Coone Robbe & Francky 1st National Ace Pigeon KBDB Middle Distance Old Birds 2025 Olympiad Pigeon Dortmund

Ledegem: Visiting the winner of the national ace pigeon title (old birds, middle distance KBDB 2025)… for this we had to steer our car towards West Flanders, more specifically Ledegem. The Coone family has been a true pigeon family for generations. In the past there was Roger, Francky’s father, who did everything he could to prevent his son from becoming a pigeon fancier. At first, he fully succeeded, as Francky worked all day as a construction worker on various building sites and had no time for pigeons.
But Roger had not counted on his grandson Robbe. In 2011, Robbe filled in his first loft list and a few days later he proudly held his “KBDB membership card.” Father Francky saw a unique opportunity to finally start with pigeons and removed his work tools from his van. A first modest pigeon loft was built. However, it turned out that almost all pigeons from this loft were lost, and with the remaining ones it was impossible to achieve good results for several consecutive weeks.
The reason why this first loft was “cursed” is still unknown, but the solution was found by moving the old garden sheds of father/grandfather Roger and placing them on the other side of the garden from the original loft. Since then, the results have steadily improved, with the highlight so far being the achievement of the 1st national ace pigeon KBDB title. The “cursed loft” has meanwhile been converted into a breeding loft, and for this purpose it appears to perform very well.

Ah yes… for those who know Robbe… indeed… Robbe’s day job is caretaker at one of the most famous sprint lofts in Belgium, namely De Ridder–Van den Brande (Liedekerke). Robbe smiles broadly and says: “It’s quite a special story how I ended up there. A few years ago, I saw an advertisement for a pigeon caretaker at Leo Heremans. More accurately, a Chinese buyer had taken over all of Leo’s pigeons and lofts, and they were looking for a caretaker. Friends told me: ‘Come on Robbe, that’s really something for you. Taking care of pigeons at Leo Heremans’ place, go for it.’ And that’s exactly what you shouldn’t say to me. Convinced that I would never get the job anyway, I applied—and I couldn’t believe my ears when I was congratulated and told I could start. I accepted the challenge, and over several seasons we achieved very nice results there. During that time, I built a strong bond with Leo Heremans, and he gave me many valuable pieces of advice. I don’t think I will ever meet a better fancier than Leo. It’s incredible how quickly that man sees everything. But after a few years, the collaboration with the Chinese owner in Vorselaar ended, and I started working for Yannick De Ridder. Their previous caretaker had stopped, and since May 2025 I have been working in Liedekerke, where I take care of the racing pigeons.
The beautiful thing about the 2025 season is that De Ridder–Van den Brande becomes 1st national ace pigeon KBDB sprint and 1st National Champion Sprint, while my father in Ledegem wins the 1st national ace pigeon KBDB middle distance. Who could have ever predicted that?”

The parents of "Sultan" and "Sultana"
Francky: “In the breeding loft we house 30 breeding pairs. For the 2026 season, we have kept 60 young pigeons for our own use, and around 40 young pigeons have been moved to Liedekerke, where Robbe will test them in the lofts of De Ridder–Van Den Brande. As for the foundation of our colony, everything can be traced back to original pigeons from Luc Temmerman, Ad Schaerlaeckens (a few direct ones, but most indirectly, for example via Johan Delanghe), and for the past two years also Sioen Hilde & Luc. 
My base pair comes from the first-mentioned Luc Temmerman. It was Robbe who suggested buying pigeons from Luc. Luc was not the top fancier in our club, but Robbe—who helped with basketing at the club—was always impressed by the quality of the Temmerman pigeons when he handled Luc’s birds. Initially, we bought a voucher from Luc, and that pigeon became 5th Provincial Ace Pigeon KBDB sprint. This pigeon is our “Sultan,” and since we were so successful, we bought the parents of “Sultan.” This pair, “Father Sultan” (B12-3092266) x “Mother Sultan” (B12-3092267), has meanwhile become the parent/grandparent of 120 x 1st prize! When, as a fancier, you have the luck to discover such a breeding pair immediately, you are already on the right track.”

Hens kept among the young pigeons
It should be mandatory reading for every—especially beginning—fancier, and I’m referring to the book “The Best of Ad Schaerlaeckens.” For us as well, this book was a true bible. Don’t ask me how many times I’ve read it—it must be a lot. The most important lesson: “Keep everything simple and try to make as few mistakes as possible.”

Personally, we prefer racing with old and yearling pigeons. For the 2026 season, we have a team of 10 cocks for sprint, 23 cocks for middle distance, and 20 hens for middle and long middle distance. All these pigeons are raced using the total widowhood system. The racers are paired on March 1st and go to their first race while “over-sitting” (incubating too long). When they return from this race, the hens are placed among the young pigeons. For the rest of the season, they remain among the young birds.
At first, they stay loose, but once the young cocks start paying too much attention to those hens, I lock the hens in a section box (a small compartment system) placed in the young birds’ loft. So the racing hens are confined while the young pigeons can move freely in the same loft. During the week, the old and yearling hens train together with the young hens, and only before and after the race do they see the cock they were paired with.

If the cock and hen are not entered in the same race, I always make sure that a partner is waiting at home. For example: if the hen goes to a middle-distance race and the cock to a sprint race, when the cock returns, another hen (for example a breeding hen) will be waiting for him in his nest box. This hen is then removed afterward, and when the hen that raced middle distance returns, the cock will be there waiting for her, and the pair can stay together until I decide to separate them again.

The widowhood cocks stay in the loft where they were paired and are cared for in the same way as the hens.

Own mixture
As for feeding, we prefer to always give the same mixture—something else I learned from the articles of Ad Schaerlaeckens. During the racing season, we feed a mix consisting of 8 parts Sport Duo Vlieg (a mixture by Van Robaeys), 3 parts Champion (also Van Robaeys), 1 part NPO Mix (Embregts-Theunis), and 1 part P40 pellets.

I feed once a day, usually around midday. Due to my “bad back and knee,” I no longer work in construction but now work in a two-shift system at Alpro (known as the European market leader in plant-based food). When I’m on the morning shift, I can feed around 3 PM, and when I’m on the evening shift, around midday. Feeding is done by feel and always in a shared feeding tray, because seeing others eat encourages them to eat. If the pigeons are basketed on Friday, they receive a full ration of the mixture on Thursday. In the last days before basketing, they also get some peanuts (Van Robaeys) as a dessert.

Regarding supplements, Floris Rapid Recovery (an electrolyte mix) and Jan Schmidt herbal mix are regularly added to the drinking water. Before pairing (01/03), all old and yearling pigeons are given 1/6 of a Flagyl tablet directly in the throat, and about ten days later a tablet of Orni/DS (Giantel), and that’s all they get. During the season, the eyes of the racing pigeons are treated with drops three times a week, and that’s it. Unless something really goes wrong, the medicine cabinet stays closed.

Cocks and hens always come together for about 10 minutes before basketing. This is their only motivation. After returning from a race, cocks and hens are allowed to cuddle for about an hour, after which they are separated and fed.

The pure class of “Olympic Ad Johan”
And of course, the top performances of the national KBDB ace pigeon “Olympic Ad Johan” were discussed. Francky says: “As a young pigeon, he won his prizes well but did not stand out in a remarkable way. As a yearling, however, he showed his class, and at the end of the season he was crowned 14th Provincial Ace Pigeon KBDB. Last season—2025—he showed from the very first race that he meant business and was entered every week as the first nominated pigeon.
His name ‘Olympic Ad Johan’ refers firstly to his Olympiad nomination and secondly to Johan De Langhe (breeder of his father) and Ad Schaerlaeckens (whose pigeons are strongly represented on both the father’s and mother’s side).

Palmarès “Olympic Ad Johan”
1st National Ace Pigeon KBDB Middle Distance 2025
1st Provincial Ace Pigeon KBDB Middle Distance 2025
3rd Olympiad Pigeon Cat. A – Dortmund
7 x 1st prize
Won in combined results:”

2nd/8,498b. – 308km
5th/2,900b. – 173km
9th/956b. – 335km
10th/5,470b. – 355km
12th/1,518b. – 355km
14th/11,450b. – 372km
14th/4,936b. – 355km
16th/6,161b. – 332km
18th/4,731b. – 332km
18th/4,284b. – 173km
19th/4,553b. – 173km
26th/1,081b. – 298km
28th/5,728b. – 298km
enz..

Best results 2025

05-04 Arras 589 old birds: 1-1-6-12-13-13-22-25-28-29-30-44-55-58(28/38)
12-04 Arras 496 Old birds:2-10-11-18-20-27-28-29-44(15/21)
 Clermont 576 Old birds: 3-4-6-7-11-24-29-31-33-45(14/14)
19-04 Arras 375 Old birds:5-7(2/2)
Clermont 856 Old birds:3-8-9-13-21-36-38-46-53-76-78(26/33)
26-04 Arras 199 Old birds:2-21(2/2)
Clermont 806 Old birds 6-12-24-26-44-45-47-50-55-56-80(30/32)
03-05 Arras 145 Old birds 5(1/2)
Clermont 396 Old birds:8-15-16(8/8)
Clermont 238 Old birds:1-5-17(5/6)
10-05 Arras 144 Old birds:1-5(2/2)
Clermont 363 Old birds:2-17-24-28-37(9/9)
Clermont 168 Old birds:4-10(2/2)
Orleans 626 Old birds:1-7-12-13-19-25-52-64(13/16)
17-05 Arras 154 Old birds:14-18(2/2)
Clermont 280 Old birds:3-33-39(3/6)
Clermont 128 Old birds:1-2-5-18-21-28(6/6)
Toury 454 Old birds:1-8-28-32-55-56(11/13)
25-25 Arras 124 Old birds: 13-42(2/2)
Clermont 163 Old birds:3-8-19-31(6/6)
Clermont 132 Old birds:2-8-14-35(6/6)
31-05 Arras 139 Old birds:6-19(2/2)
Clermont 224 Old birds:10-40-46-53(5/5)
Clermont 113 Old birds:5-13-15(5/6)
Orleans 396 Old birds:2-3-13-42(7/12)
Limoges 677 Old birds:2(1/1)
09-06 Arras Old birds:1-13(2/2)
Clermont 90 Old birds:6-7-11-12-13-23(8/10)
Chateaudun 189 Old birds:1-3-46(6/10)
14-06 Arras 101 Old birds:1-5(2/2)
Orleans 353 Old birds:3-124(4/8)
21-06 Arras Old birds102;11-12(2/2)
Clermont 122Old birds:1-21-26(5/6)
Chateaudun 194Old birds:4-10-19(5/8)
28-06 Arras 121 Old birds:4-24(2/2)
Clermont 766 Youngbirds:11-12-20-36-36-75-76-77(22/39)
Fontenay 183 Old birds:7-12-24(6/8)
05-07 Arras 75 Old birds: 7-35(2/2)
Clermont 65 Old birds:1-6-1(5/6)
Clermont 849 Youngbirds:2-3-4-9-12-23-35-51-59-64-66-84(19/42)
Verbond 3723Youngbirds:5-6-7-22-42-108-
Toury 254 Old birds: 11-13-15-24(6/6)
12-07 Arras 90 Old birds:6-19(2/2)
Clermont 45 Old birds:2-3-4(4/4)
Clermont 812 Youngbirds:2-3-4-5-6-9-16-17-18-22-26-27-32-42-43(30/36)
Verbond 3562Youngbirds:4-6-7-10-11-17-35-36-37-63-72-74-92-116((30/36)
Fontenay 208 Old birds:7-14-35-37(6/6)
19-07 Clermont 1066 Youngbirds:4-7-51-53-54-106-109(12/16)
Orleans 306 Youngbirds:6-31-(2/4)
26-07 Clermont 500 Youngbirds:5-6-14-15-25-27-30-32-38-40(21/29)
02-08 Clermont 580Youngbirds:1-8-10-13-19-20-25-26(34/48)
09-08 Clermont 522 Youngbirds:5-8-10-12-16-23-24-26-35-36-37(24/48)
16-08 Clermont 741 Youngbirds:2-28-39-61(9/15)
23-08 ST Just 304 Youngbirds:1-2-3-5-11-16-22-32(20/24)
 PROV 5448 Youngbirds:2-13-24-47-84-284-372
30-08 Clermont 204 Youngbirds:2-3-4-5-6-7-30(8/22)
06-09 Roye 213 Youngbirds:10-12-39-41(6/9)

With Robbe and Francky, we met two passionate fanciers—men who have perfectly defined their strategy. The fact that they have both experienced, each at a different location, the battle for winning a national KBDB ace pigeon makes this whole story unique. Who knows how they will continue to motivate each other, because “chasing the dream”… which for Francky means a national victory… is their life motto. Let it be more than a challenge in this period where the world keeps turning. It is wholeheartedly deserved.

Stefan Mertens