An homage
“Pigeon racing is a game of patience, and a process of trial and error. You have to learn from your mistakes and never give up. Just stay confident.” It was a piece of advice given by Luc Geerinckx about ten years ago. His son Bart and his friend Jürgen, who is responsible for the daily caretaking, have followed his advice. However, they did not really need much advice: Bart and Jürgen have won almost everything there is to win in pigeon racing in the three and a half years since Luc’s passing. The two fanciers have won several provincial, zonal and national first prizes, and a number of ace pigeon titles and even Olympiad Pigeons, all in the course of just four seasons. They have turned Luc’s legacy into a highly capable pigeon family that is much admired by fanciers across the world, and now more than ever. It is a fitting homage to Bart’s father. Bart and Jürgen have further enhanced their reputation by winning the title of 1st National Ace Pigeon longer middle distance yearlings 2015 with Little Star (BE14-6174075).
Bart, Jürgen and Luc in 2012
A new rising star
Their blue coloured hen Little Star – what’s in a name – was really put to the test as a young bird, completing about 15 races over 100 to 215km. She only started to compete in the national races the following season. She missed the opening classic from Bourges but she got herself noticed for the first time in the national race from Chateauroux on 6 July, winning a 198th national against 25,710 pigeons (66th in the zone against 7877 p.). Her very first national prize was just the start: she really started to excel in the following weeks:
Date Race Prize Pigeons 20/06/15 Montluçon National 30 16982 28/06/15 Argenton I Zone B1 1 6093 11/07/15 Châteauroux II Zone B1 15 5700 01/08/15 Bourges II National 39 14496
It resulted in an impressive 0.7253 coefficient, which proved just enough to beat the 540/14 of Luc Christiaens. Her excellent performance in the race from Châteauroux I also made her the best yearling with five prizes in the Belgian national races in the PIPA rankings. The 540/14 of Luc Christiaens again had to settle for second, albeit with a bigger gap this time.
Little Star, 1st National Ace Pigeon longer middle distance yearlings 2015
This national ace pigeon has excellent origins. Or to put it another way: the apple does not fall far from the tree. The sire of Little Star is 302/10 Blue Lagoon, winner of a 1st, 4th and 9th Zone from Montluçon, Argenton and again Montluçon respectively. Blue Lagoon had great origins as well: his sire is 033/04 Blois, winner of several early prizes in major races, and his dam is 235/05 Witpen Wouters, a full sister of 8th Nat. Ace Pigeon KBDB Leeuw.
The dam of Little Star is 143/08 Iron Lady, a descendant of Willyke and Blauwe Ijzeren, two of the most prominent bloodlines in Wommelgem. Iron Lady was a successful racing bird, having won a 1st Prov. Chateauroux 2,661 p., a 1st Prov. Argenton 647 p. (3rd Nat. 5,756 p.) and a 2nd Nat. La Souterraine 4,778 p. It was thanks to her palmares that Bart decided to transfer her to the breeding loft. Among her grandchildren is the winner of a 1st Zone Montluçon against 2494 p.
A golden investment
Bart and Jürgen have added another major achievement to their palmares with the title of 1st National Ace Pigeon longer middle distance yearlings 2015. It seems that their list of achievements, including first prizes in important races, and several championship and ace pigeon titles, will continue to expand, especially now that Little Star will be moving to the breeding loft. This is a golden investment and Bart will undoubtedly reap the benefits in the seasons to come.