Gaby Vandenabeele owns the strongest and most successful pigeon breed worldwide!
Ilse and Gaby Vandenabeele presenting Rudy
Gaby got involved in the sport at an early age, learning the ropes from his father. Gaby started on his own in his current loft in 1977 and he managed to dominate the local middle distance competition like a grandmaster from day one. In fact, he did so well that his opponents decided to leave the region to join a different competition instead. Dentergem became a place that many neighbouring pigeon clubs stayed away from, which was the sign for Gaby to change his game. He started focusing on the provincial and national longer middle distance and one day long distance races instead (400-800km). It did by no means affect his level of performance!
7 x 1st National and 97 x 1st Provincial between 1985 and 2014
Every cloud has a silver lining: the fanciers that forced Gaby to leave the middle distance competition have in fact enabled the Vandenabeele pigeons to become an internationally renowned breed, ready to join our sport’s hall of fame. His first major achievements followed soon: his spectacular racing team put in its first great effort in 1985, winning a 2nd and 10th national in the national race from Limoges in early July. It was just a matter of time before Gaby would claim a national first prize.
Gaby eventually celebrated his first national victory in 1988, when ‘Rambio‘ took home a national first prize from Bourges against 13,154 old birds. It would be the first of seven consecutive victories on Gaby’s palmares! 1988 was the year when mister ‘Wittenbuik‘ hatched from its egg. Wittenbuik proved to be an exceptional crack and a world class breeding bird. He developed into an iconic pigeon and a worthy successor for his father, stock sire Kleinen!
Wittenbuik became the grandfather of Bliksem, which is the new central figure in Dentergem in the new millennium. The descendants of Bliksem continue to define pigeon races across the world. One of the stars in this new generation is the invaluable Rudy, a direct son of Bliksem.
The latest two seasons were quite spectacular, with Super Romeo becoming 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon Long Distance Yearlings 2013 and New Bliksem winning a 1st Nat. Tulle 5,731 yearlings in 2014. They are both direct sons of Rudy! Media across the world have reported extensively about this success story. It’s hard to overlook the impressive palmares of Gaby, which includes no less than 7 national first prizes, and 97 provincial victories!
The dynasty of the illustrous stock sire Kleinen, his son Wittenbuik and his grandson Bliksem has been giving equally talented descendants, including most notably Rudy, Super Romeo and New Bliksem. Gaby predicts that New Bliksem will become an even better breeder than his sire and grandfather. And we all know Gaby does not make too many false predictions!
Global success based on Vandenabeele pigeons
The Vandenabeele pigeons have played a fundamental role in an incredible number of national victories, ace pigeons titles and other important wins. It appears that the Vandenabeele breed brings guaranteed success in pigeon racing, enabling fanciers to win prizes across the globe! They have been doing so for the last 30 years, something that did not go unnoticed.
Pigeon fanciers from all around the world have visited the loft in Dentergem, not to take a sip from the holy fountain in Dentergem but to try and find the secret behind the Vandenabeele success story and their years of dominance, and to learn more about their pigeons!
The Vandenabeele pigeons have never been in greater demand, especially the descendants of the three icons of today, which are Rudi, Super Romeo and New Bliksem. Gaby can no longer meet the demands, and some fanciers will be left disappointed. However, not all hope is lost for them.
Auction with 10 young birds bred from the very best
From 1 to 14 June GabyPigeons willl be selling ten young birds from the best three breeding pigeons in their current collection, and for the first time over the internet. We bring you:
Today’s star in the breeding loft: Rudy
– 7 direct youngsters from Rudy, including:
2 youngsters with Kiana; or a full brother or sister of New Bliksem
2 youngsters with Nicky; or a full brother or sister of Super Romeo
2 youngsters with Prima Donna, a full sister of New Bliksem: Rudy x his own daughter
1 youngster with Vicky, a full sister of Nicky.– 2 direct youngsters of Super Romeo
– 1 direct youngster of New Bliksem
The digital catalogue and a detailed overview of all the pigeons in auction will soon appear on PIPA. This is something we are all looking forward to!
Super Romeo: 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon Long Distance Yearlings KBDB 2013
New Bliksem: 1st Nat. Tulle 5,731 yearlings in 2014