Marc & Geert Pollin (Snellegem) : a breeding loft of reinforced steel !

Visiting the Pollin family is guaranteed a portion of cosiness. Always a gentil welcome by Diane, Marc, Geert accompanied by a good cup of coffee and a cookie. A good tradition that is very typical for them. Solidity, truthfulness, a long term vision let’s say a life time vision. With this attitude they are racing pigeons since ages. No short term vision, but are in for the long run…’this is how it will last the longest’ ! 

A sublime breeding loft built on a long history 

Marc has reach the age of 75 years by now. Here and there a scratch on the coach work but the sharpness and brightness for a good pigeon is still present. When asking what a good pigeon is doesn’t give Marc a clear answer too quickly and will reply by saying things like for example ‘those who get home early, no?’, but what strikes in this colony is that the pigeons that reside there are describable as real classful ones. Very soft feathers, a good wing and especially based on ten years of building and strong results. 

It started with top pigeons on the short distance, then unbeatable on the middle and greater middle distance (the provincial races) to switch seamless to the long and extreme long distance. This years of building resulted in an all-round colony that gets top results from Arras to Barcelona. Marc also always had a fine eye what the local top fancier is concerned. Relatively small unknown lofts that race really hard are being sorted out by Marc on a weekly base and went to that fancier to either by the pigeon or get something out of that strain. Most of the time it weren’t big names but really good pigeons. 

These pigeons were bred into their own strain. Once at the top they also co-bred on a regular base with other top lofts which also increased the quality of the breeding strain. 

Names as the Perpignan, the Limoges, Mortifer, Dortmunder, the Poitiers, Nai….where the base of a steel fundament on the breeding loft. It were amazing breeders for many generations and their children and grandchildren are still making good weather. In the pedigrees of almost all their top pigeons we find their names in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd generation. 

Never take down the tree !

…is also a saying at the Polling house. In their more than successful career they probably sold once a top pigeon namely Belgian Pride (ace bird long distance yearling and national winner Libourne).  In that famous season were 4 first national victories won and then they decided, not with a lot of convincement, to sell this pearl. About 10 years ago a new sublime generation of racing pigeons came along. Breeding for years out of the best base breeders resulted in an acceleration in quality. Pigeons such as Joe, Montauban 2, Belgian Pride, Bruce, Limo 301, Nestbrother Joe, Igor,….and later also Bruce, Duivertje, Mister Jarnac, ….and a few other names took care for a constant presence in the top of the provincial and national race and provincial, national and international rankings. 

The trees were never taken down, the fruit was being tested on their own loft and those who went to other lofts showed also their best side. The past few years many reference were set both abroad as in own country, in the regular racing circuit but also in the one-loft-races. 

Not selling top pigeons is the biggest pillar of this loft. In this strong, wide strain, their own coffee is now and then some strange milk being added. This always in function of the distance that have to be raced. Sometimes a short distance pigeon, but also a sister or brother to an extreme long distance pigeon is brought in. The Pollin-pigeon is polyvalent crossable and is easy to breed into other strains of pigeons. This is once again the confirmation of the high quality and the strong blood that is present. 

No stage they didn’t stood on

Local, provincial, national, international, Olympiade….name it, not a stage that the Pollin family didn’t stand on. All stages have been mounted and are still mounting. One year more sublime than the other but never totally gone. 

Season after season this keeps continuing but always out of the science that it is working really hard day after day to stay at the top. When you name a pigeon, Marc knows exactly out of which strains it comes and which results it has set. The big architect still draws with a fine hand the contours of this successful loft and this really closely and faithfully assisted by Geert and Diane. Each has its job, in good consultation the successes are being set. Also in Snellegem don’t fall chickens roasted out of the sky, it stays top sport and this acquires focus and effort…and this is what they can do like no other. 

Years of coronations with all prizes that there are to win. From several different national victories to Olympiad pigeons, provincial and national ace birds, and so on…in short  no stage is strange to Diane, Marc en Geert.

Head prize after head prize 

You have to take the effort to look at the race results of the Union Fondclub Gistel, the basketing club of the Pollin family. Their location is at a few miles from the sea and is head or tails in most of the cases for the national races. The wind is good or the wind isn’t good. But locally or provincially they are unbeatable.

Also in the hard season of 2021 this was the case. In Union Gistel they won head prize after head prize. Also on a provincial level they were to be found at the top. Nationally it was a bit harder this season with the strange weather. 

In Union Gistel they became 1st Champion old birds less than 600 km, 2nd Champion yearlings over 600 km and 2nd Champion yearlings less than 600 km.

We do want to highlight one namely Brutus.

This cock from 2016 and a full brother to Montauban II (national winner Montauban) is candidate Olympiad pigeon 2022 and this in the category of the extreme long distance.

He was 

4th national ace bird KBDB ELD 2019
15th national ace bird KBDB ELD 2020

And is an exponent of the strong breeding loft they possess.

Many references 

The biggest satisfier and proof of quality are still the results that others set with your pigeons. It is almost the ultimate recognition. 

Gerard Koopman (Ermerveen, Nl) : 2nd prize Troyes (530 km) against 6,371b and 2nd fastest against 14,421b and is a 50 % Pollin-pigeon.

Gerard Koopman 2021 : race Issoudun 4th prize sector with a 50 % Pollin-pigeon, 8th prize with a 50 % Pollin-pigeon, 9th finale OLR Pattaya 50 % Pollin-pigeon and so on……..

OLR Pattaya 2021 : 31st prize final is a direct Pollin-pigeon

Shady Mohammed (Saoudi-Arabië) : owner of a top breeding hen that has 50% Pollin – blood out of the strain Dortmunder-Limoges. She is mother to :
Golden Wing 2019-2020 short distance and middle distance
3rd Ace bird Middle distance
7th Ace bird Short distance

Youri Deblanc (Ronse) scores in 2020 top with children out of 2 top hens that he bought at Marc and Geert :
Crack Monti 685 (daughter out of  Montauban II Pollin) won
6 prov Vierzon 4,218b
11 nat Chateauroux 6,306b
12 nat zone Argenton 7,260b
161 nat Limoges 9,756b
137 nat Bourges 8,424b
5 national Ace bird KBDB All Round old and yearlings 
Also in 2021 these pigeons were back at the top 

Dhaenens Pigeons (Geert Dhaenens / Dhaenens-De Block) :
2019 : 3rd Champion KBDB long and extreme long distance yearlings. Amongst the pigeons that won this ranking there were 2 pigeon with 50%-Pollin blood 
2020 : 6th Champion KBDB long distance old and 1st Sermaises 456b, 8th loc Brive, 152nd national Brive 4,238b has as father a direct Pollin-cock (Cadel).
2021: 1st provincial champion long distance old birds O-Vl with an important share for the Pollin-pigeons.

Permsak Singsomboom (Thailand) has the 1st Ace bird Pigeon Pattaya International Race Thailand where the mother is a Pollin-hen (she is a daughter to ‘12’ x granddaughter Nai)

Petrache Florin (Romania) : won with a hen out of a direct Pollin-cock underneath results :
Loisce (689km)       1/1,786b
Loisce (689km)       5/2,479b
Loisce (689km)       9/2,481b
With these 3 top results she is Ace bird in Romania. The father is a direct Pollin cock and is a grandson to the 2nd National Tulle coupled to a hen out of the Mortifer-strain.

Marc and Franky Van De Walle (Zwalm) : in several of their top pigeons is blood of the top pigeons of Marc & Geert such as Dortmunder, Mortifer and so on……..

Norbert Ally, Team Dejaegher……and so many more

This all to point out once again about which strong breeding loft we are talking about and that they have been unbeatable for decades in the provincial-national-international top !!

A reward for their hard work, may it continue for many years like this ! 

Geert Dhaenens