Interprov. victory at Vierzon for Casaert-Sénéchal (Russeignies)

Sébastien Casaert won the 1st Interprovincial from Vierzon last weekend against 6,167 yearlings with his hen " Kate ". The Vierzon racers (9,267 old and yearling pigeons) were released on Saturday 18 May, with a light north-west wind, which was in fact not favourable for the West Hainaut region.  So it was quite an achievement from 'Kate', who covered the 403.184km at an average speed of 1,229m/m.
" Kate " is a blue hen, born in 2022, which before her victory from Vierzon had already won the 2nd Provincial Argenton against 1,329d. and the 38th Nat. of 15,210d. As you can see from her pedigree, she has a fantastic pedigree and royal blood flows through her veins.

 

A quick look back at the achievements of Sébastien Casaert (52), as his impressive record already includes 5 x national wins and 2 x 1st Nat. ace pigeon titles :           

1st Nat. Ace pigeon Nat. Great middle distance KBDB in 2011 with 'Amalia' and 2013 with 'Nikolaas
1st Nat. La Souterraine (2,548 yearlings) in 2015
1st Nat. Jarnac (4,899 yearlings) in 2018
1st Nat. Limoges II (10,319 old) in 2020
1st Nat. Souillac (7,514 yearlings) in 2020
1st Nat. Tulle (4993 yearling) in 2022

Sébastien manages a race team consisting of 80 olds and 140 yearlings, all played on total widowhood. The yearlings have little experience, having only participated in a few speed races in 2023.

For several years, on the advice of his good friend Pascal Ariën, Sébastien has participated in the national programme of great middle-distance and long-distance (the pigeons are played every week if possible).

After working with PEC since 2015, Sébastien no longer has breeders and focuses mainly on the sport season. The racers do not breed for the season and were paired on 5 April to stay together until 25 April. During this breeding period, they are reared (up to a maximum of 60 km). The hens are in an aviary during the season, where they stay (day and night).

As for the youngsters, in 2024 Sebastien will have 120 youngsters at his disposal via PEC and, for the first time this year, 120 youngsters from the KAIER loft via his friend Pascal Ariën.
In terms of care, Sébastien attaches great importance to the daily training of the race team and a richer diet for the last five meals before basketing. As motivation, the nest dishes are simply turned over before basketing, and if necessary, a boost is given at the end of the season by leaving the sexes together.
In early January, the pigeons are vaccinated against smallpox and paramyxo virosis by vet Pascal Lanneau, who checks the colony weekly

The start of the 2024 season was excellent as evidenced by the following 2 results:

- 11/5 Toury (1,926 old) : 1,2,3,11,12,13,14,17,19,20 etc...with the first 3 and 10 pigeons in the first 20 of a competition of 1,926 pigeons.

- 18/5 Vierzon (6,133 old) : 1,12,15,18,25,26,32,35,46,72,76,77,90,93,95...with 53 prizes of 79 and 15 pigeons in the first 100 of a competition of 6,133 pigeons.

The team managing the colony in Russeignies consists of three people: Sébastien, his partner Lydie and Hugo, Sébastien's son. Since living back home, Hugo has been a great help in the daily care, basketing and gathering of the pigeons and is involved in the smooth running of the colony. Hugo also has his own team of pigeons, most of which are destined for Barcelona 2024. Sébastien's partner Lydie is a great source of moral support for Sébastien and Hugo and is always willing to help them with their pigeon fancier duties. Sébastien would like to thank them warmly for this.

For your information, I was present in Russeignies when the pigeons returning from Vierzon arrived, and I can tell you that 'Kate' lost more than 1 minute making a few rounds of honour around the loft before she was spotted, which did not stop her from winning 1st prize.

We will no doubt be talking about the Casaert-Sénéchal colony again on the 2024 national flights, which are fast approaching....

Congratulations on behalf of Team Herbots.

Bernard