THE RACING PIGEON 3 NOVEMBER 2023
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PHILIPPE MARTIN’S BELGIAN PAGE
training tool for the younger generations, mainly with the To-the-Compass Tour of Belgium races organised in September and October in our region. What can I say, then, as it was totally unex- pected for me to gain 1st prize seven times in succession in the first seven competitions with the young birds, even against amateurs who entered teams of forty to fifty youngsters in the hope of claiming victory. What more can I say except that I am extremely lucky to have bred
After many weeks of moderate to strong east- erly and even north-easterly winds, the anticy- clone currently positioned over continental Europe reduced these winds to simple breezes blowing from various directions. Temperatures rose again, making even short- distance contests irregular. The main explana- tion probably comes from the transport condi- tions in the trailer where, depending on whether the plastic baskets of your pigeon club are positioned at the top or bottom of a pile,
Good old memories when my friend Léon Dumont, handing a bird, and yours truly paid a visit to Lothar Lessmeister who would become the International winner from Pau and Barcelona some years later. From left to right, Lothar Lessmeister and his wife, my lamented friend Léon and yours truly in his young days, almost forty years ago.
deep inside or much closer to the access door, the pigeons will receive sufficient fresh air and therefore avoid any major dehydration, or not. A stone’s throw from the Tarpeian Rock Although the first eight competitions in which I took part enabled me to win 1st prize six times and 2nd prize twice, I had mentioned the risk of the Tarpeian Rock (failure) being close to the Capitol (success) in my previous paper. The first clue was the mixed success with the old birds in the last race, where my first arrival only took 6th. As they had already faced a one- day holdover a week before, I had opted for blind-curing them against Trichomons and Coccidia on their return. How wrong I was, retrospectively. To make matters worse, I had to make a two-day trip in the middle of the week, forcing me to hopper feed and fountain water the pigeons, without any aerial training, for those two days. The price was high. No red card was won in the following four competi- tions over a good fortnight, as their buoyancy was out. Claiming 1st seven times in a row with the young birds It turned a bit better in early June when my birds took 4th OB, 3rd Yearling. Far better were the results of my young birds going with the Club for the first time ever in their racing career, gaining 1st, 2nd & 3rd from a 110 miles stage. It had to be said that, with the best old birds raced in the middle distance contests in June, I didn’t have any of the same class to enter for the short distance competitions, especially following the losses caused by the birds of prey at the early start of the season. And when I decided to get back some of them to short distance racing, they once again hit the jackpot. Throughout my pigeon racing career, I saw myself more as a long distance fancier and, as such, a fancier concentrating on yearling and old bird racing. Flying with young birds was second and still is for me a selection and
a youngster this year, which won 1st prize thrice, 2nd twice and 5th once in these first six competitions. Unfortunately for me, and so much the worse for the competition, this bril- liant specimen would not be taking part in a seventh consecutive race because the big moult started for him, renewing his coverts. – Pau Lessmeister, a genuine all-round bird that hit the jackpot from Pau International (580 miles) on the day. Tour-de-Belgique racing is fair racing, in my opinion. Even true long distance birds can compete on a par with the best sprinters, as it is a matter of flying straight back home more than flying fast in those to-the-compass contests. I am deeply indebted to Cousin Serge Martin and my friends Pocholle, Decool, Lessmeister, Bourlard, Gruson, who supplied me with la crème de la crème, helping me to break some records. – Barcelona 911 Martin, best European Barcelona Ace-pigeon over 2 years, best coefficient ever. – Frappadingue Pocholle, one of the two European Ace-pigeons which ever flew Barcelona (650 miles), Marseille (550 miles) and Perpignan (580 miles) on a fortnight basis, several years in succession.
Moral heritage If he still were with us, my friend of long standing, Léon Dumont, of Retinne in Belgium, would be kidding me to death for I, a fancier dedicated to long distance racing in my young days, have turned both my mind and heart towards the so-called To-the-Compass short distance contests, the popular Tour de Belgique races hold by some major clubs in the provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Flemish
Brabant and Liège in late September and early October. My lamented friend was a genuine short distance fancier who was rewarded by a string of red cards, distinctions and mentions over his pigeon racing career, whilst consid- ered a most knowledgeable wing theory specialist in the French-speaking part of Belgium. Bonds of friendship grew ever stronger between us, since I met him in 1978, and led me to supply him with some breeders
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