Gertjan Rigter: ZLU & BARCELONA PHENOMENON!

57-year-old Gertjan Rigter from Amstelveen is a sales manager in his daily life, but his real passion lies with animals. From an early age, he has been surrounded by animals, from chickens, pheasants and rabbits to, at one point, three lovebirds that he kept in a parrot cage.

Those lovebirds would ultimately form the seed of a lifelong love for pigeon racing. An uncle, Henk Bartels, suggested building an outdoor loft for the birds. That loft did not turn out to be just a small enclosure, but a fully-fledged pigeon loft measuring 5 by 2 metres. The year was 1981.

Because Henk Bartels had kept carrier pigeons himself in the past, the idea soon arose to exchange the lovebirds for “real” carrier pigeons. Through his old contacts, the first specimens came from Gebr. Franken, while Gertjan's grandmother purchased a number of pigeons for him from B. Peereboom. The foundation for a beautiful pigeon story had been laid.

During his student days, the sport took a back seat, but the passion never disappeared. During that period, Gertjan flew in combination with his stepfather, Jan Copier, from his parents' address. Together they enjoyed the sport immensely, won various championships and kept each other on their toes, exactly the ingredients that make pigeon racing so fascinating for Gertjan.

The foundation of a top colony

For many years, he has been competing independently in the demanding marathon races. His stock pigeons form a solid, proven foundation: pigeons from Gebr. Jacobs and the Volkens pigeons via Hennie de Vries. The core of the loft consists of two stock cocks from the Jacobs brothers, two brothers from the famous ‘Mont Ventoux’. A large part of the current top pigeons carry the blood of these two brothers.

The beginning of success

The success story began about twelve years ago, when Gertjan Rigter purchased youngsters from two absolute top pigeons from the Jacobs brothers: the “Super Barca 621” and the “Mont Ventoux”.

The Super Barca 621 was a true champion in the ZLU races and achieved, among other things:

• 1st National Ace Pigeon Perpignan (3 years ZLU),
• 9th National Perpignan,
• 15th National Barcelona.

He later became a legendary stock pigeon for the Jacobs brothers. The Mont Ventoux also became an icon in breeding, and two direct sons: ‘Son Mont Ventoux 606’ and ‘Son Mont Ventoux 90’, now form the fundamental basis of this phenomenal marathon loft.

The power of top bloodlines

The Super Barca 621 is a direct son of the famous Betuwe pair, a breeding pair whose offspring achieved unrivalled results, including:

• 1st International Pau 2020
• 1st International Narbonne 2015
• 1st National Narbonne 2017
• 1st National Bergerac Sector 2 2013
• 2nd International Perpignan 2016
• 2nd National Barcelona 2018
• 2nd National Agen ZLU 2018
• 2nd National Pau 2020
• 2nd National Bergerac 2013
• 2nd National Bordeaux Sector 2
• 3rd National Agen ZLU 2015
• 3rd National Bergerac Sector 2 2013
• 4th National Barcelona 2022
• 4th National Pau 2015
• 4th National Perpignan 2015
• 4th National (6th International) Barcelona 2015
• 4th National Cahors 2010
• 5th National Marseille 2019
• 5th National St. Vincent ZLU 2019
• 6th National St. Vincent 2012

Mont Ventoux also produced exceptional offspring, with victories including:

• 1st National Narbonne
• 1st National Cahors
• 2nd National Barcelona
• 4th International Barcelona

The season

At the start of the season, Gertjan begins with approximately 140 racing pigeons, including yearlings. He also has 16 breeding pairs at his home. The other 100 breeding pigeons are kept by his good friend Hennie de Vries. The pigeons were paired on 21 April.

The yearlings participate in every race from the start of the season, even though they have never raced as young birds. After three to four one-day long distance races of approximately 600 kilometres, Gertjan considers them sufficiently trained for that year. The old birds were given a programme in advance with races of 173 km, 226 km, 331 km, 255 km and 408 km.

Between the marathon races, the old birds are not basketed again and are not raced. Gertjan notes:

‘My pigeons like to train for over an hour in the afternoon, and they do so on their own initiative.’

Care

Gertjan feeds his pigeons with mixtures from Voetens. During the season, he uses both the racing mixture and the Wal Zoontjes mixture. For extra energy, he adds Energie Plus from Versele Laga and candy seeds from Van Tilburg.

In the days before basketing, he places the candy seeds and the high-fat mixture in a jam jar next to the breeding pan. At the start of the season, the pigeons were also given roasted peanuts and Tovo, but this was stopped when the supply ran out. After the race, they are given Probac for faster recovery and a TKK pill for disinfection.

In terms of health, Gertjan adheres to a strict schedule: in January, the pigeons are vaccinated against paratyphoid and undergo a course of treatment; in February, they receive the paramyxovirus vaccination and are deloused. In March, they may receive a course of treatment for jaundice, but only if necessary.

The pigeons are checked three to four times a year by veterinarian Stefan Göbel, especially before and during the most important races. On his advice, Gertjan only administers medication when absolutely necessary.

Top performers in the Extreme Marathon!

With pigeons such as “Luna” and “Joep”, exceptional performances have been achieved in recent seasons.

“Luna” became 1st International Ace Pigeon Perpignan 2023–2024.

“Joep” finished as 2nd International Ace Pigeon Extreme Marathon Flights in the PiPa ranking 2024.

Impressive national top rankings

Rigter's pigeons have excelled time and again in the national results in recent years:

Barcelona ZLU: 2, 4, 22, 62

Agen/Bordeaux ZLU: 2, 12, 13, 16, 23, 31, 35, 38, 55, 61, 96, 99

Dax: 2

Montpellier NPO: 3

Perpignan ZLU: 7, 8, 10, 11, 24, 48, 51, 84

Pau ZLU: 11, 17, 39, 51, 63, 73, 101

Bergerac NPO: 11, 13

Cahors NPO: 11, 13

Tarbes: 14

Narbonne ZLU: 24, 37, 60, 62

Sint Vincent ZLU: 29, 47, 51, 58

Marseille ZLU: 40, 41, 46, 66

Barcelona results over the years

The performances at Barcelona really show the consistent class of Rigter's colony:

2017: 116, 171, 321, 712, 767 (7/8 prizes)

2018: 2 (‘Riet’), 207, 749, 773, 830 (7/17 prizes)

2019: 161, 360, 522, 899 (6/14 prizes)

2020: 203, 250, 366, 381, 412, 425, 658, 692, 974 (10/12 prizes)

2021: 62, 78, 106, 127, 445, 620, 642, 733 (10/17 prizes)

2022: 4th (“Jannie”), also 6th International from 6,168 and 12th International from 16,832 pigeons

2023: 93, 150, 237, 297, 302, 374, 423, 565, 637, 795, 800, 814, 896, 973, 1143, 1151 (18/31 prizes)

2024: 22 (“Joep”), 382, 534, 568, 683, 725, 855, 868, 898, 899, 1088, 1223 (20/34 prizes)

1.    Major championships 2023

The 2023 season was nothing short of spectacular, with an impressive series of national and international titles:

• 1st National Super Prestige Cup ZLU
• 2nd Western European Olympiad Marathon ZLU (first 8 nominated pigeons)
• 2nd National ZLU Long Distance Champion Marathon
• 2nd National Pyrenees Cup ZLU
• 3rd Western European Olympiad Marathon ZLU
• 3rd National Emperor Long Distance ZLU
• 3rd IATP (International PiPa ranking all flights)

Top references:

• 1st National Rouen '21 by Claus Jensen (Denmark), grandson of Mont Ventoux 606
• 2nd National Dax by Terpstra: from grandchild Mont Ventoux 90
• 16th National Agen by Terpstra: from sister Riet, winner of the 2nd National Barcelona
• 21st National Kelme 14,184 pigeons at Dorneanu in Romania: 50% Gertjan Rigter !! (mother is direct Rigter)
• 23 National Barcelona '22 at Comb. Hommes & Zn. 50% Gertjan Rigter !! (father is direct Rigter)
• 50 National Barcelona '22 at Pieter Goeree: 100% Gertjan Rigter !! (via Terpstra-Koper)
• In Romania. Flown as yearlings in their first year at this loft:
• 2nd Ace Pigeon Marathon yearlings (3 races) Botosani: 26th Provincial Ace Pigeon Marathon – 42nd National Ace Pigeon Marathon Romania
• 2nd Ace Pigeon Marathon yearlings (2 flights) Botosani: 23rd Provincial Ace Pigeon Marathon – 45th National Ace Pigeon Marathon Romania
• 20th National Kaunas (901 km) 2,320 pigeons
• 50th National Javona (889 km) 5,800 pigeons
• 79th National Madona (1,115 km) 2,147 pigeons