Vertelman and Son score a top international result on their very last Barcelona

Hoogkarspel, located in the Dutch province of North Holland, is best known in pigeon circles for the performance of the pigeons of well-known marathon champion Vertelman en Zoon. 
The performances of the Vertelman pigeons are not only impressive but also won on one of the longest distances. Here are a few examples to give you an idea: Barcelona 1,258km - Perpignan 1,133km - Pau 1,119km - Marseille 1,049km - Narbonne 1,074km... all races above 1,000km ! Go figure! 
The first international fame came when father Co and son Ton Vertelman won Perpignan internationally in 2007. It was hen “Elly” (NL05-1230818) who brought home the international victory.  On the fathers side we see in the pedigree of “Elly” among others the grandfather 96-NL-2057246 (In 2001 Duifkampioen van Noord-Holland), which comes from a direct van der Wegen x a son from “De Spin” of the Gebr. Kuypers and that the grandmother comes from the line of the ancestor of the Cramers loft (type J. Theelen) x a daff sister of the “999” of Leo Kouters. Along the maternal side we see that the grandfather is the “33333” (155th and 258th Barcelona and from the type Vertelman x Gebr. Kuypers (kld. “De Spin”) and that the grandmother is a daughter of the “Dikke Rooie”, which in turn comes from the legendary “Rooie 50”.
Perpignan was their 3rd national win. Before that, they also had national 

 “Oh well” replies Ton ”that's all in the past. My dad passed away in early January 2021 at the age of 85 and my health is not doing so well either. I always say “my head still wants to, but my body no longer does. In 2012, I was diagnosed with bladder cancer. I have since had several surgeries but without going into details, things are not going the way they should. Every month I have to return to the hospital for the necessary treatments and the necessary medication is given or adjusted. My health is primordial and if you still want to concentrate fully on the pigeon game... I don't have to draw you a picture that this is almost impossible. 

For that reason I decided not to play with the pigeons anymore. For the 2024 season, I still had 1 flight marked with fluorescent pen on the flight calendar and that was Barcelona International. To make an extra effort to shine on a flight, that was my goal in 2024. That was the reason why I was at the basketing table of Barcelona with all my 45 old pigeons. Normally I never do that, but now it was “all or nothing” and all pigeons went to the marathon of the skies. A part on 10 days of incubation and another part with youngsters of about 6 days old around their necks. 

When the first pigeons were expected, the excitement was palpable and it was quite a relief when in the morning at 6:50min my first Barcelona kite dived towards the drop board. Goose bump moment...the feeling of clocking in early on Barcelona transcends everything. Luckily it didn't stay with that one early pigeon because by 11h15 I already had 17 in the clock and this on a distance of 1.258km. Internationally I have a very nice Barcelona result, a result that I will cherish for a long time.

Barcelona International 17,107 old birds: 
32-86-152-345-392-578-643-866-901-993-1137-1676

This Barcelona plough is currently for sale on internet auction Pigeon Bids

After hearing this story, it is clear to everyone why Ton is selling this Barcelona team. Ton hopes that his Barcelona team, which gave him so much “pigeon fun” once, will do just as well with their new owners. Ton is only going to keep a few older breeders because he doesn't want to be without pigeons at all. “I am 63 years old” he says ”and I want to enjoy the pleasure of going to a pigeon loft and taking care of some pigeons for a long time to come.”

And what about the yearlings and youngsters you may wonder. Well...it so happens that his friend Theo is going to start again with the pigeons. Theo did not have pigeons for a whole period due to busy work, but now he wants to start again in 2025. Theo also wants to try it on the marathon flights and since Theo lives only 200m away from Ton, all yearlings and youngsters will move there and will be played by Theo on the marathon flights. Ton will therefore, if health permits, always be present with his friend Theo when they come home from marathon flights. The pigeon bug continues to do its work and we are convinced that the Vertelman pigeons will also give a lot of pigeon pleasure to friend Theo.