Combination van Leeuwen & Zn. (Reeuwijk-NL): Shines at Quievrain with 1st, 3rd, and 7th against 2,039 pigeons
28 Aug 2026
Reeuwijk – Over the past few years, the Evert van Leeuwen partnership has established itself as a fixture at the national top. From Reeuwijk, where they literally race alongside established names such as Willem de Bruijn and Gerard & Bas Verkerk, they regularly achieve outstanding performances. During the race from Quievrain (195 km) on August 22, 2026, the partnership from Reeuwijk once again managed to secure a resounding victory. In a competition with no fewer than 2,039 pigeons, the win went to NL25-1294411, named “Gino”. The result immediately shows just how strong the performance is. “Gino” was clocked at a distance of 195.537 kilometers and achieved a speed of no less than 1,328.404 meters per minute. That "Gino" is no novice was already proven this year with a victory also from Quiévrain (195km) against 657 pigeons, and he was the fastest of the release against 10,321 pigeons. Last year, "Gino" achieved victory from Morlincourt-Noyon (300km) against 3,528 pigeons and took 2nd place against 19,219 pigeons in the strong Section 5. Anyone who looks at Gino's pedigree will not be surprised that this cock has speed.
Gino's father is: NL21-1449940 “Golden Foppe” F.M. v/d Meer
"Golden Foppe" was purchased at the Gouden Duif auction in 2021 directly from Foppe van der Meer. He is also a half-brother of "Elaine", 2nd National Ace Pigeon Young Birds PIPA - 1st Beek/Donk 15,023d. - 2nd Zutphen 11,284d. - 7th Duiven 11,339d. - 85th Venlo 14,096d. "Golden Foppe" descends from NL18-1391648 "Kleinzoon Marianne" X NL18-1817769 "Sophie". "Kleinzoon Marianne" won 1st Gennep 7,634d. - 6th Quievrain 5,971d. and in turn descends from "Zoon Marianne" W.A. de Bruijn X "Geschelpt Boeckx" Karel Boeckx. With "Sophie" Gebr. Leideman, we see proven pigeons like "Siem" and "Goed Grijs" in the underlying family.
Gino's dam line: "Jolene", straight from the absolute top.
At least as interesting is Gino's mother: NL20-1495468 V – "Jolene" W.A. de Bruijn was raced at the lofts of Comb. van Leeuwen. "Jolene" has already proven herself to be one of the better pigeons. She achieved the following results, among others:
- 1st Lennik 5,011 pigeons and 3rd fastest of 39,125 pigeons
- 9th NPO Fontenay 15,351 pigeons
- 4th Péronne 5,075 pigeons and 12th fastest of 40,438 pigeons
- 29th Quievrain 4,830 pigeons
Jolene was bred from: NL19-1667223 “Quick Silver” W.A. de Bruijn. Quick Silver was a proven racer himself. 1st Niergnies 4,366 pigeons - 48th Salbris NPO 17,448 pigeons - 46th Péronne 16,670 pigeons. This makes it clear that Jolene does not just come from a well-known name, but from a family in which performances can actually be found on the results.
Mother of "Jolene": NL19-1667381 “Jett” W.A. de Bruijn “Jett” is also an interesting breeding hen. Among other victories, she won: 9th Vierzon NPO 9,031 pigeons - 11th Pont.St. Max 11,670 pigeons - 57th Péronne 13,510 pigeons. Therefore, anyone examining "Gino's" pedigree from top to bottom will see multiple generations in which speed and top prizes recur.
3rd Place Quievrain NL25-1294430 "Olise" a national ace pigeon with Verkerk x De Bruijn blood
7th Place Quievrain NL25-1294405 "Evy" W.A. de Bruijn bloodline X Leo Heremans x Karel Laenen via D&S Göbel
The philosophy behind the Comb. van Leeuwen & Zn. colony is clear: not just collecting names, but crossing proven quality and then selecting rigorously. That makes the current generation particularly interesting. The pigeons are not only built from proven top blood, but are themselves already adding to the colony's performance story. For Comb. van Leeuwen & Zn. from Reeuwijk, this is a confirmation of a successful breeding strategy: proven performance × proven performance, and then waiting for the next generation to prove it themselves in the results.
Christophe Mathues
