Kyleakin Lofts

Well done all.

Well done all.

Happy birthday.

Good morning all.

Well done.

Well done all.

Good morning all.

Jac Steketee of Bruinisse I have meant to write something about Jac Steketee for a number of years now but have held back because of his concern over publicity. That part of the story goes back many years and I will not pretend to know the ins and outs of it but what I do know, as a result of that lack of publicity, few in the UK had really taken much notice of his name until quite recently. The lofts I first came across the name Steketee when I went to interview Robert Ben and discovered that one of his great pigeons was part Steketee. Although Robert was quite deliberate in his breeding plans this part occurred by accident as in 1996 a stray came into his loft which he clearly liked because he made a note on a piece of paper and tucked it into the pigeons ring before he released it. Later he got a letter of thanks from the owner Mr Groenleer and later still, when Mr Groenleer was on his way to England, he took Robert six pigeons which were all bred down from Jac Steketee stock. One of those pigeons turned out to be a great breeding hen, one of those golden strokes of nature. Unfortunately Mr Groenleer could not help with the pedigree of that pigeon when I enquired of him several years later but it became quite clear that Jac Steketee was a very well know name in the Netherlands whether he liked publicity or not. So I enquired further. The beginnings. Like many fanciers Jac comes from a pigeon family but his first hobby wasn’t pigeons at all but fish. He was very successful with tropical fish aquaria winning many regional titles before he moved on to pigeons. It is easy to understand this affinity with water and what lives in it when you see where he himself lives. Bruinisse is a village on the edge of one of the islands that go to make up Zeeland, or Sea Land, that coastal area between Antwerp and Rotterdam. The area is actually a complicated mix of islands and water where the estuaries of three major rivers, the Rhine, Scheldt and Meuse finally find their way to the sea. It has also become a very famous area for racing pigeons. It was not until the early 1970’s that Jac started with pigeons himself and it was in 1975 that he obtained stock from a man who became a firm friend and who’s pigeons left their mark on many lofts and fanciers from that time, Jan Cools of Nieuw Vossemeer. Jan Cools of course was a long standing friend of Jan Aarden and many exchanges of pigeons had taken place between them which provided a very sound base for the start of any loft. It was with these pigeons that Jac first flew in the St. Vincent National of 1977 where he scored highly and he was from that time hooked on long distance racing. The following year Jac obtained pigeons from Jo Hendriks of Twello and it was this blend that formed the basis of his family of birds that has proved so successful right up to this present day. Picking out individual pigeons to mention can at times get quite difficult especially here as Jac has had so many but two that stand out for me are “De Marseille†and “Stayerâ€. Starting with “De Marseille†NL82-903065 he was a great racer and was 4th National Marseille, clearly from where he takes his name but much more important than that is how often he appears in the pedigree of successful pigeons that followed him in many, many lofts. The sire of “De Marseille†was NL77-2083788 “De Stam Doffer†or “De Stamvader†(The Tribe or Clan Cock) from Jan Cools who appears in even more pedigrees so which do you pick. Agtmaal and clearly these had real blending potential with his own pigeons. It actually worked out a little better then even he hoped as one of the eggs produced the Dam of “Stayer†and the other a very good racer. “Stayer†was an exceptional racer and crowned National and International Ace Pigeon of the ZLU in 1996, primarily for his performances at Perpignan over several years. Again you will find him and his close relatives in the pedigrees of many successful lofts and pigeons. Great families of pigeons do not confine themselves to one fancier though and for many the test of a family is whether they can stand the transition to other fanciers. It is perhaps in this regard that the Steketee family really stand out as they have played their part in many of the great success stories of recent years including Piet de Vogel and Frans van Peperstraten. One other name that is well known in the UK is Jan Polder of Middleharnis who has won worldwide fame with his performances. Jan went to Jac Steketee in 1985 and bought 15 latebreds and from breeding with those pigeons soon shot to fame with pigeons like ‘Witstaart’ (Golden Barcelona bird 1995-1997), ‘Husky’ (International Ace Pigeon Pau 1998-2002), Black Magic Woman (National Ace Pigeon Pau 2004 – 2006) ‘Rainbow Warrior’ who won three National top 10 positions a new record in Dutch pigeon racing, and then in 2005 ‘Victoria’ won 1st National St. Vincent. That Steketee blood runs through them all and when we look at the pedigrees of pigeons like “Nadal†above or his sister “Doloresâ€, 16th National Barcelona 2005, we see only a couple of generations back “De Marseille†and his sire “De Stam Dofferâ€. The performance level of Jac Steketee and his pigeons carries on to this day. Looking at the 2012 Barcelona result we find that Jac Steketee sent an entry of 10 pigeons and timed 3 in the ZLU (Dutch National) result. His first pigeon was 10th National, that is 10th from an entry of 6,392 pigeons and 1,159 fanciers and it was 27th International from an entry of 25,320 pigeons. Then if we look at the 1st Dutch National pigeon, 6th International, for A. Schults, also from Bruinisse, and we look at the pedigree of that winner we find, just a couple of generations back, “De Marseille†of Jac Steketee with of course his sire “De Stam Doffer†and then in another line a sister of “Stayerâ€. I hesitate to mention it, well not really as I am very proud to mention it as much for Jac Steketee as anyone else, but if you look at the pedigree of the 1st UK National and 475th International in that very same race you will see just a few generations back that very same “De Marseille†Jac Steketee despite his shunning of publicity has firmly established himself as one of the most important names with one of the most influential families of pigeons in the modern age of International pigeon racing. None of this happens by accident and certainly you cannot maintain a presence at the top of the game for as long as he has without great skill. Jac Steketee has that skill and he has great confidence in his ability and knowledge but he just doesn’t like shouting about it. He is simply a very nice man and an exceptional pigeon fancier. Nigel Lane Jac Steketee 2013

She may still be going for number 5.

She is back now.

Good morning all.

Art and the 2000 Guineas by John Clements I didn't get much of a reaction from my article about transcendence. In particular transcendent performances that happen occasionally in pigeons and pigeon racing. The whole article fell with a thump on very hard stony ground. I cannot say this was not expected. When pigeon conversation gets into the realm of the 'mystical' fanciers shy away from attempting to understand or even talk about it. Nevertheless, the fact that pigeons can and do home from distant places and that the homing mechanism that enables it to take place is either not at all understood in very long races or it is taken for granted in short races. Something Mystical All this underlines the fact that there is something remarkable and mystical taking place with pigeons that is way above our current level understanding. I would say that when it comes to races of 650 miles or over no one has absolutely cracked it. No one can say with any degree of certainty that any particular pigeon is bound to make it. This applies regardless of its past performances. No one can say that their loft is going to always remain at the top. We are all searching for answers and in all cases the search cannot be weighed, quantified or measured in a cause and effect kind of way. That, dear friends, is the joy of the experience and why we do it. Money can never be Transcendent In order to get some kind of inkling on transcendence we must begin to look outside pigeon racing of how sports other than pigeon racing unconsciously know about and gives some kind of weight to 'The Arts'. It is generally in the arts where transcendence occurs most and where it is most understood. Take for instance the field of the 2000 Guineas Classic Horse Race. Two horses in that race are named after artists. This indicates unconsciously what we as people historically value. The two are Gustave Klimt - and Murillo. Ask why did owners pick these names and not the names of past Chancellor’s of the Exchequer or a past governor of the Bank of England or even a ‘Hedge Fund’. It is because these art names represent a similar mystic level the horses themselves are expected to reach. Chancellors and B of E Governors and Hedge Funds do not fit the bill, Money can never be transcendent. Unconsciously owners want themselves and their horse to go down in history in the same way that painters whose names they have adopted have gone down in history. There is more to this transcendent stuff than we can imagine. We all want it, we all try for it, we all recognise it when we see it, regardless of if we admit it or not. An Example from the Hard BICC Falaise Race There was a transcendent performance last week in the BICC Falaise race. This race forced long flying into a difficult North East wind. Many flying much lesser distances failed but Houriham and Crowder from Croxteth in Liverpool timed a pigeon at 6pm flying 336 miles. In my mind this pigeon was equally as good as the outright winner flying to Eastbourne on the South Coast. If I was asked to choose which one I would have it would be the Croxteth one for that one was transcendent (mystically above what was expected) on that particular day. At least one other fancier recognised this fact - Davy Burns mentioned it on the ‘Pigeon Chat’ platform. He can also be commended for his open act of recognition. He was obviously affected spiritually by the performance.

Well done all.

Well done all.

Well done all.

Good morning all.

My understanding is that ownership of a fence is dependent upon where the fence posts are situated, however, normally there is a border line and the fence should run along it.

Barcelona ( A remarkable achievement) Those of you that are interested in racing at the distance couldn’t fail to notice that Nigel Lane has won the National from Barcelona. I now know his position in the international result is 475th from 25,320 pigeons, well up there. I met with Nigel to get the low down on him and his birds Nigel is a retired police officer who started racing pigeons in 1987. Like most of the distance flyers in the south, he started racing The North Road in 1 day races. His interest changed and as a final test he raced only with The North Road Championship Club wining 1st section from Thurso at over 500 miles. His interest then changed again in 2003 to The South Road and the extreme distance. Starting with British distance birds which did not gel with him and were patchy performers, he continued to search for other birds which led him to meeting up with Carlier-Petite, Eric Vanacker and Robert Ben at these meetings he found that they were flying predominately Dutch birds. Nigel felt that he needed a Jan Arden, Van De Wegen, Van Wanroy type of bird. Researching various fanciers in Holland, he set out to acquire birds from some fanciers there. He only started the distance in 2005 and has now won the National from Barcelona, a remarkable achievement and one that most people dream of and spend their lives trying to time even a decent one from Barcelona. Few succeed, many try. The wining bird prior to Barcelona had already raced 1393 miles putting in a The winning pigeon named "EADHUN" is a 2009 cock bred from a cock from Jac Steketee and a hen from Jelle Outhuijse both excellent fanciers in their own right. "EADHUN" will be prepared for his return to Barcelona next year. Nigel lives in Havering, Essex, not exactly a hot spot for National distance winners and yet this year has produced 4 National Winners, see it can be done. Preparation The birds in their first year are only given a few tosses as all of them are late breds. Nigel due to lack of room, only breeds after the racing season is over. The birds are put aside to have their first race as yearlings though Nigel calls this training. The first race is from 185 miles over the water, he then proceeds as follows, those that return are sent 220 miles with the BBC because most of the birds are flying into the West Country and Nigel is in the East. This is a severe test for them. At 2 years of age, they go to 3 BBC nationals and a race with The London South East Classic Club as training. At 3 years of age the brakes are off and they go to 4 National races and finish up racing from Barcelona. Feeding Young birds are weaned on a mixture of beans, wheat, barley, maize and a small amount of sunflower seed which Nigel calls his general mix. As yearlings they stay on this mix but when racing the proportions of the grains change but not the type of grains. As the distance increases the fat content of the grains is increased. I asked Nigel if he gave them anything extra and he said no just the fat content. Treatments Nigel treats the birds routinely for Coccidiosis and Canker and the normal vaccination against Para. All in all a very interesting meeting and what a bird, I wonder if it can do the same next year. Garry Gatenby-Taylor.

I think we do. The seasons seem to have changed from days of yore, what with global warming. We will not start the racing season later until the National Clubs change their race dates to a later time. In that manner the Federations will be able to follow suit.

Frans Belleter-Nispen. I have always been something of a D.I.Y enthusiast, very much an amateur but an enthusiast nevertheless. I built my own lofts, fitted out trailers for transporting my pigeons and I am constantly making and adapting new equipment for the loft. Up to know I have always felt quite pleased with myself but recently I was put firmly in my place. This did not happen in an unpleasant way, quite the contrary, it is just that I met Frans Belleter of Nispen, Holland and was able to marvel, at first hand, at his work. Frans is a professional D.I.Y. man, a very professional D.I.Y man. Frans works as a builder, although I am not sure what his particular trade is as he seem to be ultra competent at all. Your attention is attracted by some excellent brickwork and learn that Frans built it, then some first rate carpentry which is also his work and then you see some superb metalwork only to discover that Frans is responsible for that as well. Frans can turn his hand to anything, as he often does, and he has also put together his own very successful family of pigeons. Where it began. Nispen is a small village just to the South of Roosendall and only just inside the Dutch border with Belgium. It is so close to the Belgian border that recently, when the threat of Avian Flu caused the Dutch pigeons to be confined to their lofts, Frans could only watch as his neighbour's pigeon, located in Belgium, flew around their loft and over Frans's head. Nispen is in a very pigeon part of Holland as only just down the road is Steenbergen, seen by many as the heart of the Dutch pigeon sport, and if it is not the centre it is an area that has played an enormous part in Dutch pigeon history. How it began. Frans started with pigeons when he was just 11 years old and his parents quickly realised just how deep his interest was, and no doubt were very pleased to see him take up with such a rewarding hobby, that they bought him a clock which he still has to this day, in good working order. His interest gradually developed towards long distance racing and one of the first pigeons he bought, with this sort of racing in mind, was a hen NL88-8819816, that came to be known as "DE LADY". He bought "DE LADY" from Cees Suijkerbuijk of Lepelstraat and she turned out to be a superb breeding hen appearing in the pedigrees of many of his top racers over several generations. She was bred from a Suijkerbuik hen, a good racer herself taking several top positions including 109th National Dax, when paired to a cock from Hans Oostenrijk down from the "GOUDRING". The Oostenrijk pigeons of course have been used to good effect in the families produced by Brugemann Brothers and C.J. van de Laan to mention but two. Gradually Frans has added pigeons from Theo Ernest of Halsteren and more recently J. Theelen of Buggenum, H. Wijnands & Zn. of Maastricht and Van de Wegen of Steenbergen. Using both inbreeding and out crossing he has produced a succession of all weather, hard flying pigeons that have won many top prizes in National and International competition from 850 to 1200 km. Frans likes to inbreed for a couple of generations and then outcross but he has produced good pigeons at all stages of this programme. Just looking at one or two of these champions we can start with a nest pair NL96-9668042/3 being "DE MAGIC" and "DE ANNE" respectively, both bred directly from "DE LADY". "DE MAGIC" won 247th National Dax from 19,125 pigeons in 1999, 90th National Dax from 14,423 pigeon and 37th National St. Vincent from 17,333 pigeons in 2000 while his nest sister "DE ANNE", in the 1998 International Perpignan, won 259th National from 5,479 pigeons, 154th International from 2,969 hens and 579th International from 16,025 pigeons in the open. Then we have NL00-0069210 "DE KORNEEL" a product of "DE KEESIE", another successful son of "DE LADY" who won 50th National St. Vincent from 17,333 in 2000 and 199th National St.Vincent from 16,486 pigeons in 2001, when crossed out to a hen from Theo Ernest down from a 1st National Tarbes pigeon. "DE KORNEEL" won 66th National Dax from 13,456 pigeons and 114th National St. Vincent from 15,966 pigeons as well as various local and regional championships. Then we come to NL01-0158594 "FLYER" who is again a cross between a pigeon bred down from "DE LADY" on the sire's side, in fact both the sires parents were bred from "DE LADY", and a hen from Theo Ernest who was actually a cross with a pigeon from W. Looymans. Four generations back on the sires side is "DE MISTERY", another successful pigeon from the 1996 breeding season, a vintage season for the Belleter lofts, who himself won 901st National Perpignan from 7,195 pigeons in 2000 and 399th National Barcelona from 7,567 pigeons in 2001. Then in 2004 his great, great grandson, "FLYER", came through with 19th National 7,646 pigeons, 56th International 17,570 pigeons Perpignan and 352nd National 7,875 pigeons, 644th International 24,913 pigeons Barcelona but bettered that Barcelona position the following year with 41st National 7,491 pigeons, 78th International 25,815 pigeons. How he does it. So how does he achieve these wonderful results. The first thing he will tell you is that it is the quality of the pigeons that counts and make no mistake about that. He likes to see pigeons that will fly in any weather and for him the main quality is that they return fit. They may be tired, and after a long flight they certainly will be, but he has no time for pigeons that return and sit about moping, they need to rest, feed and recover but they need to be alert and ready to go again. By constantly selecting from this type of pigeon Frans believes he has established a hard flying family. The pigeons do not go without, they live in excellent lofts that Frans has taken a lot of care over both with design and construction, and they do not lack for food or care. However they do have to fit in with his life style, which has its own special demands. Frans is a builder and he gets up at 5 am each morning and is soon off to work a full day. There is no time for pigeons before he goes to work. On his return at about 1700 to 1800 he and his wife Jose eat together. Only when they have finished their meal do they attend to the pigeons and then they work together to clean, feed and fly the pigeons out. So the pigeons only fly once a day in the evenings, this will vary a little just before a big race because four days before such a race Frans likes to fly the pigeons out for one hour in the morning and then for one and a half hours in the evening. He says that for the first couple of days the pigeons find this a little difficult but by the third day they are really into the swing. The yearly routine. On 15th October the pigeons are separated, about 100 cocks and 100 hens. The cocks and the hens have a covered area for the night with about 140 perches each but in the day they have an outside run, 5 x 5.5m for the cocks and 4.5 x 3.5 m for the hens, which has no roof and steel gratings for a floor. From 15th October until 1st January they are fed on Marimans moulting mixture and, as Frans is a great believer in Belgica products he gives B.S. for three days at the beginning of each month. On 1st January the feed is changed to Marimans winter mixture and on 5th January all pigeons are vaccinated against paramixo. From 1995 to 2001 the pigeons were also vaccinated against Paratyphus but since 2002/2003 he has treated them instead for five days with Parastop then on 10th March they are changed over to a breeding mixture in preparation for pairing on 20th March and while the pigeons are sitting they are given B.S. for five days. The racers raise 2 babies and when they are 20 days they are taken, with the hens, to the hens loft. Once the young birds are taken away the cocks are given B.S. for five days and a week after 5 days Parastop. The cocks are fed on Mariman sport mixture from this time and start training when Frans himself takes them 5 times to 50 km and then after that they go on the local transporter. Frans only races widowhood cocks, about 36 old birds and 39 yearlings. The hens are never shown before a flight but they are always present when the cocks return home. Youngsters On the run up to a race feeding and care is intensified, especially before overnight races, and they are given both garlic oil and brewers yeast. The race programme consists of five shorter races, which are very much a learning period both for the pigeons and for Frans. They will then go on two middle distance races before a one day long race. Then they are set up for either 3 overnight NPO races or two with Z.L.U. This regime has led to many winners and Championships over the years. The future. Frans Belleter has succeded in producing his own family of pigeons which have performed to the highest level against the severest competion in the world over many years and they still continue to perform at that level today. It is Frans greatest ambition to win Barcelona and with his pigeons, his determination and his attention to detail who is to say he will not achieve that ambition. Keep a careful eye open for the results. Nigel Lane 25/02/07

Well done all.

Well done all.

Good morning all.

Very sad news Johnny. My thoughts are with you and your family.

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