Jac Steketee, 2013

[Kyleakin Lofts]

Jac Steketee of Bruinisse 2013

 

Last year I wrote “The performance level of Jac Steketee and his

pigeons carries on to this day.†It was true in 2012 and it is still

very true in 2013, so here we will have a look at 2013 but just before

we do let me expand a little on 2012. I also wrote “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.†That 27th International was of

course an exceptional performance but what I failed to mention was the

other two pigeons in the result the first being NL09-3903327 who was

513th National and 1,371st International closely followed by NL08-

3802844 who was 517th National and 1,401st International.

 

So we come to 2013 and one of the most successful International

fanciers decided to try something new, well new for him. There is no

better person than Jac to describe this himself.

“This year I have the pigeons for the first time on nest and race them on

eggs and youngsters from 10 to 12 days.

After the season started they make flights from 100-300km and 500km

and then they go to Pau and Barcelona.

I decided to play Pau because the pigeons were in such good condition

that I was wondering if they are even good enough to go to Barcelona?

The results from Pau were good; it was a very fast race the start was

in the morning 6.45am and most of the pigeons were at home in the

evening. The pigeons had a nest with eggs from 10 days and they go

back on the nest.

The eggs hatched out and then they had youngsters from about 10 /12

days and then they go to Barcelona. Barcelona was a complete different

race, very hard and the same pigeons as from Pau make a good race

from Barcelona. It means that they don’t have any problem with a fast

or slow race. But in my mind I think they are best in a race like

Barcelona.â€

 

This came as a bit of a shock to me, not the quality of the pigeons of

course I was well aware of that, no the method. I had after all just

spent the last few years not exactly copying, but learning from the

widowhood techniques I had heard and seen being used in Holland and

adapting them to my circumstances only to find one of those who I

admired most reverting to what I had come to think of as an old

fashioned way. Here was a long standing master of the art completely

revising his method and to great effect. Perhaps I will have to think

again. What it clearly demonstrates to us all is that no matter how good

you are there is always something else you could try.

 

So what were these results of 2013 and what were the birds?

At Pau, Jac sent 6 pigeons from a total of 841 Netherlands fanciers who

sent 3,124 pigeons and an International entry of 8,576 pigeons. At a

distance of 986.094km or 612miles 1285.5yds he timed four pigeons

that qualified for both the National and International result

152nd National 559th International NL09-3903357 Vel.1122.56mpm

378th National 1,491st International NL08-3802844 Vel.1031.101mpm

466th National 1,769th International NL08-3802843 Vel.990.85mpm

467th National 1,770th International NL00-3002744 Vel.990.85mpm

 

At Barcelona, Jac entered 13 pigeons from a total of 1,297 Netherlands

fanciers who sent 6,909 pigeons and a total International entry of

25,294 pigeons. At a distance of 1149.33km or 714miles 285.85yds he

timed 6 pigeons that qualified for both the National and International

result.

66th National 168th International NL09-3903357 Vel.848.947mpm

82nd National 202nd International NL08-3802844 Vel.843.01mpm

117th National 306th International NL08-3802843 Vel.829.164mpm

768th National 2,495 International NL01-3009636 (Under 800mpm) 19:10:53

999th National 3,239th International NL09-3903371 05:17:42

1,501st National 4,034th International NL00-3002720 08:14:15

 

NL09-3903357 also flew Perpignan in 2013 when he managed to score

534th National from 4,978 pigeons however the full International result is

not yet available so we cannot be sure of his position there.

 

Where do the pigeons of Anton Schults fit into the 2013 story? It was

Anton Schults you will recall who with “Richardâ€, a pigeon grounded in

the Steketee strain, took 1st Dutch National and 6th International

Barcelona 2012 and here with NL09-3903357, the pigeon that clearly

led this set of races we see the Schults name again. As soon as you look

at his pedigree you see all the mainstay pigeons I have mentioned

before “De Marseilleâ€, “De Stam Doffer†and “Stayer†figuring

prominently but interestingly on both the sire and dams side appears a

pigeon from A. Schults which is itself bred from a Steketee cock down

from “De Marseille†when paired to a hen from A. Gebraad’s. Anton

says “Adrie Gebraad got his pigeons mainly from Nipius, Th. de

Groot from Steenbergen and Lazeroms. One of his top pigeons,

“De 34†was a grandchild of the famous “Zilvervosje†from

Bakker Meesters of the Heen. This line of the “Zilvervosje†is

also a line which is found in the pigeons of Batenburg’s famous

Witbuik.†So here, in NL09-3903357, we have the confluence of lines

which on both sides lead back to the “SAAR†of Oomens Brothers and

the very foundation of today’s Dutch long distance racing pigeons.

Interestingly “Richard†was bought by Batenburg-Van de Merwe

becoming the “New Witbuik†and we can perhaps see here the reason

why. Louella have also invested in Anton Schults pigeons so if it is too

far to go over to Bruinisse you can get some HERE.

 

As you will have seen it was a trio of pigeons that stood out at Pau and

Barcelona so what about the other two. Well the first remarkable thing

about them is that they are a nest pair. To have two pigeons that make

the top 500 of the Barcelona International is one thing but for them to

be a nest pair is really quite extraordinary. Frankly I do not know if this

has ever been achieved before but if it has I would be very interested to

know. Again when we look at the pedigrees we see the familiar mark of

“De Marseille†and “De Stam Doffer†but on this occasion again on both

sides of the pedigree another very famous name “De Parel†of van der

Wegen.

 

As I said before Jac is aware of the need occasionally to bring in some

fresh blood and here we see two examples of it but the other thing to

note is that the blood is of an equivalent quality. Here in this

introduction we see not only “De Parel†who had a magnificent racing

career including some outstanding performances from Barcelona in

1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984 but also “De Stephan†who had perhaps an

even more impressive record through those same years mainly from St

Vincent and Bergerac.

 

This is not the first time these two pigeons have flown Barcelona of

course they have both flown the race each year since 2010:

Year Nat. Birds NL08-3802844 NL08-3802843

2010 7,016 645th Nat. & 2,268th Int. 1,063rd Nat. & 3,276th Int

2011 7,046 68th Nat. & 115th Int. 489th Nat. & 904th Int.

2012 6,392 518th Nat. & 1,401st Int. Not placed

2013 6,909 82nd Nat. & 202nd Int. 117th Nat. & 306th Int.

 

While I do not suggest that any old bird can put in a good performance

from Barcelona, because clearly it takes an exceptional pigeon to do it

even once, it takes a really exceptional pigeon to make multiple

performances like these and here we have it from a nest pair. Just to

illustrate the multiple performance angle in a little more detail if w

position total of 3,986, you can see all 135 HERE. It was this series of

top performances that led to NL08-3802844 being crowned ACE

Barcelona Pigeon 2010 to 2013 by the Z.L.U. in 2013. With a total

entry in excess of 25,000 pigeons in each race and conditions varying

from one of the toughest races to one of the fastest to put up consistent

performances like these is quite exceptional and with a nest mate not

far behind makes is really quite extraordinary.

 

It seems to me that we can learn several lessons from all this and the

first of these is that you must have a family of pigeons that can perform

in the races in which you wish to compete. This has been the mainstay

of Jac Steketee’s successful racing career over decades. Secondly you

must not be afraid to introduce new pigeons to that family but you must

look carefully at their origin and the contribution they can make and

then monitor their effect over time. This again is something that Jac has

managed to do very successfully. Finally you must not become so tied to

your method that you cannot consider trying something new and here

again we have seen a compelling example from Jac Steketee.

When we look around it is very easy, I think, to become dazzled by the

claims and sales talk that comes from many fanciers and the commercial

organisations they support. It is very easy to think if I buy this bird or

this strain because of the name alone success will automatically follow.

It is nonsense of course but it is an easy line to fall for. The truth is you

cannot achieve great things without great input and this can mean hard

work, knowledge, money and always that essential element “lady luckâ€.

Lady luck alone is not likely to make you a winner but however good

you are and however good your pigeons are you still need her on your

side. So if you want to be a winner you have to be prepared to put in

the work and if you are prepared to put in the work you need to know

that the materials you are working with are capable of producing the

results that you want. If Barcelona is your aim then I think you can see

that the pigeons of Jac Steketee could provide you with the right

materials, so if you are interested he normally offers young pigeons for

sale by auction during the winter months via www.toppigeons.nl/ ,

but please don’t get carried away with bidding as I shall be looking to

add to my stock as well.

 

Nigel Lane

[paddymac]

Louella describe their family of Anton Schults and Leo Pronk pigeons as the modern day Jan Aardens.