Maarten Poels (Berbroek) wins 1st provincial again, this time at Tulle II

Berbroek - Maarten Poels put in another impressive performance by securing the first provincial place for the province of Limburg in the national flight from Tulle. This brings his total this season, after previous wins at Vivonne and Bourges II, to three provincial wins. A particularly handsome achievement, Maarten!

De Flor: A Special Story

The winning pigeon, known as "De Flor" (BE22-5023138), bears a special name as a tribute to legendary Belgian pigeon fancier Flor Engels. What Engels accumulated in pigeon racing lives on in the achievements of many fanciers, including Maarten Poels.

"De Flor", a pigeon from the 2022 third round, started modestly and was only used for speed races. In 2023, it proved its potential by flying several times in the top-10% on the small middle distance and by flying sixth provincial and 48th national from 6,085 pigeons at Souillac. Maarten saw on homecoming from Souillac that "De Flor" still had strength left and had the potential to become the star of the loft in 2024.

A Year Full of Challenges

However, the weather was often against us, which made for some difficult decisions. Maarten skipped some races and unloaded when the weather was better. The old pigeon team flew two speed races in the club after which Maarten decided after a race from Chimay to immediately basket the old pigeons for Melun, a wrong decision. Maarten lost three top pigeons, including "De Flor". Fortunately, "De Flor" returned to the loft after three weeks, although he had to recover and could not train again immediately. Maarten kept his faith in "De Flor", with good reason if we look back to last weekend.

After his recovery, "De Flor" was tested on several races but nevertheless experienced an initial relapse. With a mix of hope and confidence, Maarten decided to put "De Flor" in for the flight from Tulle anyway, partly because "De Flor" looked and felt so fine, so "De Flor" was basketed as the first signed pigeon under Emile Clerinx's motto: "If he has ever done it before, he can do it again. And if it has never flown early, it will never be a good pigeon".

Triumphant Return

Just before cyclist Remco Evenepoel's finish on the road race at the Olympics, where he took his 2nd gold medal, "De Flor" came home and he too won 'a gold medal' at Tulle provincial. "De Flor" became the fifth clocked pigeon nationally out of 4,964 old birds and Maarten also clocked two yearlings in the top 200 out of 5,753 pigeons nationally, resulting in a ninth and 12th provincial prize.

The Parentage of De Flor

The father of "De Flor" is a co-breeding with Will Brouwers, with a brother from "De Limoges" of the Engels family on Will's breeding loft which Maarten really liked. From this, Maarten bred 1 son which he placed on the breeding loft. He paired it with a super racing hen from his own loft, "Platina", which in turn is also a grandchild of "Goedewitveer". The mother, "Elsa", won the 2019 national flight from Chateauroux for Maarten.

Bloodlines and Breeding Strategy

The results of Maarten's breeding strategy are remarkable. "De Flor", the ninth provincial winner (BE23-5011389), a half-sister of "De Flor", and the twelfth provincial winner (BE23-5011322) are all grandchildren of "Goedewitveer". Given the good performance of these grandchildren from "Goedewitveer", Maarten decided to pair him once again. Maarten also stresses the importance of breeding from your own best racers and introducing strong bloodlines from other fanciers, while keeping 50% of your own proven type.

BE23-5011389 - Daughter "Elsa" (1st Nat. Chateauroux 2019)
9th Prov. Tulle II 588 yearlings
147th Nat. Tulle II 5,753 yearlings

BE23-5011322 - "Tesla" x brother "Elsa "
12th Prov. Tulle II 588 yearlings
183rd Nat. Tulle II 5,753 yearlings

What Brings the Future?

With this season's successes, Maarten faces a new decision: take part in Bourges or take a well-earned break. Whatever it will be, the season Maarten Poels and his is already more than successful at the moment.

Congratulations from the entire Herbots team, Maarten, and on to even more successes!

Maarten Herbots