Gaston Van de Wouwer (Berlaar, BE) has had a brilliant 2014

3 Shares

There is no doubt that Gaston Van de Wouwer has had one of his most successful seasons ever. His impressive palmares for 2014 includes a 1st prov. Ace Pigeon long distance KBDB, a 1st semi nat. Vierzon, a 1st prov. Argenton, a 4th prov. Champion long distance and a 5th nat. champion young birds KBDB.

Every season again, fanciers have great expectations from Gaston Van de Wouwer. Gaston rarely fails to meet these expectations, and that is what makes him a great champion. It is fair to say that the Van de Wouwer pigeon breed, based on stock breeder Kaasboer, has developed into the leading pigeon breed in the national middle distance competition. It did not take long for Gaston to realise that this Kaasboer pigeon was worth its weight in gold, and so his current team of breeders includes no less than 17 direct youngsters of this stock sire. Below is an overview of the highlights of the Van de Wouwer breed in 2014:

1st semi national Vierzon with Noor BE12-6023320

In Gaston’s pigeon loft nearly every important victory is won by a descendant of stock sire Kaasboer BE98-6335690. Noor, winner of a semi national first prize from Vierzon against a total of 15,359 pigeons is no exception, as both the sire and dam of Noor are grandchildren of Kaasboer. The sire of Noor was bred from a son of Kaasboer paired to a direct Van Eynde-Goovaerts hen (a daughter of Miss Argenton and winner of a 4th nat. Argenton and a 29th Guerét as a young bird). The dam of Noor is Minoe BE09-6111515, a full sister of Tia. Tia has won a 2nd nat. La Souterraine, an 11th nat. Guéret and a 42nd nat. Bourges, but she is most of all an exceptional breeding hen, having bred two provincial winners Jetje (1st prov. La Souterraine) and Maya (1st prov. Blois). The sire of both Tia and the dam of Noor is Rik 098, a super class breeder. Rik is the grandfather of Jetje, Maya, Gaston (1st Olympiad Pigeon Dortmund for Uwe Berg), Miss Vierzon (1st interprov. Vierzon for Van Eynde-Goovaerts), Genopte (1st interprov. Toury), and many others. Click here for the pedigree of Noor.

You can tell from the picture that Noor was not a one trick pony: 1st semi nat. Vierzon, 17th nat. Bourges, 117th nat. Argenton,…

1st prov. Argenton with Nafi BE14-6072202

Nafi was the first young bird against 4,017 pigeons in Antwerp, a performance that resulted in a 12th nat. Argenton. It goes without saying that Nafi is closely related to Kaasboer as well. His sire is Luc BE10-6031714, a grandson Kaasboer and a full brother of Aske BE10-6031765, 1st Ace Pigeon Long Distance Club Antwerp, winning a 2nd semi nat. Blois, 18th prov. Guéret, 29th semi nat. Vierzon, 30th nat. Argenton, and 76th nat. La Souterraine. The dam of Nafi is Femke BE11-6119158, a full sister of Laura, winner of a 1st nat. Bourges. She is also a full sister of Serena, 1st nat. Zone B Poitiers, and she is another grandchild of Kaasboer. Femke also did really well as a racing bird, winning a 10th prov. Argenton, 20th nat. Argenton, 36th prov. Bourges, 64th prov. Montluçon, 64th prov. Vierzon etc. Apparently, Nafi is related to nothing but prize winners! Click here for the pedigree of Nafi.

Luc and Femke are the parents of Nafi, winner of a 1st prov. Argenton

1st Prov. Ace Pigeon KBDB with Provincial Gaston BE14-6072208

Gaston has claimed the title of 1st Prov. Ace Pigeon Long Distance in the province of Antwerp with his pigeon Provincial Gaston, winner of the following prizes:

Argenton II    Prov.  6th   4,017 p.
               Nat.  40th  27,267 p.
Châteauroux II Prov. 13th   3,652 p.
               Nat.  35th  22,818 p.
Guéret II      Prov. 40th   2,706 p.
               Nat. 226th  16,619 p.

He is quite a champion! The sire of Provincial Gaston is Jens BE09-6111676, a half brother of Gaston, the Olympiad Pigeon of Uwe Berg. Jens is an inbred pigeon to Kaasboer, with both his sire and his dam being grandchildren of Kaasboer. The dam of Provincial Gaston is Sandy BE11-6119143, daughter of Rik, The 098, and thus a granddaughter of Kaasboer. Sandy was an excellent racing bird as well before developing into a top class breeder. She has won a 12th prov. Châteauroux, a 19th prov. Montluçon, a 32nd prov. Guéret, a 37th prov. Montluçon, etc. Click here for the pedigree of Provincial Gaston.

Jens and Sandy are the parents of Provincial Gaston, 1st prov. Ace Pigeon Long Distance 2014

Worldwide references

We can all agree that Gaston Van de Wouwer is a highly skilled fancier. He has won two national and several provincial victories, and numerous provincial and national ace pigeon titles. At the basis of this success story is the one and only stock sire Kaasboer. In fact, every pigeon in Gaston’s loft is related to the bloodline of Kaasboer, characterised by a strong body and the urge to win. It appears that these characteristics can easily be transferred to other breeds as well, which explains why so many of Gaston’s colleagues have been really successful with Van de Wouwer pigeons. Click here for an impressive list of references, including five national winners in just four years’ time.

The results of the national championship KBDB young birds of 2014 perfectly illustrate the breeding qualities of the Van de Wouwer breed. This year’s national championship was won by Paul Wijns (Herenthout), but it was particularly remarkable that both the second (Bart Henderickx from Berlaar), the third (Cleirbaut-Van Riet from Bonheiden) and the fourth (willy Daniëls from Kessel) prize were won with a pigeon based on the Kaasboer bloodline. Gaston himself further demonstrated the qualities of his Van de Wouwer pigeons by finishing in fifth.

The last few seasons have been quite busy for him, and so Gaston has decided to take a step back, to spend more time with his wife Maria and to enjoy life. By the end of the year he will have nothing left but a small group of young birds. Still, his young birds have been doing quite well recently, and so it appears he will be able to maintain a high level of performance!

Share3

3 Shares