This week the flight from Quievrain was on the schedule. A lightning fast journey of 180 km towards home. Yet the traps remained closed here and the pigeons stayed in the loft. That might sound crazy to an outsider, but pigeon racing is a masterful tactical game where precision and looking ahead separate the true champions from the rest.
The Eye of the Fancier
Sometimes you just see it. The pigeons had just been paired and a few of the young, inexperienced talents were not feeling completely top notch. They were not wearing their best suits, so to speak. What exactly is that? That is hard to capture in words. That is the pure intuition you develop when you stand among your animals day in and day out with enormous pleasure. The stress of pairing undoubtedly plays a role in this case.
Do you still give them a toss to let them fly? Absolutely not. After all, they break considerably faster than they are made. By keeping them at home now and giving them some extra attention, they are already looking sharp again. Next Saturday we will simply make the necessary training kilometers with full confidence.
The Magic of Barcelona
Here in the loft the gaze is firmly fixed on the horizon. Everything is dedicated to that one mythical dream: Barcelona. The absolute queen of flights is the ultimate test, a marathon that demands the extreme limits of endurance and character. Pigeon racing at this level is pure top sport.
To shine there, you must possess nerves of steel and an abundance of patience. Many ask way too much of their young pigeons way too early. But if you want to take to the skies with bravado on the flight of flights, you have to make sure you get fully fledged athletes of at least three years of age top fit at the start.
A Conscious Step Towards the Future
Are the pigeons not the full 100% or do they raise even a hint of doubt? Then we take absolutely no risks. Then they stay comfortably at home in the loft and the focus shifts immediately to the next week. Skipping a round when in doubt is absolutely no sign of weakness or an unnecessary luxury, but rather a rock solid and conscious step towards a glorious future. It proves exactly how beautiful, intensive and well thought out the interaction between human and animal in pigeon racing truly is!
Jan de Wijs
The Pigeon Boss
