Mrs Deweerdt & Sons (Kortemark) win 1st Provincial Pau against 789 birds and 4th National against 3,028 old birds

At the national race from Pau, Mrs Deweerdt & Sons from Kortemark achieved an impressive milestone. Their top hen “ISHKE” (B20-3020395) finished 4th national against 3,028 old birds, also securing the long-awaited 1st provincial win on Pau against 789 birds. According to the provisional international results, she currently stands 4th against 10,865 old birds and even 2nd internationally among 3,356 hens.

Top-class performance from a proven long-distance hen

“ISHKE” is no stranger to the heavy long-distance work. She was already 2nd yearling ace pigeon extreme long distance in the club and impressed again this year with an outstanding record:
11th Agen '21 against 203 pigeons
10th Narbonne '21 against 146 pigeons
6th national Pau '23 against 3.080 pigeons (one day distance with +15h flight time)
308th national Pau '24 against 3.368 pigeons
1st provincial Pau '25 against 789 pigeons
4th national Pau '25 against 3.028 pigeons

She scored 100% prizes in 9 international races, with only Perpignan 2022 missing from the list.

Extended pedigree

A solid pedigree built on performance

Her pedigree shows why Deweerdt has remained among the top lofts for decades. Her father “ISH” (B17-3070305) excelled with multiple top national results from St Vincent. Her mother descends from lines that include “Babetie” (Barcelona ’23 & ’24 clubstar), and champions like RIBAN and JOYCÉ.

The Deweerdt family has been building and preserving a closed strain for over 75 years, selecting only from birds that perform on the racing loft. Bernard Deweerdt refers to this as “distant inbreeding”, with the same top pigeons recurring throughout the pedigree — the result of purposeful selection.

BE17-3070305 "Ish" x BE19-3006807
- Parents "Ishke"

The circle is complete

Although Deweerdt had previously placed in the national top from Pau — including a 2nd national and 4th international — the provincial victory on Pau had remained elusive. Now it’s complete. The loft from Kortemark has now won the provincial race at least once from all the great long-distance classics: Pau, Barcelona, Dax, St Vincent, Narbonne, Perpignan, Marseille, Tarbes, Biarritz...

Bernard also recalls the famous “KASPER”, who won 1st prov Narbonne and 1st prov Tarbes in the 90s, both against more than 1,000 birds. Through several lines, KASPER is related to “ISHKE”.

Natural health as a foundation

One final anecdote: ISHKE was checked twice this season by vet Wim Boddaert. Each time she was declared perfectly healthy and received no medication. The Deweerdt family values natural resistance, with some electrolytes after the race and a simple water-and-grain feeding system. The result? 1st provincial with over an hour lead.

A clear message: quality and long-term selection still win over artificial shortcuts.

 

Maarten Herbots