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Racing Pigeon Digest Featured ArticleThe Huyskens-Van Riel Belgium has produced many of the racing pigeon breeders whose names will live far into the future: Wegge, Hansenne, Bricoux, Bastin, Janssens, Havenith, Gits and Gurnay. To these will surely be added the names of Huyskens and Van Riel, and more particularly the latter. It is not detrimental to the reputation of these earlier celebrities to call attention to the fact that they were living in the 19th century stage of pigeon racing when the sport had not reached its development in Belgium. As for the team of Huyskens-Van Riel, they raced along with 200,000 fanciers in a population of 8 million Belgians. In course of time, the results of the races showed clearly that speed and staying power increased in a marvelous way. The influence of rational feeding, better management, widowhood and different tricks by tests and training proved effective. The average homer of today is much better than its fellow in the past. Huyskens-Van Riel were members of the Union-Antwerp, a club of 1200 to 1500 fanciers. The birds of the prominent clubmen race in most club, area and national races. Just as the "Brabantse-Unite" in Brussels and the "Jeune-Hirondelle-Liege", the Union Antwerp gathers the top racers of the smaller clubs of the city, its suburbs and the area. Fanciers that have a good season risk racing in the Union. The clubs have their championships, for example: most prizes over the season; best classification with one, two, up to six birds over all the races from speedies up to the long distances, etc., even for youngsters and yearlings. Belgian fanciers no longer cultivate the pure Wegge, Hansenne, Bastin, Janssens, Gits or Gurnays. Those strains belong to the past. Certainly these famous breeders' birds are at the base of the lofts in Belgium, but crossing and breeding with top racers made new strains which over-shadowed the older ones. The team Huyskens-Van Riel and its strain emerged as the acme of the lot. These two men, by their uncanny ability to select basic stock of the highest type, beginning just before World War II built up a strain that carried them quickly to the top of the national fliers and the acclaim of the entire Belgian pigeon world as Champions. Their rise was so sudden as compared with that of the old champions that Belgian fliers were taken by surprise. For four years they stood at the top, until sickness of the partners ended their supremacy and the entire loft was sold at auction for an aggregate price far in excess of any figure ever before received. Some birds had been sold before that auction, Steek, going for $500, and others at fabulous prices. And why not when there was non superior in Belgium, the cradle of the homing pigeon fancy? One who has not been to this small nation cannot appreciate the seriousness of its favorite sport, pigeon racing. It is the national pastime. Imagine! One family in every six races pigeons. Champion of such a country is a super fancier. FRANZ HUYSKENS and JEFF VAN RIEL Both of the partners were experts at pigeon evaluation from long experience. When they teamed their skills they were bound to succeed. They had been fanciers from boyhood. Franz Huyskens started in 1929 to race and a few years later Jeff Van Riel, who had been flying birds for many years and who was disbarred from local flying due to his great success, gave many of his best to Huyskens and sold the rest (60) to the Scheemaeckers. Huyskens and Van Riel became warm friends and Van Riel spent much time at the Huyskens loft. Among the birds which were tops in the loft were some from Frans Nuyens. One bird, "Boerinneke" bought in 1937 was a base bird, and another, "Oude Bange", bought in 1938, became famous and proved a great producer especially when mated to Kromme. The war came. A few of the cream were saved. After the war the men became partners and established a beautiful loft in the second story of the Van Riel home (see illustration). Pedigrees show that they had two outstanding breeding pairs. "Oude Witzwinger" was bought from MIchielsens. This bird was mated to "Boerinneke". Belgians are still talking about this small "iron hen." She was full of character and energy and her eye was brilliant orange-yellow. In 1946 the Scheemaecker Brothers bought her for $500. Oude Witzwinger was a powerful bird who stamped his youngsters with equal strength. After breeding many great birds from him and his mate, the partners sold him for $500. For Kromme, the partners refused $2000. On these two pair, Huyskens and Van Riel based the successful breeding. The first pair produced "Steek" and "Bliksem", the second pair (Bange and Kromme) produced "Late Bange" and "Grote Lichte". Crosses of the strains together with a very few judicious out-crosses (with Marions for one) built this loft which was the ace of Belgian lofts. At their auction in January 1957 the team Huyskens-Van Kiel produced an authentic list that includes 56 champions on the local, the area, and the national levels over the period from 1946 to 1956. Never before had a Belgian breeder reached such a record. Here follow a few excerpts from three years of the long and unbroken successes:
In 1949 the race from St. Vincent for the Province of Liege (most easterly of the country) was eagerly anticipated by the Belgian fanciers. The long distance race from St. Vincent at the Spanish border is the big event of the season. Only the Liege clubs enter their homers in the race; other Belgian breeders know the danger of the big east flock. But the team of Huyskens-Van Riel, living in the center of Belgium, received an invitation that they accepted as a challenge. Although friends tried to dissuade them, Jeff and Franz put 6 birds in the race for a pool that reached $1700. (85,000 francs). The whole country held its breath for the Huyskens-Van Riels had to fly the distance alone and pull away from "the drag". The race started on Saturday morning with red-hot weather and head winds. The first birds came in on Sunday morning and the race stopped Monday noon. Of 1673 birds the six won: 1-3-19-37-85 and 243. They brought the champs $5,500. (275,000 francs). No fancier had known such success before. The Belgian fanciers claimed "The Huyskens-van Riel team won the world championship." Probably their greatest achievement was the entering of fourteen birds in the great Libourne Provincial race with 2805 birds competing and having all fourteen among the prize winners - four in the first ten, a feat never before accomplished. These birds and only a few others together with their hens constituted the breeders. Then came adversity: Franz Huyskens was in bed for a long time, suffering from rheumatism and Jeff continued alone until the doctor ordered him to stop indefinitely. Jeff nearly collapsed: heart disease. There was no way out and the final auction wrote "finis" at the peak of their glorious success. And what a shame that illness ended the partnership! Old time fliers came to them for birds to improve their lofts. The pedigrees of Havenith's birds show many Huyskens-Van Riels. A brother to Havenith's famous Wittekop was mated with one of their hens and produced the King's Cup winner. Here are the pictures of some of the old champions and a brief description:
THE HUYSKENS-VAN RIEL STANDARD OF PERFECTION When visiting the Van Riels Dr. Leon R. Whitney who had that fortunate experience also had the benefit of being accompanied by his dear friend Jan Aerts, known to many as Belgian's top homing pigeon authority. He is author of three of the best books on the sport and conducts two weekly departments in De Duif, Belgium's premier pigeon paper. Jan Aerts acted as interpreter. One of Dr. Whitney's questions concerned the opinions of these two really great pigeon men on what constituted the perfect pigeon. They showed him pigeon after pigeon, explaining the good and bad features. Their score card contains eighteen items of which "eye" is only one. What was most illuminating and novel was their opinion of the keel. Having been indoctrinated by pigeon fancier friends to think of the ideal bird as being shaped like a duck in the breast, compressed from top to bottom, he was surprised to find that the ideal Van Riel bird was rather deep. The keel was not prominent but neither was it shrunken up. The shoulders were broad and the bodies rounded, there were almost no duck-bodied pigeons among them. Americans who have been taught that only duck-bodied homers will fly well are usually amazed at the performance of the Huyskens-Van Riel birds with their rounded, deeper bodies. The Belgians hold that this gives more room for vital organs. Among the Huyskens-Van Riels there are a few birds below medium in size. Most of them are solid and powerful with great quality of feather. In Belgium they are all flown on the widowhood system. When Mr. Van Riel was told of the successes in America on the natural system he could scarcely believe it. They were developed to be flown by widowhood. Yet they win on the natural system. HISTORY IN AMERICA Mr. Paul Veegaete of Michigan properly can be said to be the man who introduced the Huyskens-Van Riels to our country. He was fortunate in purchasing round of late hatched youngsters. Many of those which Mr. Veegaete bred from these birds and sold have made most enviable records. He also sold some of the cream of the imports. Two prominent Connecticut fanciers both bought imports from him and produced birds which have been the envy of many. One pair produced six first place winners. Speedome Lofts also bought some. One cock, "621" produced far more than his share of winners for one owner who flew grandsons and granddaughters of the birds. One of his grandsons became the owner's one bird team in 1957 and won all the pools in his club except one. Another won the Stamford, Conn. 300 mile, one-bird special race, flying to Stratford, 23 miles farther than any other competitor, 18 minutes before any other bird was reported and netting over $500, in pools. 621's grandsons and daughters have won over $2000. in pools and where the pools are usually small. Considering the small number of these birds in America, the record they have made is truly phenomenal. The ability to produce winners is not confined to the sons and daughters of the imports, either; the next generation is carrying on the tradition as well as the older. The Huyskens-Van Riels will get home if it is possible; they have the instinct and the strength. There are reports that they are excellent hard weather birds, one Texas flier writes that one of his came home through rain that washed out nearly all the rest. The bird won average speed for his loft by being at the top in race after race. Birds of this family are flying and winning in all sorts of climates in America. Texas, Utah, Georgia, New York, New Jersey, New England, California lofts report their complete satisfaction with these outstanding pigeons. They fly in fair or hard weather. They fly when flown the natural system or widowhood. Some fanciers report better results with hens, others with cocks. These are the winningest pigeons of this day. They won't all win, they won't all be properly managed but under optimum conditions it is doubtful that any modern strain can match these best of Belgium's masterpieces. |
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