In the first part of our series we talked about Günter Prange’s approach to pigeon racing, his achievements up until 1999 and his accommodation. Günter continued to achieve brilliant results on a yearly basis after 1999 as well.
He did change a thing or two about his way of racing, to avoid the stress that comes with keeping a successful racing eteam. He decided to no longer compete in the major championships, and he skipped a number of races as well. He was much more interested in winning top prizes in separate races. Let’s take a look at his achievements after 1999:
German championships and the “Gouden Duif”
2000: 16th German Union Championship
1st District Champion in Bezirk 8
2001: 3rd German Union Championship
1st, 4th and 8th Ace Cock of Germany
2nd Ace Hen of Germany
1st District Champion in Bezirk 8
1st Championship in Kreisverband 166
2002: 23rd Union Champion
2nd Union Championship in Bezirk 8
2003: 2nd Allround Championship German Union
2nd Ace Cock in the union
1st Regional union championship in Regionalverband 410
2004: 4th National middle distance championship
2005: 3. National Allround Championship
2nd Regional Championship yearlings in the union
3rd and 8th Best Allround Ace Cock of Germany
1st Regional Championship Allround
1st Regional Championship Yearlings
2008: 1st RV Championship in the union
2009: 5th Ace Cock in the union
1st RV Champion in the union
There is one more competition which Günter Prange is particularly interested in: the competition of the Belgian pigeon magazine “De Duif”. He was heavily committed to winning the title of “Goldene Taube”, just like many other German fanciers. He managed to win this trophy an impressive six times, in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2010, 2011 and 2013.
The 2098-99-802, a son of Ringlose, became 1st Ace Cock of Germany in 2001
The palmares of 2013, his last season as an active fancier
28.04.13 Leverkusen/Köln (184 km) 1,833 p.: 1., 2., 3., 4., 5., 6., 13., 14., 17.,
19. etc. (30/33)
05.05.13 Koblenz (259 km) 1.867 p.: 1., 2., 3., 7., 8., 11., 18., 33. etc. (25/33)
12.05.13 Bad Kreuznach (316 km) 1,750 p.: 1., 3., 5., 6., 25., 29. etc. (20/33)
19.05.13 Koblenz (259 km) 1,667 p.: 4., 6., 7., 8., 10., 13., 15., 30., 32. etc. (31/33)
02.06.13 Bad Kreuznach (316 km) 1,527 p.: 2., 3., 6., 9., 15., 17., 18., 20., 21.,
25. etc. (30/33)
16.06.13 Müllheim (541 km) 887 p.: 2., 3., 4., 5., 6., 11., 13., 15., 19., 27. etc. (14/15)
30.06.13 Achern (450 km) 769 p.: 5., 6., 11., 12. etc. (11/11)
07.07.13 Achern (450 km) 718 p.: 1., 2., 3., 6., 7., 13., 18., 23., 24., 37. (10/12)
20.07.13 Müllheim (541 km) 303 p.: 1., 6., 30. (3/4)
11.08.13 Duisburg (132 km) 2,395 p.: 4., 5., 7., 19., 35., 65. (6/6)
07.09.13 Koblenz (258 km) 1,710 p.: 13., 14., 17., 28., 72. etc. (5/5)
The 02098-00-1009 became 2nd Ace Cock of Germany in 2003
His ace pigeon breed
In his first years Günter relied on the old Delbar bloodlines but he was equally successful with pigeons of C. & G. Koopman in later seasons. He got in contact with the Koopman family fairly early in his career. This is not surprising, since the loft of Koopman in Ermerveen is only 15 to 20 minutes away. The undisputed top class breeder NL94-2227959, which is a son of Beatrix-Doffer paired to Sultana (from Eric x Wonderduifje 056) of C. & G. Koopman was one of the pigeons that was transferred to the Prange loft in Meppen. This 959 became the sire, grandfather and great-grandfather of numerous ace pigeons. He paired particularly well with Bellens-Täubin 736.
The 02098-97-330, a son bred from this combination, won 8 first prizes as a racing bird before he joined a successful generation of Günter Prange breeders for. The world famous Ringlose is actually a son of the 959.
Ringlose became the sire of numerous outstanding racing and breeding birds. His dam in fact originates from the old Delbar breed of Günter Prange. One of the sons of Ringlose, the 02098-99-802, became 1st Ace Cock of Germany in 2001. In the year 2002 the renowned German pigeon loft of Bernhard Beumer & Theo Sandbothe won that same title of 1st Ace Cock in Germany with 05991-01-1011, a pigeon bred from a daughter of Ringlose, 02098-99-704. And in 2005 Toni van Ravenstein also won the title of 1st Ace Cock in Germany, this time with the 0987-03-388, the dam of which is a daughter of Ringlose, and a sister of The 802. Another son of Ringlose was close to winning another title of 1st Cock of Germany in 2003, this time in Günter’s home loft in Meppen. The pigeon in question has ring number 02098-01-1009 and comes from a combination of Ringlose and NL94-2783577 (from Ons Louis x Zuster Eric) of C. & G. Koopman. The 1009 eventually had to settle for 2nd Ace Cock in Germany with 598.43 out of a total of 600 championship points. The achievements of the Ringlose descendants speak for themselves.
The 02098-04-1530 became 3rd Ace Cock Allround of Germany in 2005
The history behind Ringlose
Ringlose was born in the end of 1995. As you know, his sire is the Koopman cock NL94-2227959. The dam of Ringlose is the 02098-94-893, a granddaughter of the Delbar stock pair 51 x 173. Günter could not ring this pigeon anymore, simply because he did not have any rings left. A brother of Ringlose, the 02098-95-146, achieved spectacular results, including six first prizes. Unfortunately he got stolen together with the other invaluable widowers on 11th July 1997. Günter lost a highly talented racing bird and breeder that day. Luckily enough he still had a brother, which unfortunately did not carry a ring. Meanwhile this pigeon had developed into a great looking racing cock. He did not have any other brothers or sisters, since his dam had left the breeding loft due to bad health. We could say that Ringlose had to stand in for his brother after the theft, and he was an excellent stand-in indeed.
His first high quality son was the 02098-99-802. He was basketed carefully in 2010 to compete in a number of races, and he managed to win a prize in every single one of them. It resulted in the title of 1st Ace Cock in Kreisverband 166. One year later, in 2001, he really started to excel, eventually winning the title of 1st Ace Cock in Germany. Quite impressive!
The bloodline of Ringlose has become a popular breed outside of Germany as well; many fanciers have achieved great results with the descendants of this breeding cock. And many fanciers still judge the value of a pigeon breed by looking at the results of its descendants in other lofts. Only a select number of pigeon families has managed to win so many prizes in other lofts. If you would like to know more about Ringlose, simply do a google search and you will be surprised about the numerous achievements of Ringlose and his descendants.
02098-07-261
One of the top breeders of the current generation is the chequered 02098-07-261. This pigeon won an impressive number of top prizes before turning into an invaluable breeder. He won ten first prizes against high numbers of pigeons and across all distances. You can find his pedigree next to the picture of the 261. The 261 belongs to a next generation of pigeons, with Ringlose being the grandfather of the 02098-07-261 from his mother’s side. The sire of the 261 is the 02098-06-801, which in turn originates from 02098-01-284, and the sire of this pigeon is a super class breeder, namely the 02098-97-330, which we mentioned earlier on. This 330 is a son of the invaluable breeder Sohn Beatrixdoffer BE94-2227959. The 330 was paired to an original Gerard Koopman hen, a daughter of Black Power. The dam of the 02098-06-801 is a Louis Van Loon hen, The 493.
We also take a look at the dam of the 02098-07-261, which is none other than 02098-99-1000. She is a super class hen, and a daughter of Ringlose paired to NL 94-2783577 of Koopman. This Koopman hen originates from some of the best Koopman bloodlines, being a sister of the famous Branco, which in turn originates from Ons Louis x a sister of the world famous Eric. It shows once again that Günter works with nothing but the very best pigeons on the market. Over the years the 02098-07-261 has developed into an exceptionally talented breeder.
02098-08-520
We take a look at another excellent racing bird and breeder of Günter Prange: the 02098-08-520, a pale cock. He won 7 first prizes against 1,600 pigeons on average over a distance of between 260 and 280km. He proved to be an excellent breeder as well, which is not quite a surprise, given his pedigree. He carries the characteristics of a typical Günter Prange pigeon.
This is an inbred pigeon that originates from some of Günter’s best bloodlines. The sire of the 02098-08-520 is the 02098-05-580, a brother of the 802, which became 1st Ace Pigeon of Germany in 2001. This 802 was a son of Ringlose, and that is all you really need to know. The dam of the 520 originates from a joint breeding of Günter with Jan Lottermann, who unfortunately is no longer with us. Her ring number is NL05-1937948, and she is a daughter of Jan Lottermann’s top breeder Branco Junior NL99-5971370, an outstanding Koopman breeder with a proven record in the breeding loft. Branco Junior was paired to the 02098-99-1000, which was also the dam of super class breeder 02098-07-261 (see earlier), the daughter of Ringlose. In other words, both the sire and the dam of the 02098-08-520 originate from the Ringlose pigeon breed. The 520 is based almost entirely on Günter Prange bloodlines.
This was a brief overview of Günter Prange’s pigeon collection. He does not have that many pigeons; about 120 birds in winter. However, each one of them is a top quality bird. He will introduce new pigeons in his loft when they belong to a top class bloodline and if they fit in perfectly.
Günter holding his 959, the sire of Ringlose; he is spending his last few moments in the loft
Something at the end
After his title of Golden Pigeon in 2013 things have been quiet in Günter Prange’s lot. He simply lacked the motivation to go on, which is understandable given his history. In 2009 he got a sudden visit from a tax investigator. He was on vacation that day and his wife was in church. The investigators promptly took her out of the church, as if she was the wife of a top criminal. They then searched the house looking for documents pertaining to pigeon auctions, to try and find evidence for tax evasion. Günter Prange did not hear anything from the tax office for years, and it turned out they had been making calculations without ever consulting him. In fact they denied him a legal hearing. Our German reporter worked for the financial administration for 40 years and he told us this is simply unacceptable and incomprehensible. There were many things the inspectors were unaware of so they had to estimate and guess. For instance, many pigeons that had been donated for a good cause were considered to be part of his revenue and were subject to taxation as well. Günter Prange and his wife suffered from health problems because of the investigations. The financial administration closed the case after five and a half years. Many questions have been left unanswered, and Günter’s wife never wanted to experience something like that ever again.
Günter has now decided to start again with a team of young birds this season. We wish him good luck!