World number one Gerard Koopman continues to perform at a high level
13 Jan 2023
Ermerveen: Gerard Koopman...for several decades now, we have been more than impressed by the annual top performances Gerard conjures up on paper. It must have been late '98 when we first visited Gerard. That year, Gerard had an exceptional young pigeon and we went to admire it. That day we got the later famous "Kleine Dirk" in our hands. A topper that would have an incredible influence not only with Gerard but even on an international level. The list of strong performing descendants of "Kleine Dirk" is endless.
But time does not stand still and Gerard also knows that in pigeon racing standing still is going backwards and that is why Gerard has been looking for those exceptional toppers all his life. "A topper who then preferably was born in a winning family" Gerard tells. "Louis Van Loon once gave me the golden advice, "Gerard, even if you are convinced that you have the right pigeons in your breeding loft, you must not fail to select strictly. The day the proverbial selection bar is no longer set high enough, you have to watch out. Don't think too quickly that it can't go wrong."
Koopman pure world class
Gerard is a professional pigeon fancier and world traveller, this cannot be denied. Gerard also likes to race with a lot of pigeons and besides an extensive racing team, he also has some 70 breeding couples which are all housed in individual boxes. Gerard has mapped out his strategy perfectly in this area and knows damn well what he is doing. His breeders are not "milked empty" and receive the best care. Just look at the age of several top breeders. This is only possible if everything clicks perfectly and there is no kink anywhere.
The strength, the "grinta" of the Koopman birds has almost no equal!
We would like to introduce to you some important breeders:
"Manu" NL16-4784182
Won: 1st NPO sector 4 Chateauroux 3,647b. (fastest of 19,192b.)
1st NPO sector 4 Bourges 5,877d.
1st Sens 1,069d.
"Manu" is mother of:
"Jan" : 3rd NPO Reims 6,036d.
"Ruben" : 8th NPO Lorris 3,455d. - 10th NPO Sens 4,995b.
"Manu" is grandmother to:
"Manu Victoria": 11th final OLR Victoria Falls 2021
"Jemina": 6th NPO Lorris 3,455d.
"857-20": 7th NPO Sourdun 5,502d.
"Manu" is a full sister to:
"Amadi" : 4th Nat. acebird long distance WHZB/TBOTB
- "Paco" : 2nd Nat. S4 Bourges 5,877d. - beaten by "Manu")
Born out of "Supercrack Rik" x "Goudband"
Gerard on "Manu" and "Paco":
"When "Supercrack Rik" and "Goudband" were paired against each other we never expected to breed 3 toppers out of 4 youngsters. Both "Manu", "Amadi" and "Paco" showed more than their class. When we realised this, we were in 2018 and unfortunately, apart from one egg, "Goudband" has hardly laid since 2019.
We are happy though that we were able to breed these 3 toppers already because all three give good pigeons in several generations. This is really a golden breeding line."
In the current internet auction Pigeon Bids Gerard Koopman is offering a direct daughter of "Manu" and two children of "Paco"
"Bento" NL14-1462367
Is father of
"Sifan": 1st NPO Sens 4,995d. (18 min ahead)
"Max": 8th NPO Sens 4,995d. - 14th Sourdun 5,502d.
"Reinier": super results OLR South Africa '15/'16
Is a half-brother to "Good Aim": 3rd final flight SAMDPR
"Bento" is the uncle of "Manimukda": 1st final flight OLR Pattaya
Gerard about "Bento":
"It is already about 5 years that we have had so much fun with the pigeons bred from "Bento". Characteristic of this line is that they perform strongly both on our own loft and on the One-Loft flights and that is not given to all pigeons. "
In the current internet auction Pigeon Bids Gerard Koopman is offering two children of "Bento"
"Olympic Gaura" NL14-1462367
Won: Olympiad pigeon long distance 20/21 - 4th Nat. ace pigeon WHZB one-day long distance - 1st NPO Chateaudun 2580d. (fastest of 5,507d.) - 17th Fay-Aux-Loges 8,578d. - 46th Arlon 8,411d. - 70th Troyes 6,357d.
Gerard on "Olympic Gaura":
"A true topper who represented the Netherlands at the Olympiad. Bred from a "brother Miss Overegge" and then I come back to the fact that breeding pigeons from a family of exceptional toppers is so important after all. "Miss Overwege" won so easily against thousands of pigeons after all. With "Olympic Gaura" the proof is given that the line of "Miss Overwegge" continues nicely.
In the current internet auction Pigeon Bids Gerard Koopman is offering two children of "Olympic Gaura"
"Arnaldo" NL19-1244604
Is father to
"Rana": 1st Arlon 2,135b. - 2nd NPO Saulieu 3,371b. - 5th NPO Vierzon 5,962b. - 7th NPO Issoudun 2,082b.
"Berny": 6th NPO Vierzon 5,962d.
Gerard on "Arnaldo":
"So young still and already sire of several toppers. As a father we end up with "Supercrack Rik" and then we ended up with the same father of "Manu", "Paco" and "Amadi". To be honest...from "Arnoldo" I still expect a lot of superior breeding. A tip for interested fanciers to invest in the youngsters of this top breeder. "
In the current internet auction Pigeon Bids Gerard Koopman is offering two children of "Arnaldo"
"Alzina" NL13-1654987
Is mother of
"Coby": 1st Nat. ace pigeon Pipa Ranking Fond '22 - 1st Dreisbruck 17,461d. - 1st NPO Sourdun 5,475b. - 1st Sens 1,290d.
"All-in One" : 1st prize OLR Victoria Falls Zimbabwe 2020 - won US $: 225,000 + 30,000 (ace pigeon competition) and sold for €126,000
"NL20-1080767": 9th prize final flight OLR Pattaya '21
Gerard on "Alzina":
"Despite her age, "Alzina" feels "Alzina" still has it in her. She was born into the family of "Magic Man", just ask Bas Verkerk what this line produced with him. Just his enthusiasm when Bas talks about this breeding line will tell you everything."
In the current internet auction Pigeon Bids Gerard Koopman is offering two children of "Alzina"
"National Pogacar" NL20-4215319
Won: 1st Nat. ace pigeon WHZB One-day long distance '21- 3rd Olympiad pigeon long distance- 1st Nat. ace pigeon "Allerbeste" - 1st Nat. ace pigeon "Fondspiegel" - 1st NPO Issoudun @ Fokkinga
Gerard on "National Pogacar":
"Honestly I was seriously impressed by the performance of "National Pogacar". "National Pogacar" flew with Mr Fokkinga in Division 11 and a few times a year we have an overall result with this division. It was really impressive how this pigeon shone in a season with not always weekly smooth flights. At first, "National Pogacar" was not for sale but afterwards we came to an agreement. I then acted quickly because there were very many corsairs on the coast to acquire this exceptional pigeon."
In the current internet auction Pigeon Bids Gerard Koopman is offering two children of "National Pogacar".
