second half of the season, especially because of the changing weather conditions from the last weekend of June until the closing race from Gueret. However, the changing weather conditions (particularly during the weekends) did not appear to have any influence on the pigeons of Steveninck; they were always ready to put in a great performance. Is it thanks to a solid system, the quality of the pigeons or a combination of both? This is the result of a high degree of flexibility both from the fancier and his pigeons, who are capable of adapting to the changing weather conditions quickly. A pigeon breed that performs at a top level under every circumstance is obviously of great quality. They have excelled in the national classics and in every other important race on the calendar. This is what characterises a champions’ loft.
Sun is rising… the successful new bloodline
The pigeon loft of Benny Steveninck found its way to the top in no time thanks to the amazing pigeon Chipo, which excelled both as a racing and as a breeding pigeon. It would be impossible to overlook the importance of Chipo when talking about the achievements of Benny and Karin, and Chipo continues to leave his mark on the Steveninck pigeon family. It seems that there is now a new generation of talented pigeons ready to follow in the footsteps of Chipo, including youngsters from his sons and daughters and brothers and sisters, but also the newly discovered racing pigeon Sun (1st National Ace Pigeon Longer Middle Distance KBDB 2013).
Sun is partially related to Chipo as well, being an inbred pigeon bred from Grandson Chipo (crossed with the line of Bliksem Vandenabeele via Rik Cools) x Daughter Chipo (in a crossing with a hen Michel Hautekiet). Still, the bloodline of Sun appears to be a new discovery, coming to the fore over the past two seasons. The Sun pigeons are true winners:
Sun BE13-4096962
1st National Ace Pigeon Longer Middle Distance KBDB 2013
Click here for the pedigree of Sun
-Nestsister Sun BE13-4096961
Some highlights of 2014:
Chateauroux II Prov 909 p. 1
Zone 709 p. 1
Nat. 5,884 p. 10
Montluçon Zone 3,494 p. 7
Nat. 19,298 p. 83
Gueret I Zone 1,719 p. 16
Nat. 9,815 p. 153
Blois Prov 1,327 p. 17
Click here for the pedigree of Nestsister Sun
Winnar of 1st National Tours 24,097 young birds
The sire of Fantasia is a half brother of Sun (bred from the same dam) – you can find the pedigree of Fantasia here
The line of Sun has won a 1st provincial and a 1st zonal La Souterraine 2013, a 1st National Ace Pigeon KBDB 2013, a 1st Provincial and a 1st Zonal Chateauroux 2014, as well as a 1st national Tours 2014, all in the course of just over a year. It goes without saying that Benny Steveninck has another top quality bloodline in his loft: the descendants of Sun are ready to excel in the seasons to come. The sun is rising!
The invaluable Chipo basis, paired with some newly introduced pigeons, has enabled Benny and Karin to achieve a high level of performance at the very top of the competition in Belgium. The successful breeding strategy of the fancier from Hamme is based on pairing bloodlines, which are then paired again with his own breed (Chipo).
This strategy resulted in the breeding of super class hen Silke, the best one year old of Belgium over five national races of the longer middle distance (these five races are in bold).
-Blauw Silke BE13-4096996
Best Yearling Longer Middle Distance of Belgium over 5 national races (PIPA ranking)
Chateauroux I Zone 3,490 p. 2
Nat. 21,515 p. 17
Argenton II Prov 637 p. 4
Chateauroux II Zone 784 p. 4
Bourges Prov 4,397 p. 20
Montluçon Zone 3,484 p. 30
Vierzon 570 p. 10
Chateauroux ’13 Prov 2,728 p. 26
Souppes-s-Loing 215 p. 8
Souppes-s-Loing 126 p. 10
Sire: Brother Chipo BE09-4189921
A full brother of breeding legend Chipo.
Dam: Witpen Hautekiet BE10-4129914
A full sister of super class hen Hautekiet 989… the grandmother (paired to Chipo) of the sire of Chipo.
You can find the full pedigree here
Several more top results have been won with descendants of the excellent Gueret (winner of a 1st prov. Gueret 3,067 p., 1st Nat. Limoges 16,896 p.), a top class breeder that stems from a crossing of the line of Chipo x Michel Hautekiet (the line that has also bred De Crack, Chihaut 97, Chihaut 98 and Chihaut 100). It appears that the Steveninck pigeon family has a bright future ahead.
Excellent results in other lofts
The pigeons of Steveninck have been doing really well, and not only in their home loft. Several fanciers from Belgium and abroad have achieved great results with them, and so we give you a brief overview of the references from recent weeks.
-Baert-Debusschere (Ere, BE): They won a national first prize from Tulle, followed by a first interprovincial from Bourges against 1,590 young birds with the de BE14-4035470 one week later. Their winning pigeon from Bourges is a 100% Steveninck pigeon, as both the sire and the dam originate directly from the loft in Hamme. The sire is Chico (full brother of Chipo) paired to a daughter of Gueret.
-Stuart Wilcox (GB): he took a great victory in two consecutive weekends with the same pigeon: a first against 3,870 p. and a 1st against 5,074 pigeons. This winning hen is a granddaughter of Chipo (from Son Chipo).
-Wim van Houtum (NL): his 490 turned out to be a true crack in the one day long distance. This successful racing bird is bred from a Son Chihaut 97, which makes him a grandson of Chipo. The 490/09 has won the following prizes:
Blois (539 Km) C.C. 726 p. 1
Distr. 3/NPO 5,186 p. 3
Argenton (629 Km) C.C. 917 p. 1
Distr. 3/NPO 7,157 p. 3
Bourges (555 Km) C.C. 1,283 p. 2
Distr. 3/NPO 9,311 p. 9
Tours (583 Km) Ray 559 p. 1
C.C. 1,162 p. 3
Distr. 3/NPO 9,744 p. 21
-Danny van Daalen (NL): has bred great descendants from a Son Little Crack of Benny Steveninck. This pigeon is the sire of two excellent young birds via his son ‘The 680’. These young birds have won a 4th and 5th prize from Meaux against 4,885 pigeons.
These are just a few of many references, but they illustrate that the pigeons of Benny Steveninck are capable of performing at the highest level all over the world, and in all weather conditions. His friends and foes will have to admit that the Steveninck pigeon is a super class pigeon!