Paul Lannoo (Tielt) Wins 1st Provincial Châteauroux for old birds!

Last weekend was the final national race of the 2024 calendar and, phew, it was a normal release with normal pigeon weather. It was different in previous races, but in this race, chances could be defended fairly.
At Paul Lannoo’s loft, all stops were pulled out once again, and 20 old pigeons were entered for this race, deliberately put on a nest to be able to participate in a few more races later in the season.

Who is "Dr. Pol"?
Many undoubtedly know the driven, enthusiastic veterinarian from the well-known TV series Dr. Pol. Well, Paul Lannoo from Tielt bears some similarities to this character.

Paul is 74 years young, a retired veterinarian, but resting isn’t really his thing. In his busy professional career, he specialized in what is commonly known as “the big animals” (cattle, pigs, etc.)—in short, livestock on the farm. Smaller animals were only treated occasionally. It was a profession of being ready day and night, working on both busy and quiet days, being available. You either love this kind of job or you don’t. In a later phase, this, also for Paul, evolved into a group practice, and Paul is now still involved in all of this purely out of interest.

In his youth, Paul (from Oostrozebeke) was a talented football player and ended up in the same team as another talented footballer named Gaby Vandenabeele from Dentergem. Both played together at KSK Dentergem, drank beers together at the café, and Paul caught the pigeon racing bug thanks to Gaby, who was already becoming a pigeon racing star back then.
He started pigeon racing in Markegem (a sub-municipality of Dentergem) but was excluded from various areas together with Gaby due to their dominating results.

A loft was built in Oostrozebeke (at his parents' house), and they raced under the name of his father, André Lannoo. Especially the provincial races from Tours and Blois were “wrapped up.” The pigeons came from Gaby, so the loft was brimming with quality (descendants of the Wittenbuik, Picanol made a good showing, and everything went smoothly).

We skip a few years (the parental home was sold, the children grew up and left home), and Paul, along with his son, bought a farmhouse in Tielt. It was beautifully renovated into a homestead where the pigeon lofts, which are still in use today, were also built. There, a tandem was formed with (fellow) veterinarian Lionel De Clercq, and they raced for many years under the name Lannoo-De Clercq (with excellent national top results).
The foundation was still almost exclusively the strain of his friend Gaby, who has always acted as a mentor for Paul.
During the total sale of Gaby’s top loft in 2018, several pigeons from the true best foundation (Rudy, New Bliksem, Super Romeo, Goliath…) were brought to Tielt.

Other names from which results have been achieved through their input are John Meurysse (Oeselgem), Luc De Laere (Anzegem), Ally Norbert & Stefan, Roose-Pyra, Philippe Dobbelaere.

Paul is honest and realistic in his analysis of his hobby and says, “I undoubtedly have one of the best breeding lofts in the region, but I’m not the finest pigeon fancier myself and could probably get more out of it, but the satisfaction from my hobby is great”... and isn't that what pigeon racing as a hobby should be?

A hobby with a capital H.
Paul, who, thanks to his education, has the right to speak about dealing with animals, has a good, down-to-earth analysis of how he views pigeon racing and experiences it himself (with an emphasis on hobby and passion):

• The wind direction determines the (national) winner... and this also extends further to the local level.
• Healthy pigeons with strong genes (that rarely or never get sick).
• As in everything, some players have more talent than others, and that makes winners.
• The genes of the "smart" pigeons.
• Also, some concern about the entry of mass-lofters compared to hobbyists.

Paul's days are neatly filled with, besides commitment and dedication to his family, a pigeon colony of about 100 young pigeons, around 50 widowers on classic widowhood (20 yearlings, 30 old), and about 25 breeding pairs.

He feeds Beyers feed, does some medical checks himself but also consults with colleagues, preferring to keep it without medication rather than with it.

Bastien Wins 1st Provincial Châteauroux
Bastien is a beautiful blue-checked 4-year-old cock that was entered on a big youngster and was alone in the nest with his young for a few days. Apparently, this was a good motivation to bring the 1st provincial and 11th national to Tielt in the national race from Châteauroux. With a speed of 1,184 m per minute, it was a nice, fair race and thus a nice victory. It is a pigeon with a broad wing (typical of the Vandenabeele strain) and especially soft feathers.

The blue-checked color comes from the line of blue-checked pigeons of John Meurysse from Oeselgem, who has made a good name with his blue-checked pigeons in the past from middle-distance to long-distance.

The father is a direct Gaby pigeon from the line of Super Romeo, Brave Bliksem, and more. The mother is a daughter of Alex and Megaby at John Meurysse’s (or John’s old strong strain with a touch of Gaby).

Bastien is a regular reliable pigeon within Paul’s colony, who now, most likely due to nest drive for his young, delivered a more than strong performance from his wings.

It is clear from the pleasure with which Paul talks about it that this brings the season to a close with great satisfaction and that there is already enough motivation to go for it again next year!
Congratulations from the Herbotsteam!

Geert Dhaenens