Team Batenburg-Van De Merwe was one of the stars in the traditional opener of the international long distance season. They won an 8th and 21st International Pau, and they almost dominated the yearlings’ race from Agen, with 39 pigeons finishing on the first day. Their fastest pigeon was a direct son of New Laureaat.
A team of 48 two year olds was basketed for Pau, each of which had completed Cahors and Narbonne as yearlings in 2015. This generation had already won a national top 10 prize in both races. One week later a group of 116 one year old cocks and hens was basketed for Agen, which would be their first international race. Both these races were basically dominated by the pigeons of Batenburg – Van De Merwe, which have been one of the top teams in the extreme long distance in Europe for many years, racing under their official name of “Batenburg – v.d. Merwe”.
Pau
We begin with the international opener of the season from Pau, which is a 1005km race for Batenburg-Van De Merwe. They did great:
Province 5 1,052 p.: 1st-5th-17th-47th-60th-72nd-81st-86th-88th-99th etc.
National 3,788 p.: 7th-18th-55th (23/48)
International 9,932 p.: 8th-21st-etc.
1st Province & 8th International Pau 9,932 p.
The provincial winner that also took an 8th international of 9,932 pigeons is BE14-4216114 Carla. She won two prizes as a yearling as well, including a 172nd Nat. Narbonne 5,338 pigeons. Carla was bred by Dr. Carlo Gyselbrecht in Knesselare, and this top prize is the result of a successful collaboration between Batenburg and Gyselbrecht. Her sire is a son of Etterbak (1st Int. Ace Pigeon Barcelona 2005-2007 for Vrosch-Meijers), her dam is inbred to the renowned Laureaat Barcelona bloodline of Gyselbrecht. Carla’s nest mate was Hugo’s fourth best pigeon from Pau. Click here for the pedigree of Carla.
5th Province & 21st International Pau 9,932 p.
Racing hen BE14-4216120 Carla 2 was also born in the breeding lofts of Dr. Carlo Gyselbrecht. She originates from Laureaat Barcelona three times and from King (a nephew of Laureaat Barcelona) twice, which shows that she has an excellent pedigree. Her sire was an outstanding racing bird and an inbred grandson of Brockamp’s Euro Diamond. Her dam is Blue Marilyn, winner of a 33rd Nat. St.-Vincent and an 87th Nat. Barcelona. Click here for the pedigree of Lady Pau.
55th Nat. Pau 3,788 p.
NL14-1040418 Noortje claimed a second top 100 prize in three races. She also won a 54th Nat. Narbonne 5,338 p. (and a 72nd Int. yearlings 8,447 p.) and a 432nd Nat. Cahors 5,279 p. as a yearling. Noortje is a half sister of Libelle, winner of a 21st Nat. Barcelona 6,903 p. Her sire is an inbred son of top class breeder Jonge Witbuik, the dam is a daughter of the aforementioned Etterbak. You can find the full pedigree of Noortje here.
Agen
Only a week after Pau Hugo’s impressive team of yearlings was ready for its maiden trip: the international race from Agen over 889km. The 116 pigeons started to arrive home in short succession on Sunday evening, and Hugo managed to clock no less than 39 pigeons on the day of the release. He eventually managed to win 50 prizes from Agen, with the following times of arrival:
19.49 - 19.49 - 20.06 - 20.07 - 20.09 - 20.13 - 20.19 - 20.19 - 20.24 - 20.25 - 20.29 - 20.42 - 20.43 - 20.43 - 20.46 - 20.47 - 20.54 - 20.54 - 20.55 - 20.56 - 20.56 - 21.02 - 21.05 - 21.11 - 21.13 - 21.16 - 21.19 - 21.22 - 21.30 - 21.30 - 21.34 - 21.38 - 21.46 - 21.47 - 22.06 - 22.08 - 22.10 - 22.10 - 22.19 - etc.
National Agen ZLU yearlings 4,679 p.:
15th-17th-30th-37th-41st-53rd-73rd-75th-90th-92nd-... (50/116)
15th Nat. Agen 4,679 yl.
The star of the team from Agen is NL15-1689073, a son of super class cock and stock breeder New Laureaat, which partly belongs to his good friend Nikolaas Gyselbrecht. This pigeon won a 1st Int. Barcelona in 2013, and he is likely to play an even more important role in this loft in the future. The dam is a daughter of New Witbuik, another great racing bird and winner of a 1st Nat. Barcelona in 2012. Click here for the pedigree of Zoon New Laureaat.
Other notable prize winners from Agen
– GB15-60272: 17th Nat. Agen 4,679 YL.
A direct Mark Gilbert
– NL15-1689179: 30th Nat. Agen 4,679 YL.
Sire: Son of New Ace, 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB 2012
Dam: Daughter of New Witbuik, 1st Nat. Barcelona 2012
Click here for the pedigree
– NL15-1689088: 37th Nat. Agen 4,679 YL.
Sire: Son of New Ace, 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB 2012
Dam: Daughter of New Laureaat, 1st Int. Barcelona 2013
Click here for the pedigree
– NL15-1689192: 41st Nat. Agen 4,679 YL.
Sire: New Remy, 1st Nat. Barcelona 2014
Dam: Daughter of New Laureaat, 1st Int. Barcelona 2013
Click here for the pedigree
– NL15-1689137: 53rd Nat. Agen 4,679 YL.
Sire: Son of New Ace, 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB 2012
Dam: Daughter of New Witbuik, 1st Nat. Barcelona 2012
Click here for the pedigree
– NL15-1689158: 73rd Nat. Agen 4,679 YL.
Sire: Son of New Laureaat, 1st Int. Barcelona 2013
Dam: Daughter of New Witbuik, 1st Nat. Barcelona 2012
Click here for the pedigree
22nd and 49th Nat. Barcelona 2016
This year’s classic from Barcelona took place on 2nd of July, and it proved quite a demanding race. Hugo was successful yet again, winning a 22nd and 49th National. Like we said, it was already the fifth consecutive ZLU race in which he finished in the top-25 (Narbonne ’15, Perpignan ’15, Pau ’16, Agen ’16 and Barcelona ’16). This is quite an achievement indeed. The winner of a 22nd National Barcelona, NL13-1219405, is a granddaughter of Witbuik 153, a stock breeder and a son of the renowned Witbuik. Click here for the full pedigree of NL-1219405.
The pigeon that won a 49th Nat. Barcelona is a direct daughter of New Witbuik, a top class racing bird (1st Nat. & 6th Int. Barcelona 2012) and an outstanding breeder. The dam originates from De Tarbes (1st Nat. Tarbes 10,853 p.) x Rhone Lady (1st Interprov. Marseille). Click here for the full pedigree.
His colleague and friend Ad Fortuin won an 8th National from Barcelona with a super class hen that also won a 5th Nat. in last year’s race from St.-Vincent. Her sire is a direct Batenburg-Van De Merwe, and heavily inbred to Witbuik. This is just one of many impressive references for Hugo Batenburg, along with the national victory from Bordeaux (De Pijper combination) and the 31st Int. Agen (Rutz & Sons). It shows once again that this is a top class pigeon breed ready to excel in the upcoming international classics.