Rudi De Saer at the national awards ceremony in Antwerp, as 1st Nat. Champion Long Distance Old Birds KBDB 2014
We wrote this article in early February, as the days are gradually starting to lengthen. Most fanciers have allowed their first round of young birds of 2015 to start getting used to their environment, and you can sense the excitement of a new season of pigeon racing looming around the corner.
Every fancier looks forward to the start of the season with great expectations and ambitions. Some of us have set a higher bar than others, which is quite normal. There is nothing wrong with dreaming of a first prize, a great performance, or perhaps a national victory or ace pigeon title. There is nothing wrong with being ambitious, although some will be less willing to express their ambitions than others.
One of the fanciers who did not hide his ambitions for the 2014 season was Rudi De Saer from Ruiselede. That does not mean he was boasting about his recent achievements and his future goals. That is not his way. Rudi knows that actions speak louder than words! When asked about his goals and ambitions for 2014, he quietly explained that he wanted to win a national ace pigeon title or national title. Easier said than done!
Still, Rudi showed his commitment from day one, winning a 1st, 2nd and 3rd provincial against 6,400 pigeons in the first provincial race from Tours. This was a spectacular result that made him the number one favourite for the upcoming national race from Limoges, and team De Saer lived up to the expectations. Rudi claimed a provincial first prize and he only just missed a national victory, finishing in 2nd and 6th. It was just a matter of time before the fancier from Ruiselede would claim his first national victory of 2014, as his crack New Tours took the win from Cahors just two weeks later. The pigeons of De Saer continued their winning streak and I reckon we have all heard about their stellar season, which eventually resulted in the title of 1st Nat. Champion Long Distance Old Birds KBDB 2014.
It was a dream come true! He managed to achieve his goals and to meet the expectations, which is quite something. It was the second title of first national long distance champion for Rudi (2010 and 2014). He was close to winning that title in 2009 as well but the regulations prevented him from adding a third title to his palmares.
Outstanding breeder ’t Goedje leads the way
Rudi De Saer was an avid cyclist in his early years but he had already started to develop an interest in pigeon racing as well. He once rang Gaby Vandenabeele’s doorbell while on a training ride but Gaby was not there. He had more luck on a next visit, and Rudi made no secret of his ambitions: he asked Gaby for youngsters of his best pigeons. Eventually, direct youngsters of stock sires De Kleinen, Wittenbuik, Turbo, Limoges, Neptunus etc. were transferred to Rudi’s loft in Ruiselede.
No one would have guessed that this was the starting point of a pigeon loft that would dominate the national long distance competition by 2015. Rudi was aiming for the provincial races of the longer middle distance and light long distance in the late 1990s and the early 2000s. However, his true ambitions lied in the national long distance. He convinced his father Antoine to start focusing on the national long distance classics and what followed was a major success story, with a superior team of racing pigeons winning national titles and national first prizes.
It was super class hen and stock dam ’t Goedje BE05-3177035 that played a key role in this loft. She is a 100% Gaby Vandenabeele, and she has excellent origins:
Sire: Son Kleinen BE93-3050291
A direct Gaby Vandenabeele from the number one stock sire in Dentergem: stock sire Kleinen BE81-3238253 x Georgette BE86-3158708. This makes him a full brother of supercrack Turbo 128/90 (1st Prov. Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB ’93 and 2nd Prov. Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB ’94).
Dam: Dana 1 BE97-3062343
Bred from two direct Vandenabeele pigeons, the Nicolaas BE93-3050169 x Lady Turbo BE96-3314563 (an outstanding breeder and a direct daughter of Turbo 128/90).
Stock dam ’t Goedje has bred an incredible number of great descendants, including:
– Antonio: 1st Nat Souillac 7,760 p.
– New Tours : 1st Nat Cahors 7,136 p. in 2014, and co winner of title of 1st Nat. Champion Long Distance KBDB 2014 (his palmares)
– Tours: co winner of title of 1st Nat. Champion Long Distance KBDB 2010, 2nd Nat. Champion Long Distance KBDB 2009
– Bleken: co winner of title of 1st Nat. Champion Long Distance KBDB 2010; 3rd Prov. & 4th Nat. Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB ‘10
– Close: 1st club, 2nd prov. and 4th Tulle 10,251 p.
– Close 2: 8th Prov. Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB 2012
– Champion: sire of Supercrack Favoriet, co winner of title of 1st Nat. Champion Long Distance KBDB 2014
– Nest sister Tours: dam of 1st Prov. Tours and 1st Prov Bourges
– The Next: winner of three first prizes
– Bleeksken: dam of 1st Prov. Chateauroux 3,486 p., and 3rd Nat. Brive 8,331 p. 2013
Click here for an overview of his breeding results and the strongest descendants of ‘t Goedje
This is without doubt an exceptional breeding hen, a natural born stock pigeon. She has bred several top quality racing birds and provincial and national prize winners with different partners. Let’s have a look:
– paired to Den 18: parents of Bleken, Tours, Nestzus Tours (the dam of Raket, 1st prov. Tours 6400 p., and of 1st Prov. Bourges), Champion (sire of Favoriet)
– paried to Zoon Groten: parents of New Tours and Antonio
– paired to Black Pearl: parents of Close and Close 2
Breeding dam Pootje BE03-3220003 (a full sister of ‘t Goedje) had a share in this success story as well, being the dam of Jens(1st and 2nd Prov. Ace Pigeon KBDB), Zuster 2 Jens (the dam of New Jens, 1st Nat. Limoges 13,781 p. in 2012) and Daisy (the dam of the 1st Prov. Tours 1,852 p., 6th Nat. Brive 5,286 p., 19th Nat. Brive 5,286 p., 27th Nat. Brive 6,842 p., 41st Nat. Chateauroux 15,902 p., 64th Nat. Limoges 7,221 p., 96th Nat. Limoges 18,390 p.).
The ‘Zwartjes’ from the line of the old stock pair Perigueux x Corry
The successful bloodline of ‘t Goedje was backed up with the bloodline of the old stock pair of Perigueux x Corry, whose descendants have played a vital role as well. This pair has bred the 1st prov. Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB ’09, the 3rd Prov. Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB ’06 and the 4th Prov. Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB ‘05. They are the parents of several great racing birds:
–de Late Zwarten: sire of today’s champion Neymar, and of 1st Nat. Zone Argenton 1,648 p., 6th Nat. Limoges 18,390 p., 8th Prov. Tours 6,400 p., 8th Nat. Limoges 14,673 p., 9th N.Zone Gueret 2,222 p., 10th Nat. La Souterraine 11,236 p…
-One Eye Blind: dam of 9th Nat. Bourges 31,719 p., 14th Nat. Cahors 10,381 p.
-Blue Rudi: sire of 1st FCI Thailand World-Championship
–Blue Angel: the dam of Rainman, 1st Nat. St.Vincent 3,161 p. in 2012, 3rd Intnat. 13,085 p.
Keep in mind that Perigueux is a full brother of Den 18 (vader van de Tours, Bleken enz…), which means he is a son of Geschelpte Limoges (son of 1st Nat. Limoges Deseyn-Vd Meulebroucke) x Wittenbuikske (a daughter of the iconic Wittenbuik of Gaby Vandenabeele). Corry was a direct daughter of Turbo (1st Prov. Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB ’93 and 2nd Nat. Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB ’94). Turbo is a full brother of Zoon Kleinen, or the sire of ‘t Goedje.
No less than 4 national winners in the De Saer breeding loft
Winning a national first prize is any fancier’s dream. Many are called but few are chosen. Rudi De Saer managed to add no less than three national first prizes to his palmares in just three years’ time (2012-2014). This is a genuinely impressive feat, this is pigeon racing from a different planet. It illustrates the strength of both the De Saer racing team and the breeding loft.
This type of high quality pigeon breed is usually highly sought after but Rudi decided not to sell his national winners. He wanted to keep them in his own loft to be safe for the future. This makes Rudi one of the few, if not the only fancier that has kept three of his four national winners in his own collection.
-Antonio: 1st Nat. Souillac 7,756 p. in 2012 (pedigree)
–New Tours: 1st Nat. Cahors 7.,36 p. in 2014 (pedigree)
–New Jens: 1st Nat. Limoges 13,781 p. in 2012 (pedigree)
–Rainman: 1st Nat. St.Vincent 3,161 p. in 2012 in the lofts of Martin De Poorter. He is a 100% De Saer pigeon (bred by team BDS in Ruiselede). That explains why Rudi had purchased him at the PIPA auction of Martin De Poorter (pedigree).
Belgium’s number one in the national long distance
Rudi De Saer is an expert pigeon fancier. He knows his trade, he knows what he’s doing and what he wants to achieve. This is a top class pigeon loft with a modern twist, led by a top level manager who knows how to let his pigeons perform well, who lets them excel and win top prizes. A solid approach has enabled him to get the most out of his breed, and Rudi has gained international acclaim with his impressive achievements. He did a phenomenal job!
