Emiel Denys from Tielt is a fixture in the marathon

In Belgium and far beyond they know Emiel Denys. Always ready for a chat and he still knows all the pigeons. He has filled his career with international victories, ace pigeons, national championships, etc. he has already won everything, or almost everything, in his long career.

2020 marked the anniversary for the Denys family in pigeon racing, they had been active in this fantastic sport for no less than 100 years and grandfather Emiel Denys Sr was of course the initiator of all this. The long distance and extreme long distance races were mainly the favorite domain of the Denys family and now for several years now also the one loft races where they have already performed top in several countries in the world thanks to their breed.
 

During his brilliant career he won:
1st General Champion Long Distance KBDB
3rd and 4th National Champion Extreme Long Distance KBDB
1st European champion extreme long distance
2 x National marathon
(Inter)national victories were achieved at Limoges, Cahors, St. Vincent, Perigueux, San Sebastian and 2 x Narbonne
1st FCI World Champion OLR (Olympiad Dortmund)
2nd FCI World Champion OLR (Brussels Olympiad)
3rd FCI World Champion OLR

Despite all these victories, Barcelona remains internationally listed on the racing calendar in fluoro. For Emiel this is the flight among flights. And if Emiel focuses on a specific goal, prizes will fall from the sky:
1st Golden Wing Bruges Barcelona club 1982
1st Golden Wing Bruges Barcelona club 1986
1st Primus Interpares 1982
1st National Ace Pigeon Barcelona 2006-2007-2008
Silver wing Bruges Barcelona club 2013
Silver wing Bruges Barcelona club 2006 and 1980
2nd National Barcelona in 1980 and 1986
3rd National Barcelona in 1980 and 2018
5th National Ace Pigeon Barcelona 2019-2020-2021 with “777 Barcelona”
6th National Barcelona 2001
7th National Ace Pigeon Barcelona 2019-2022 with “Ringo 306”

No wonder that Emiel received the “Lifetime Achievement award” from the KBDB. Emiel has written a piece of the history of Belgian pigeon racing.

A breeding loft built up with historical bloodlines

Emiel has found the perfect mix in his breeding loft for years. The basis is formed by bloodlines that dominate the world of long-distance pigeons for years. So he created with descendants of the breeds Cattrysse, Vanbruaene, Stichelbaut (The "Remie 54") and Coutteau a strong long-distance strain. Also the contribution of the Dutch long-distance expert Anton van der Wegen can be called more than successful. Besides the basic breeds, the famous "Tee" line is still woven into almost all toppers. Emiel has always been a collector of international winners/ ace pigeons. Toppers who also left their mark on the current strain and here we spontaneously think of the recent toppers "Silver Wing Barcelona" (3rd Internat. Barcelona - Decherf Etienne) and "Trapke" (1st Nat. ace KBDB allround - Leutenez)

"Sophia": 1st International Narbonne yearlings 2018

This hen with ring number 3017438/17 must have enormous willpower. She braved the terrible heat and the subsequent heat storm to crawl onto her nest as quickly as possible. After the release at 7:15 in the South of France in Narbonne, she set a firm pace. After 875 heavy kilometres she arrived at 20:54 in Tielt, West-Flanders, good for an average speed of 1068.31 m/m. This made her not only the fastest Belgian pigeon but also out of 6,423yearlings internationally. As an extra bonus, she was even the fastest hen of the whole pack, so she also took the title of 1st International hen.
When we take a closer look at the pedigree of "Sophia" we see nothing but proven bloodlines. Her father is a son of the "Silver Wing" (who won the 3rd Int. Barcelona 2013 with Etienne Decherf). That "Silver Wing" was then coupled to a full sister of the 1st Int. Barcelona hens in 2013 at Daniël Arens. Her mother, the "Blue Narbonne" is a pure Emiel Denys product. She herself won the 11thProvincial Narbonne in 2016 before she started to prove her breeding value.

The beauty of it is that Emiel also won the 1st International in 1974 with his "Prince" and look 44 years on he did it again with his "Lady Narbonne"

Current Barcelona top racers

BE 19-3019087 “Ghost Barcelona”

This topper was Emiel's first finish at the Barcelona 2023 edition and was clocked at 7:54 am. A super achievement and this topper is pure inbreeding to “Silver Wing Barcelona” Silver Wing Brugse Barcelona Club 2013 and 3rd Int.Nat Barcelona 25,382 pigeons in 2013.The offspring of this topper is fantastic in both the extreme long distance and the one lof races.

The current sale includes a full brother of “Spook Barcelona”BE 22-3057503 “Inbred Silver Wing 503”

BE 16-3016777 “777 Barcelona”

This top performer flew top 3 times from Barcelona in his career and started this in 2019, when he won 197th National against 7,301d, the following year he was 26th National against 6,078 and in 2021 he became 329th National against 6,913d.

 

The current sale includes a son of “777 Barcelona
”BE 21-3071215 “Barca 215”

BE 16-3016306 “Ringo 306”

The ace pigeon of recent years is “Ringo 306”, he won 75th, 189th and 242nd National Barcelona in 3 years and was therefore crowned 7th National Ace Pigeon Barcelona in Belgium in the period 2019-2022.

BE 15-3015694 “Krom Barcelona”

This top hen won 1st Provincial Barcelona 1,504d (3rd Nat. 7,469d – 6th Int.Nat 15,707d)

BE 22-3057820 “Zwarte Krom” is a son of “Ringo 306” x “Krom Barcelona”
A son of 2 proven Barcelona toppers