Marc and Geert Pollin (Snellegem), an iron strong 2020 with nice references as dessert !
04 Dec 2020
40 years to be found at the top on a regional, provincial, national and international level. Yearly on several podia, provincial victories, 6 national victories, enough trophies to fill up an entire hall…and yet still the urge to win.
This is only given to the very best, the most talented, the pigeon whisperers, the master breeders. And such a family lives in Snellegem namely Diane and Marc Pollin and their son Geert.
No bravado, but results on the table. The succeed already for several years now to be permanent at the top and this from 200km to 900km, a true all-round loft.
Master breeders and racers
During our former talk it stroke us once again how well Marc and Geert know their loft. With about 80 widow cocks (yearlings and old) Marc knows them almost all by hart. We spoke about a compromised season and the challenges to have enough pigeons ready and the overfull calendar. Marc could tell almost perfectly by hart which pigeon raced which race and which races they still had to do. And this always with one goal namely ‘are they recovered well enough for the next challenge’. The pigeons aren’t raced until their end, the pigeon is being read and when it is ready for the next challenge than it can go along otherwise they have to stay home.
The managing of such a colony makes the fanciers to go back to the basics of pigeon sport namely a good base health, but especially a high level of quality pigeons.
This is how they are building since decades on this strain. Bouncing names as Mortifer, Dortmunder, Provincial Poitiers, the ‘12’, Nai, Igor…where the founders where they built on. The coffee kept being of Snellegems’ origin with now and then a poor of milk of strange blood to cross in.
This seemed to be a very good strategy. To these very known base breeders they got very fruitful results such as Joe, Cadel, Hamilton, New Belgian Pride, Brother Joe, Sint Junien, Montauban II, Brutus, and so on….with as climax 4 national victories within the same year.
And even then they didn’t bow for the big money. Only ‘New Belgian Pride’ (National Ace bird yearlings and 1st national Libourne) was sold (an offer they couldn’t refuse…). All the others stayed on the breeding loft. You can sell the fruit but not the tree…is one of the building stones of this colony.
Care? Just keep it simple
And yet they think that the real top has a few secrets or magic means to get to such results. Not at the Pollin’s. When we asked once more which care they took on than it was being explained very simple. They never ‘race’ with aeration on the lofts (their aren’t no means on these lofts to do this). The lofts are clear and spacious and are being cleaned basically. Marc is getting a bit older and that’s why it isn’t that important anymore but the results stay top. In the youngsters loft hardly any cleaning is done and rather a dry manure method is being applied. A few big cleaning turns a year and that’s it. Also the feeding of such a big racing team where they have to basket nearly each day can be applied in an individual way. The pigeons have always access to a very variated and complete mixture with many different kinds of corn. They take out what they like or what their body needs. Kaucabam in the drinking pot takes care of a healthy intestinal flora. The vet is being consulted a few times but also there they don’t like to interfere too much without being blind for diseases that need curing.
Dixit Marc “I can’t do it as I used to anymore but to my own satisfaction the results don’t suffer from it and I see my pigeons getting stronger in defence of small diseases’.
An iron strong season 2020
The season of 2020 or the Corona season will go into history where a lot of flexibility and creativity was needed before the start of the season. Once the calendar and the boarders opened it was full speed ahead and the races followed each other really fast.. This asks for navigation skills, a broad team of pigeons and a lot of quality. You are for this at Marc, Geert, Diane at the right address. A lot of experience, don’t have their heads turn around with follies, they got their team ready with a lot of feel for timing…and the results don’t lie. They are working on an iron strong season and shine on nearly every single race. Their location isn’t always in their favour and with different races with western winds they weren’t exactly in the right spot. On provincial, zonal and regularly on national level they weren’t beaten often, on the contrary.
One who was back at the appointment, just as last year, is Brutus BE16-3025288. This strong pigeon ended last season as 4th National Ace bird Extreme Long Distance KBDB. And this year he showed himself again with
- 30th national Agen 5,140b
- 119th national Narbonne 4,454b
- 15th ace bird extreme long distance KBDB
This is again a strong holder in the polyvalent racing team.
References that count
It makes Geert smile when he mentions a few very nice references from their pigeons on other lofts. In the past there were already successes with offspring of the Pollin pigeons at Norbert & Stefan Ally, at Team Dejaeger, at Gerard Koopman and so on…
Recently a few really nice once could be added :
Gerard Koopman (Ermerveen, Nl) : 2nd prize Troyes (530 km) against 6,371b and 2nd fastest pigeon against 14,421b is a 50 % Pollin-pigeon
Shady Mohammed (Saoudi-Arabië) : owner of a top breeding hen who 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 got at Marc and Geert : Crack Monti 685 (daughter Montauban II Pollin) won 6th prov Vierzon 4,218b - 11th nat Chateauroux 6,306b - 12th nat zone Argenton 7,260b - 161st nat Limoges 9,756b - 137th nat Bourges 8,424b - 5th national ace bird KBDB All Round old and yearlings
Dhaenens Pigeons (Geert Dhaenens / Dhaenens-De Block) :
2019 : 3rd champion KBDB long distance and extreme long distance yearlings. Within this ranking there were 2 pigeons with 50 % Pollin-heritage -
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).
Permsak Singsomboom (Thailand) won the 1st ace bird Pigeon Pattaya International Race Thailand where off the mother a Pollin pigeon is (she is a daughter out of ‘12’ x granddaughter Nai).
¨Petrache Florin (Romania) : with a hen out of a direct Pollin cock he won underneath results:
Loisce (689km) 1/1,786b
Loisce (689km) 5/2,479b
Loisce §689km) 9/2,481b
With these 3 top resulst she became 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 from Marc & Geert to be found such as Dortmunder, Mortifer and so on……..
A few results 2020 on the lofts in Snellegem
Souillac 707 km (old)
club 159b 1 - 2 – 3-9-49 (5/9)
prov 1310 b 8-21-22-79-368 (5/9)
zone 390b 1-3-4-13-83 (5/9)
national 6.668b 25-61-62
Souillac 707 km (yearling)
Club 151b 5-8-19-29 (4/6)
Prov 1.639b 92-109-237-327-382 (5/6)
Zone 491b 8-12-32-54 (4/6)
National 7.514b 268-320-759-1178 (4/6)
Gueret old (3/3) Yearling (5/8)
Weekend 18 July
Pau 912 km old
Club 278 b 1 – 48 (2/2)
Prov 731 b 5 - 139
National 2.919 b 17 - 575
Limoges 641 km Yearling
Club 184 b 1 – 7 – 16 – 22 - 30 (5/6)
Zone 775 b 1 – 14 – 31 – 67 - 84
old
Club 280 b 2 – 10 – 19 – 41 – 43 - 79 (6/6)
Zone 811 b 6 – 23 – 46 – 97 – 99 - 186
Issoudun 476 km Yearling
Club 225 b 1 – 13 – 19 – 56 - 57 (5/5)
Zone 1.025 b 8 – 61 – 97 – 212 - 213
old
Club 148 b 5 – 6 – 11 – 18 – 19 (5/7)
Zone 709 b 17 – 18 – 60 – 124 – 129
Fontenay 330 km Youngsters
Club 563 b 1 – 13 – 15 – 16 – 23 – 26 – 29 … (36/86)
Zone 3.364 b 2 – 21 – 25 – 38 – 52 – 65 – 71 … (48/86)
Weekend 11 July
Argenton 523km
Club Yearling 247 b 2 - 14 - 15 - 21 - 22 - 27 - 44 - 55 (8/8)
Club Old 289 b 2 - 4 - 9 - 10 - 17 - 19 - 20 - 42 - 51 - 52 (12/14)
Weekend 4 July
Limoges 641 km old
club 449 b 5 - 7 - 10 - 20 - 23 (5/6)
Zone A1 1.137 b 8 - 12 - 19 - 37 - 45
Provincial 3.037 b 79 - 90 - 100 - 195 - 218
National 15.918 b 402 - 465 - 625 - 1171 - 1272
Chateauroux 495 km Yearling
Club 455 b 1 - 3 - 4 - 16 - 21 - 33 -... (11/16)
Zone A1 2.185 b 1 - 3 - 7 - 67 - 90 - 149 -...
Chateauroux 495 km old
Club 406 b 2 - 3 - 6 - 30 - 52 - 66 (6/12)
Zone A1 1.687 b 5 - 9 - 16 - 111 - 182 - 258
Fontenay 330 km Youngsters
Zone A1 1.192 b 3 - 9 - 11 - 12 - 20 - 23 - 33 - 50 - 51 - 53 - 55 – 58 - 61 - 62 - 63 -... (42/90)
Weekend 27 June
Bourges 456km 340b old Local
3 - 4 - 17 - 27 - 31 - 35 - 36 -… (15/21)
Weekend 20 June
Fontenay 330km 3.363b old & Yearling Zone A1
7 - 34 - 35 - 36 - 48 - 56 - 68 - 85 - ... (21/24)
Fontenay 330km 1.637b Yearling Zone A1
15 - 16 - 17 - 22 - 33 - 39 - 96 -... (15/17)
Blois 412km 8.991b old & Yearling Interprov.
13 - 167 - 418 - 421 - 431 - ... (12/14)
Weekend 13 June
Fontenay 330km 3.394 b old & Yearling Zone A1
13, 16, 31, 34, 48, 49, 53, 80, 83, 89, 93, ... (41/67)
Underneath 5 pigeons raced themselves in the spotlights in 2020
BE16-30.25.126 “Chris”
Pau 912 km
Club 278 b 1
Prov 731 b 5
National 2.919 b 17
BE19-30.15.092 “Son Limo 301”
Wins 2 x 1st zonal
4/7 Chateauroux 495 km
Club 1/445
Zone 1/2.185
Prov 19/5.555
18/7 Limoges 641 km
Club 1/184
Zone 1/775
Prov 23/2.248
BE17-30.00.052 "Son Nestbrother Joe"
13/6 Fontenay 330km
Club 3/616
Zone 13/3.656
20/6 Fontenay
Club 4/499
Zone 7/3.363
18/7 Limoges 641 km
Club 2/280
Zone 6/ 811
Also won
Chateauroux “18 33 13.098
Tulle ’18 173 5.326
Tulle ’19 190 6.206
Chateauroux ’17 982 18.499
Argenton ’18 992 19.859
- BE17-30.02.930 “Duyvertje”
13/6 Fontenay 330km
Club 11/616
Zone 38/3.656
27/6 Bourges
Club 3/340
Zone 3/1.716
Prov 21/3.688
Nat 703/23.191
11/7 Argenton
Club 2/289
Zone 17/1.324
Prov 76/2.959
“Duyvertje” can be described as a true Bourges specialist.
Bourges ‘19
Reg 1 410
Zone 4 1.885
Prov 6 3.344
Nat 169 24.055
Bourges ‘18
Reg 2 364
Zone 18 1.503
Prov 79 3.382
Nat 187 19.133
In 2018
Chateauroux
Reg 1 420
Zone 1 1.795
Prov 4 4.161
Nat 44 27.081
Argenton
Reg 2 353
Zone 3 1.708
Prov 9 2.591
Nat 21 19.859
Chateauroux
Reg 3 183
Zone 5 769
Prov 17 1.780
Nat 34 13.098
And this way he became 1st Provincial and 5th National Ace bird Greater Middel Distance KBDB .
BE16-3025288 Brutus
30th national Agen 5,140b
119th national Narbonne 4,454b
15th ace bird Extreme long distanceKBDB
(season 2019 4th national ace bird extreme long distance KBDB)
Within the provincial championships West-Flanders the underneath rankings were won:
- 2nd champion extreme long distance old
- 2nd champion greater middle distance old
- 7th provincial champion long distance yearlings
National
- 10th national champion long distance yearlings
- 15th ace bird extreme long distance old
A confirmation of the strength of this pigeon colony and also the proof that they let them cross in successfully with other strains. Year after year having top rankings on local, provincial, national and international level without many hiccups can only be done when you have an incredible strong base in your breeding loft…and this is the case for sure in Snellegem at Marc, Diane and Geert !!
Congratulation on all the beauty from the Herbotsteam !
Geert Dhaenens
