Sometimes you learn about pigeon racing in a completely different way than from books or magazines. Sometimes you learn simply by walking into someone’s loft, seeing the diversity, standing among open lofts, and feeling how the sport is lived there. During my stay in southern Spain, I made three visits that put both feet firmly back on the ground.
What struck me immediately in Spain? The calmness and simplicity. The social side is still the real engine of the sport here. Less jealousy, less chasing after commercial Pedigrees, and more sitting together and enjoying our beautiful hobby. Wonderful to see.
AMS Pigeons, Andrés Morinigo, Fuengirola
My first stop was with Andrés. He originally comes from the north of Spain, from Salamanca, but he came south looking for peace and a quieter life. What makes him unique is his background in fancy pigeons. You can see that straight away. He has an eye for type, presence, and overall appearance. He has only been involved with racing pigeons for a relatively short time, but in 2024 he already took 2nd place in the final of the OLR Costa del Sol.
He has invested quite heavily in big names through auctions on PIPA.be, including lines such as Porsche, New Kim, Figo, and others. But do you know what I found so special? At the moment, his own local Spanish purchases are performing better than the expensive investments, he said. Once again, it proves something important: quality is often closer than you think, as long as you dare to look at the pigeon itself instead of only looking at the papers.
Vicente Balbuena, Benalmádena
After that, I visited Vicente. He plays at the top on the short-distance races and on the long-distance races. Those are two completely different disciplines, but he manages to do both. He holds on to his old Spanish family of pigeons, strengthened with a touch of Cor de Heijde and some Belgian blood through Comb. Schreurs-Hauben from As. His loft is full of strong top pigeons. Real survivors of the hard races.
Take his “Terral”, named after the scorching hot wind they have here in the Malaga area. Terral became Champion of Spain in 2020, Category A Sport International. His 717 became Champion of Spain, Category C Sport International. And then there are his “Astérix” and “Obélix”, who flew right at the front, 2nd and 3rd, on a very tough Dax race of 870 km.
Vicente selects for one thing: survival. Every year, the pigeons that remain are the ones that can handle the climate. That is the fairest selection there is.
After those first two visits, I already thought I had seen a lot. But what I experienced afterwards in Seville was on a completely different level. A world where the “big names” from Europe do not exist, and where vitality took on a whole new meaning.
Seville: Passion, Pigeons, Horses, and Rabbit Hunting
After my first visits, I travelled further down to Seville, to the brothers Diego and Juan Dominguez Lerdo de Tejada. And as soon as I drove onto their property, I knew this was going to be a special story.
Picture a typical Spanish finca, exactly the kind you would see in a film like Zorro. The sun burning on the old walls, wide open fields, and Andalusian horses everywhere. The father of the brothers is a well-known veterinarian, specialised in horse fertility. That passion for breeding and bloodlines runs deep in the family.
It felt as if my family and I had been welcomed into a warm bath. The hospitality of the family, the wife of one of the brothers, and their two beautiful little boys of three and four years old was overwhelming. We were immediately treated as one of them.
Dogs, Horses, and Pigeons
As we looked out over the land, I saw their greyhounds. That is a sport in itself here. With special Andalusian horses, they race through the fields behind the dogs as they hunt rabbits. That pure passion for animals and speed is in their blood.
What struck me immediately when I handled their pigeons? They are small. Extremely small. But with muscles so soft and elastic that it almost feels unreal. It is exactly the type of pigeon I always look for myself, only even more compact. In the scorching heat of Seville, this is probably their only chance of survival. The racing season already stops in May because it simply becomes too hot. Last year, they tried to continue racing until 15 June, but it was impossible for the pigeons, so they stopped.
The Vitality of an 18-Year-Old cock
The men from Seville do not know the commercial European names. And honestly, they do not care. They race against each other in their own province, under brutal conditions. And their results speak for themselves. Every year, they are among the champions. When you ask them which year was their ultimate top year, the answer is 2008. That year, they won everything there was to win: speed, long distance, extreme long distance. Everything.
At the end of the visit, I was shown their “treasure room”. A picturesque old building where they keep their very best performance pigeons. These birds no longer have to race. Their only job now is to produce the next generation. Every single one of them is valuable.
But the most beautiful of all, for me, was their foundation cock, the “188”. This cock has been there since 2008 and flew at the head of the result for three years in a row on the hard Reina race of 800 km. Today, that bird is 18 years old. And believe it or not, he still fertilises every egg. As a pigeon fancier, that gives me goosebumps.
W
hat I Take Home With Me
Sitting there on that finca, surrounded by horses, pigeons, and dogs, I realised it once again. In the Netherlands, we can become too focused on systems and expensive pedigrees. But in the end, it is about the connection between the fancier and his pigeon, and the hard selection of nature.
In my Spanish visits, I saw pigeons that, on paper, would mean “nothing” to the commercial world. But in terms of strength, build, vitality, and quality, they could match my own top pigeons, and perhaps even surpass them. It is about understanding your own environment and trusting your own compass. I leave Andalucía with a backpack full of inspiration and new friendships.
Until the next blog,
Gerard Schalkwijk
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