Which is reason enough for us to pay a visit to the fancier from Niel-bij-As to see how things were going in his loft. Which are today’s stock pigeons and what are Jos Thone’s points of focus? How much has changed since his PIPA auction in 2010? How did he manage to achieve such an impressive win in such a short period of time?
Ahead of his time
Jos is very quick to pick up new concepts; he is always ahead of his time. He is a dedicated fancier with a vision and he is one of the key actors in modern day pigeon racing. As a fancier, Jos Thone never misses an opportunity to win a top prize. He is like the Messi or Ronaldo of pigeon racing, turning every chance into a goal.
Jos was a pioneer in several aspects of our sport and he was the first to organize a One Loft Race in our country in the WPC. It seems our country was not really prepared for this type of competition yet but in the meantime there has been a successful follow up. The layout of his current loft in Niel-bij-As has been copied by quite a number of fanciers as well and Jos was also one of the first to basket one and the same pigeon for five national long distance races in a single season. This is now a common approach, and many long distance fanciers have decided to follow this strategy as well. These are just a few examples.
He is also one of the first fanciers to engage in a so-called partnership, which has become a trend in our sport. A partnership means that two or more fanciers decide to work together on a project related to pigeon races, the breeding or purchasing new pigeons etc. This concept has become increasingly popular!
Partnerships, a new trend in our sport
There are different reasons for joining a partnership; there are plenty of possibilities. Jos Thone has made excellent use of this concept.
Jos gained international fame as a top class fancier, as someone who can get the most from his pigeons. His Thone pigeons are a guarantee for great achievements in pigeon racing and his breeding loft seems to provide an endless number of excellent pigeons, which have allowed him and many other fanciers to find the road to success. The achievements of a pigeon loft during the racing season usually gives an indication of the quality of a pigeon loft and it goes without saying that the pigeons from Niel-bij-As have been performing at a world level.
Fancier Jos Thone is passionate about breeding pigeons and looking for the best possible combinations. The goal is to stay ahead of your opponents by continuously trying to improve the quality of your pigeon breed. The sky is the limit. Again, his achievements in the races show that he is a highly proficient fancier.
Jos Thone has an international reputation for being a great champion who can do wonders in his loft. Many other fanciers were interested in learning from him and so the first partnerships came into existence: fanciers from the other end of the world came to Niel-bij-As to purchase Belgium’s national ace pigeons, national winners or renowned breeders. These are fanciers who know what they are doing and some of them asked Jos to temporarily keep their expensive pigeons in Jos’ loft to pair them to some of the finest Thone breeders in As. This was often a difficult decision for Jos but in many cases, both Jos and the buyer of the pigeon could benefit from such an agreement. The youngsters were often divided between the two and some were basketed in the loft of Jos, which significantly increased the breeding value of the newly purchased pigeon. After the public auction in late 2010 fanciers continued to ask for pigeons but Jos decided to limit the number of exchanges and agreements, offering fewer pigeons than before.
One of these partnerships was an agreement with businessman John Hanson from Australia. He is an excellent fancier who is fond of top quality pigeons and he eventually came into contact with Jos Thone. He became a regular guest and it was no surprise that he made the long trip to Thorn in The Netherlands for the public auction of Jos Thone in 2010. John Hanson had the winning bid on no less than seven Thone champions, including stock dam and breeding star Sedna I and her son Sedmos, the outstanding hen Jutta and her granddaughter Chloë, double international winner Nadira, Olympiad Pigeon Faro and Arinze. The transport of pigeons to Australia is strictly regulated and prohibited in some instances, so John Hanson suggested keeping his newly purchased pigeons in Jos’ loft, just like they had done in the past. This was probably the best choice, because the hens Sedna, Jutta and Nadira were already 7 or 8 years old. Jos could keep some of their youngsters every season, which means he could still benefit from these invaluable breeding dams.
Andy Larentzakis from Canada (the owner of Cavendish), Mike Chadwick from the U.K. (the owner of Frost), Sky Chen (the owner of Last Samurai), and Ali from Iraq (the owner of Prince Ali, Dochter 848, Inteelt Harry, Blauwe Joosen of Halfbroer Ike) were interested in keeping their expensive new pigeons in his loft and to pair them to the best breeders of the Thone pigeon family as well. Jos could keep a number of their youngsters in his own loft in return and he could basket them as well. The other young birds go to the owner of the partnership, who decides to sell the youngsters, to give them to Jos, to basket them for one loft races etc. The outstanding pigeon Crow of George Crow returned to the loft in Niel-bij-As to join the Thone breeding loft.
This was the secret behind his successful comeback after his auction in 2010. The pigeons from these partnerships allowed Jos Thone to quickly breed a select group of top class racing pigeons. The result was a national victory young birds from La Souterraine and no less than 8 provincial victories and three zonal wins in his loft in 2013. Well done!
Marquez Prats – Thone
Jos Thone is also engaged in a project with Carlos Marques Pratz. Jos had bought a second home opposite the street where he built pigeon lofts in the garden of the house. The first idea was to use this new loft for a team of extreme long distance pigeons with the focus on Barcelona. The fancier Carlos Marquez Prats was forced to move out of Geetsbets and he agreed with Jos Thone to create a team for Barcelona together. They were to be raced from the new lofts opposite Jos’ house. They drew up a contract that ended in July 2013 and the Marquez Prats-Thone combination was born. They wanted to excel in the classic from Barcelona and so they did. Sadly enough, Carlos Marques Prats has passed away and the breeding pigeons have now been sold. The racing pigeons were still being basketed, as was agreed in the contract. The contract terminated in July 2013 and that was the end of this combination. The very best pigeon of the team of Marquez Prats-Thone, the amazing Barcelona racing bird Disney, will now be auctioned on PIPA.
From 2014, their loft will be used by Jos’ two sons Xavier and Maxim Thone, who study at a university in Belgium and Switzerland respectively. They are both fond of keeping pigeons. This loft will be used as a friendship loft, meaning that pigeons from friends will be housed and raced from this loft. Think of pigeons of their good friends Ali, Guy Baerts and others.
An all round fancier
This approach has allowed Jos to create a team of 10 to 15 people who help run his pigeon loft on a daily basis. It is thanks to this team that he has managed to perform at a top level. Jos would be forced to take a step back if he had to do everything on his own but he will be a man to watch as long as he has a motivated team around him. After all, Jos is a top class pigeon fancier who likes the sensation of seeing one of his pigeons arrive at the loft after an impressive performance. It gives him an adrenalin rush that is hard to put into words. It is his biggest challenge to keep pigeons, to make them excellent racing birds and to have them perform at a top level in all disciplines from sprint to longer distance.
Jos Thone became world famous as a true all round fancier. He is one of the few who excels both in the sprint and the longer distance competition, including the classic from Barcelona. The descendants of Nadira provide a basis for the grand distance team, his stock pigeon Sedna I lays the foundation for his long distance team (500-800km), descendants of Jutta are basketed for the longer middle distance (300-600km) and the line of Frost (brother Avril) is used for breeding sprint pigeons. These lines are combined (or crossed) with the bloodlines from some of his partnerships and this is the basis for his new stock breed. Jos knows what it takes to create a solid breed and that is why he was able to achieve his goals in only three seasons’ time and to make excellent results in 2013! This is quite an exceptional feat.
Jos Thone, a family man
Jos does not attend championship days and other events very often anymore. He prefers to stay at home and to let someone else represent his team. Jos has decided to take things easier, also because he suffers from an eye disease called bird-shot. An eye specialist has managed to stabilize the situation but Jos continues to have an increased pressure in his eyes. He takes daily medication but the best prevention is to take time to rest.
That is why he prefers to concentrate on everything related to the loft itself. He enjoys the company of his family and his friends and he meets with potential clients. He also agreed to represent our country and our sport across the border, acting as an ambassador for pigeon racing and for Belgium as our sport’s country of origin. Belgium is a leading country in pigeon racing at international level and Jos believes that the Belgian racing pigeon is one of our major export products, along with French fries, chocolate, beer, etc. That is why Jos aims to get the modern-day racing pigeon on the list of world heritage.
The never ending story
Jos Thone is surrounded by a great team and the Thone family is more motivated than ever. His opponents know that they are always ready to win an important prize, especially because they have a collection of high quality pigeons. Their pigeons seem to have just that little extra quality, which makes them smarter, stronger and quicker than their opponents! These pigeons can excel in all weather conditions and they were created and made by grandmaster Jos Thone. This is a collection of highly talented racing pigeons that have made Jos a world famous fancier!
