The invaluable bloodline of stock breeder Chipo
Benny followed in the footsteps of his father, who was an ambitious sprint fancier. Benny learned a lot from him. He moved to his current residence in 1997, where he started keeping pigeons on his own in 1998, together with his wife Karin.
The breakthrough in Benny’s career was without doubt the birth of Chipo BE03-4329022, which originated from a crossing of Sylvain Vestraete (Dendermonde, BE) x a daughter of the 1st nat. La Souterraine of Eddy Leutenez (Kruishoutem, BE) from his father’s side. The dam of Chipo originated from the breed of Johan Van Damme (St.Gillis Dendermonde, BE).
This pigeon stood as as a very able and talented pigeon already as a young bird. He took the win in a number of middle distance races and he was particularly successful at provincial level, ultimately winning the title of 1st prov. Ace Pigeon middle distance young birds KBDB. We take a look at his impressive list of achievements:
Chipo BE03-4329022
In 2003: 1st Prov. Ace Pigeon middle distance young birds KBDB 2003 1st Dourdan 571 p. 1st Dourdan 375 p. 2nd Dourdan 1,316 p. 9th Dourdan 1,268 p. 10th Dourdan 964 p. In 2004: 1st Dourdan 614 p. 1st Dourdan 231 p. 1st Dourdan 101 p. 17th Dourdan 848 p. 41st Bourges 2,306 p. etc. In 2005: 3rd Dourdan 217 p. 7th Toury 427 p. 5th Dourdan 194 p. etc.
Benny was more than satisfied with his achievements as a racing bird. He then became the sire of Den 100 B04-4138100 in 2014, the pigeon that finished in 6th place in the national ace pigeon championship shorter middle distance KBDB 2005 and became 2nd substitute for the Olympiad in Ostend in 2007, category B. Benny decided it was time for Chipo to get a spot in the breeding loft. It was an excellent move, as this pigeon really enabled him to step up his game. Chipo turned out to be not just any breeding pigeon; he would soon develop in a true stock sire and the most important breeder in this loft. He proved a world class pigeon.
His success story continued in 2005 with the successful brothers Chihaut 98 and The Crack:
Chihaut 98 BE05-4323998
3rd National Ace Pigeon middle distance KBDB ‘08
2nd Provincial Ace Pigeon middle distance KBDB ‘08
7th Provincial Ace Pigeon middle distance KBDB ‘07
4th Provincial Ace Pigeon middle distance KBDB ‘09
He won a total of 62 prizes, including 9 first prizes, 31 top 10 finishes and an impressive 47 prizes per ten! This is a truly outstanding racing bird, that developed into a great breeder and stock sire, just like his father.
De Crack BE05-4323999
A nest brother of Chihaut 998, and winner of several titles, including:
1st Provincial Ace Pigeon middle distance KBDB 2007
3rd National Ace Pigeon middle distance KBDB 2007
3rd Provincial Ace Pigeon mdidle distance KBDB 2006
1st Provincial Bourges 1,687 p. in 2006
In the meantime, a new chapter was added to this success story, when Benny won the title of First Nat. Ace Pigeon Longer Middle Distance Youn Birds KBDB 2013 with Sun in late 2013 (click here to reread our report), an inbred pigeon to that same Chipo. The sire of Sun is a grandson of Chipo; the dam is a direct daughter of Chipo!
Benny gained national recognition again in 2014, taking a national first prize from Tours against 24,097 young birds withFantasia (click here to reread our report on his national victory), another inbred pigeon to Chipo. Fantasia originates from a grandson of Chipo x a granddaughter of Chipo!
Other lofts achieve brilliant results with Steveninck pigeons as well
The true strength of a pigeon breed is not only determined by the achievements in their own loft. A breed has to achieve great results in other lofts as well for it to be considered a truly successful bloodline. It appears that the Chipo bloodline has plenty of references: quite a few other lofts have been doing really well with descendants of Chipo, some of which have even won national victories! For instance, the Geerinckx family took a national first prize from Limoges with a 50% Steveninck pigeon just a few years back, and many more lofts have won top prizes thanks to Steveninck in 2014. (click here for the references of 2014).
The fancier from Hamme also learned about the achievements of Wim Chipo, a top class racing bird of the Austrian Josef Königshofer from Neusield Am See that represented his country at the Budapest Olympiad this January. The dam of Wim Chipo is a direct Steveninck hen; she is a granddaughter of Mister Chipo!
Wim Chipo At 10-101-5801
Olympiad Pigeon Cat. H Budapest 2015 1st National Champion 2014 (3 x 1st!) 2011: Best Yearling with 11 Prizecards (2 x 1st!) 2012: 11 prizes in 13 races 2013: 9 prizes in 10 races 2014: 10 prizes in 13 races
He has won:
1st Rottendorf (550 km) - 372 p. 1st Regensburg (372 km) - 256 p. 1st Schärding (265 km) - 287 p. 3rd Schärding (265 km) - 242 p. 3rd Nürnberg (459 km) - 354 p. 3rd Regensburg (372 km) - 277 p. 4th Regensburg (372 km) - 397 p. 4th Nürnberg (459 km) - 381 p. 4th Amstetten (158 km) - 353 p. 4th Nürnberg (459 km) - 324 p. 4th Regensburg (372 km) - 320 p.
V: Wim 83 At03-1099-83
A pigeon from the lines of Wim Moens.
M: granddaughter Chipo BE07-4216806
A direct Benny Steveninck; she is a granddaughter of stock sire Chipo
Set for the future with the Chipo bloodline!
The pigeon breed of Benny and Karin was on a roll in 2014, winning three provincial first prizes and three national victories in the zone, as well as a national victory young birds from Tours in August – a crowning achievement! The successful Chipo bloodline continues to achieve great results, and it seems that the pigeon family of Benny Steveninck is in excellent form.
It is vital to try and breed cracks and great champions every season again, but that does not seem much of a challenge for the Chipo bloodline.
