The Mozart of the Pigeon sport... Gone?

[Matt D.]

If there is one flier in all the world that stands out as one above the rest, I'd have to pick Ludo Claessen. I've probably read every article and interview he's ever given. This is really sad to see someone that is already a great and has a long time left to fly; just pick up and leave. http://www.pipa.be/verkoop/persberichtludoeng.jpg

What got me is it says he doesn't have any birds let at home now. I can't imagine.

[RodSD]

Wow that was bad. Maybe he felt his life is threatened with those thieves. Nevertheless he already made a mark on pigeon sport. I wish him well. On a positive note one can always go back in pigeon sport.

[Matt D.]

Originally Posted by RodSD

Wow that was bad. Maybe he felt his life is threatened with those thieves. Nevertheless he already made a mark on pigeon sport. I wish him well. On a positive note one can always go back in pigeon sport.

This is what I was thinking... or hoping. I've seen him with his birds, no one that loves them as much as he does can stay away for long. The man is very talented and really is a great breeder. He has a breed of pigeons that will be with us for a very long time. I'd like to know what Mr. Smith is thinking about this. I wonder where he is..

[TAWhatley]

Originally Posted by Matt D.

I'd like to know what Mr. Smith is thinking about this. I wonder where he is..

Well, PM him and e-mail him .. I'm sure he will reply. The moderators CAN'T be here 24/7 .. sorry!

Terry

[Matt D.]

Originally Posted by TAWhatley

Well, PM him and e-mail him .. I'm sure he will reply. The moderators CAN'T be here 24/7 .. sorry!

Terry

Well I think that if your a moderator It should be your job to be here 24/7. Or at least when I'm online. Administrators don't have to be though.

[TAWhatley]

Originally Posted by Matt D.

Well I think that if your a moderator It should be your job to be here 24/7. Or at least when I'm online. Administrators don't have to be though.

Very, very funny, Matt! Well, I've got some Moderator/Admin things to do .. so see you later .. if you want to hear from Warren, then e-mail him! Just my advice!

Terry

[hillfamilyloft]

Some people get married to their pigeons. Ludo may think of his birds as a job. They can burn you out. It just might be time for him to retire. I think one thing that has made him as great as he is, is his ability to let go of birds. In his history he has cut back numerous times his stock to make it better. I remember reading when he cut back to I think six pairs, and started over. He may be just taking a breather. We may see him in a few years, start from scratch. I bet if he did he would reach heights again in the sport. He has a knack for knowing his birds.

Randy

P.S. I bet Warren is counting his pennies for the up coming auction.

[Matt D.]

Originally Posted by hillfamilyloft

P.S. I bet Warren is counting his pennies for the up coming auction.

Well I'm sure he isn't alone. I'll bet Mike Ganus and Ed are both looking through every crack in their house right now looking for all those pennies, too.

[re lee]

With the price his birds were fetching. I see where people stealing his birds thought they could make a few dollars. This is SAD because the man had to decide to leave the sport In part because of thieves. I am sure the remaining birds will have some good bid offers at auction. Has he secretly kept back some birds to start breeding agin Who knows time will tell. I wish him luck with his new endeavers And maybe Some day he will return to the sport.

[Larry_Cologne]

At the time of these different postings, the EURO was worth about US $1.50. There are some large sums of money involved in pigeon racing. Some racers consider that their lives are worth more than raising pigeons.

Excerpts from Schaerlaeckens' website:

http://schaerlaeckens.mikehopman.nl/...uwsrubriek.php

(Items in Dutch/Flemish/Vlaams already translated into English)

And...? Right again (19/02/2008 )

Last night criminals in vain tried to steal pigeons from Pipa.
The name of pipa needs no introduction.
Photos of thief on video but very unclear.

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And,,,??? again (18/02/2008 )

Last night 8 pigeons were stolen from Ludo Claessens, one of them was 'simply the best'.
Since the many thefts of this winter had scared him his best breeders were housed elsewhere.

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And.... again! (14/02/2008 )

You won't believe it but last night 19 pigeons were stolen from Filip Norman, the winner of the latest One million Dollar race.
Last Saturday a pigeon was auctioned by J Hermans for no less than 36,000 euro. The buyer was from Hungry, the bird belonged to Mr Kobesen and... was a son of... right 'Kliene Dirk'.
Are the high prices that people pay for pigeons the reason so many are stolen?
It is doubtful since very many real good birds from great champions still can be bought for little money.

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And again (10/02/2008 )

Unbelievable indeed but now about 50 birds were stolen from the team Batenburg v d Merwe.
The amount of stolen birds adds up so much that the only conclusion can be that a well organised gang distribute the birds amongst many fanciers.
Why do NPO, KBDB or victims not cooperate and offer good money to any one who can offer useful info to identify the thieves? The more thefts, the more people should house stolen birds and the easier it should be to find the criminals.

Justice (01/02/2008 )

- Yesterday famous vet HdW had to appear before court for selling medicine that are not registered.
The verdict was 3 months on probation, a fine and an additional claim of no less than 750,000 e.
Fanciers wonder if this is justice.
He has a very good reputation world wide, he works hard and helped numerous fanciers that had health problems with their birds.
- The good news is that Leo Heremans (Heremans Ceusters) got back one of his stolen pigeons. The band was taken off and replaced by a clip ring.
- Other good news comes from South Africa. Filip Norman who did a lot of good for our sport last year won the One Million Dollar race in S Africa (200,000 e).
Second place was for a man whose birds were stolen: G Koopman (120,000 e).

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Never ending misery (28/01/2008 )

And again pigeons stolen.
In the night from 26 ro 27 January 44 pigeons were stolen from the Dutch Long distrance star A P Overwater.
From Taiwan we heard the sad news that the man who founded South Star loft (Mr Huang Chin Pao) passed away.
South Stour Loft was inhabited by numerous the very expensive National Aces ad winners.

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Aelbrechts (26/01/2008 )

As mentioned before many super birds of Super Star Aelbrechts were stolen recently.
Since Marcel Aelbrechts could not get over this coward act it is said he sold all his remaining birds to Luc Sioen. Too bad pigeon sport has to go on without Aelbrechts.

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Aelbrechts (26/01/2008 )

As mentioned before many super birds of Super Star Aelbrechts were stolen recently.
Since Marcel Aelbrechts could not get over this coward act it is said he sold all his remaining birds to Luc Sioen. Too bad pigeon sport has to go on without Aelbrechts.

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Epidemic (23/12/2007 )

It seems an epidemic.
Another victim:
Last night 28 breeders were stolen from Belgians National Champion Marcel Aelbrecht
from Lebbeke.
How deep can people fall to steal the life work of a 79 year old champion.

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How dirty (06/12/2007 )

Mrs Koopman phoned to tell me the tragic news that all pigeons that were meant to be auctioned Dec 27th were stolen last night.
It stands to reason Gerard is heart broken, not only because of this enormous financial loss but because he could never think people could be so evil. He himself has been after good birds all his life and paid what people charged him.

Other bad news comes from China. Again pigeons were sold, this time through the internet, with false pedigrees and unbelievable records. The records were so fantastic that smart guys over there did not trust, they checked in Europe and they were right. All fake!!
When will this stop? Most fanciers in China do not understand English and depend on importers. Too bad some of them are evil!

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Auctions (21/11/2007 )

With the numerous auctions through the Internet of today some wonder if traditional auctions with the physical presence of birds are out dated.
They are not which was proven last weekend provided quality birds are for sale.
'De Duif' (J Hermans) had 3 successful auctions.
One of Dr Ally, the successful long distance champ with his Vandenabeele birds.
His 64 summer breeds went for an average price of 512 e (20% included).
Also Verkerk auctioned summer breeds (56): average 891 e (20% included).
Furthermore Hermans also auctioned all 83 birds of Short Distance Ace Maes Stevens. Though it was sprint birds (raced from 120 kms) an enormous crowd of people showed up.
Total proceeds 76,380 e (920 e average). The most expensive bird (a 2002 cock) was sold for 10,800 e.

Larry

[RodSD]

Larry, nice post. I go to pipa website, too, and read those tales. It is sad and dangerous to be famous. I suppose this is the darker aspect of pigeon racing. I am not into racing, but I have heard about jealousy, etc.

It seemed that greed and envy are causing these stories. Pigeon racing is not a hobby anymore, but a way of life (job) for these criminals. When your life is in danger, it won't be fun anymore. So some quit. Just imagine your kid found these thieves stealing your birds in your own house. We might hear some murder stories.

[learning]

I too have noticed that Ludo seems to have disappeared. There is no question that he has made his mark on the racing pigeon world. I consider myself very fortunate that I have a loft full of sons, daughters and grandchildren from the great Ludo Claessens through Warren Smith.

I can tell you this, I would consider it a travesty if I didn't have these wonderful pigeons. They are everything I ever dreamed of in racing pigeons. They are the most beautiful birds I have ever seen and they really seem to do the job from 250 to 400 miles. My birds are very highly inbred with names like Silver Boy, De Juf, Red Baron, Late Rode 430, and Vos 77 appearing 3, 4, even 5 times on both sides of the pedigree. These birds are keeping right up with everything else out there. I am looking forward to this breeding season when I will be crossing some of these birds with a line of Kaizer Janssens that I have obtained. These birds have done very well at the shorter distances for me. With the hybrib vigor this should produce, I am really looking forward to how they measure up!

No question, Mr. Claessens is the man in my book, but I would be telling half the story if I didn't credit Warren for his genius in breeding these lines to serve his needs as well. Between these two guys, I owe them everything.

I sure hope that Ludo hasn't hung it up for good. That would be a tremendous loss to the sport.

Dan

[Trees Gray]

I hope that Warren will post his thoughts and comments when he has time.

I would keep those birds inside my home if I EVER thought someone would steal them.

By the way, I like the name Ludo, and I would use that name for one of my birds-if he was indeed one of his birds.

[learning]

Originally Posted by Trees Gray

I hope that Warren will post his thoughts and comments when he has time.

I would keep those birds inside my home if I EVER thought someone would steal them.

By the way, I like the name Ludo, and I would use that name for one of my birds-if he was indeed pne of his birds.

Unfortunately, because of the rash of thefts, those that are priviledged enough to have direct Ludos are not very anxious to let people know that fact! It's like hanging a sign in front of your loft saying, "please come steal me!"

Dan

[learning]

Originally Posted by Matt D.

Well I'm sure he isn't alone. I'll bet Mike Ganus and Ed are both looking through every crack in their house right now looking for all those pennies, too.

Something tells me that pennies aren't going to help you in this auction! It would not surprise me to see his top birds go for 50 - 75,000 Euros or more. Boy it sure will be exciting to watch though. I would bet that the vast majority of them end up in China. That seems to be where they end up most of the time.

Dan