Alex De Zutter (Gentbrugge) wins 1st Provincial Argenton East Flanders Young Birds

Gentbrugge - Alex De Zutter from Gentbrugge put in an impressive performance at the Argenton national flight. With his young pigeon, BE24-4124055, aptly named "Raket", he won the provincial first prize against 3,021 youngsters. In addition, "Raket" was the fastest pigeon in the entire province of East Flanders, where 3,682 pigeons competed. At national level, 'Raket' finished in an impressive 4th place against 14,745 youngsters.

A solo success story with deep roots in pigeon racing

Alex De Zutter is not your average pigeon fancier. He combines the sport of pigeon racing with a full-time job and runs his loft independently, without a team or partner. He took up pigeon racing in 2003, after buying his house in 2002. "My late father was a very good pigeon fancier in speed and middle-distance events. I've been involved in pigeon racing since I was very young," explains Alex. In 2010, he took part in a national race for the first time and immediately came 67th in Bourges with a young pigeon. "From that moment on, I got a taste for pigeon racing, because before that, I only played speed and middle-distance flights," he explains.

Cross-breeding and strategic purchasing for success

Over the years, De Zutter has carefully invested in his pigeon stock. He began buying pigeons from Freddy Vandenheede in 2007, then from the Vandenheede brothers, whom he then crossed with pigeons from the late Willy Joris Andriessen. Alex also received pigeons from Gilbert Vercauteren de Kaprijke in 2003 and from one of these crosses was born "Kleine Gilbert", BE14-4027623 with whom he played his first 1st at the Chateauroux National. At 2 years of age, "Kleine Gilbert" really had a great season. Alex then received pigeons from Eric Claus de De Pinte with whom he was also successful. An important step in his success story was getting to know Frederik Everaert in 2017. "I got 5 pigeons from him and was lucky enough to get 2 females, "Goudklompke" and "Goudstukske", from his "Last Mirages"." said Alex. These strategic purchases have resulted in a series of excellent performances, including "Angel" winning 1st provincial, 1st zonal and 11th national prize at a tough show at La Souterraine in 2021. "My father had just passed away at the time, so it's a real shame he didn't get to relive that experience," sighs Alex.

"Raket" takes off after mother "Angel"

Raket's victory was no accident. He is out of "Angel" and follows in her footsteps with his own victories of 1st provincial, 1st zonal and 4th national at Argenton. Raket's sire is a pure Geerinckx, bought at a total sale. De Zutter breeds around 70 youngsters on his own account, divided between two 35-place flocks. Each loft has at least one pair of youngsters in the nest. "The cocks only see the hens when they come home and are then allowed to stay together for one night. They are plunged into darkness, but do not benefit from any additional lighting," explains Alex about his methodology.

"Raket"

National success as main objective

While Alex appreciates provincial success, his focus is on national success. "Provincial is less important to me, here we play mainly at national level, even if the place or the wind is against us," he says. His national successes prove that his approach works: with a 1st place in Tulle and a local 1st place, a provincial 3rd place, a zonal 3rd place and a national 13th place in Poitiers, he has had a rock-solid season. The performances of his competition team, made up of 4 older pigeons and 24 widowed yearlings, speak for themselves. Alex's pigeons have to fight for their place in the team because, at the end of the season, he only keeps around sixty pigeons.

Collaborations and future projects

It was thanks to his first zonal and provincial victories that Alex came into contact with Tom van Gaver, with whom he has now succeeded in breeding pigeons together. "It's also been a success, as my "Diepen Tom", a 2022 late pigeon and half-brother to "Angel" paired with a son of Tom van Gaver's "Finn", is flying very strongly this year with a 1st Pont against 642 pigeons, a 99th national at Bourges, a 7th Argenton against 341 pigeons and 6 x 10," said De Zutter. He continues to build up his stock by buying pigeons from leading pigeon fanciers such as Tom van Gaver and Davy Neirynck.

Healthy pigeons, a natural approach

Alex places great importance on the health of his pigeons and ensures that care is as natural as possible. "Thanks to Davy and Tom's advice, we do very little care here. The vet rarely sees me; I mainly use Jaap Koehoorn's yellow drops," he says. This natural approach is paying off, as the successes of recent years testify.

A satisfied look back at the last three seasons

Alex can look back with satisfaction on the last three seasons, during which he has won the 4th national in Argenton for young pigeons, the 8th national in Argenton, the 11th national in La Souterraine and the 13th national in Poitiers, all with a small number of pigeons. With these impressive performances and a motivated approach, Alex De Zutter from Gentbrugge remains a pigeon fancier to watch. His 'Raket' set the bar very high, but given Alex's track record of success, it looks like there's more to come.
Alex, the whole Herbots team congratulates you on this victory!

Maarten Herbots