Bred by South African pigeon fancier Stear Painter and entered by Painter and Germany’s Simon Ullrich, Ulltra completed the race on 18 August in approximately seven hours and eight minutes.
The winning pigeon was subsequently auctioned for R402 000 and earned a further R20 000 after finishing third in the competition’s Grand Average category.
The 2026 Winter Season attracted 140 pigeon fanciers, who entered a combined 816 pigeons, with approximately R2,8 million allocated across the competition’s prize categories.
How one-loft pigeon racing works
The SAIPR loft complex is situated in Krugersdorp, approximately 30km west of Johannesburg. Established in 2021 by partners Billy Kitchenbrand and Gerhard van Aswegen, the facility hosts pigeons entered by fanciers who compete without having to train and race the birds themselves.
Participants enter teams of five pigeons, comprising three main entries and two reserves, at a cost of R30 000 per team.
Following an initial homing phase, during which the pigeons become accustomed to their surroundings, training begins with short flights from as little as 1km away. Distances are gradually increased as the birds develop fitness and experience.
The training programme leads into four Hot Spot pre-final races, covering distances of 288km to 505km, before the 580km final race.
Prize money was distributed across approximately 100 winning categories throughout the 2026 Winter Season, giving participants opportunities to earn winnings before the final race. According to the organisers, some participants recovered their entry fees and made a profit during the pre-final races.
Armchair pigeon racing
One Loft manages the pigeons on the entrant’s behalf through a specialist training system building up towards the Grand Finale that carries the larger portion of cash winning stakes. Compared to the many hours of managing a race team at high cost from a home loft in your backyard, the fancier’s breeding skills are tested against a top field from One Loft’s location, which levels the playing field.
All of the work involved in training and racing the pigeons is done for the entrant, which is why it is called ‘armchair pigeon racing’. Participants can monitor their pigeons’ progress online without having to manage the birds’ daily training and racing themselves.
SAIPR and Team Master Power / Loerie Kinderhuis giving back to the community
Participant Francois Beauzec bred five pigeons at no charge for entry into the SAIPR 2026 Winter Series, with the R30 000 entry fee fully sponsored by Menno Parsons of Master Power Technologies. All winning proceeds from these birds are to be donated to the Loerie Kinderhuis.
The Blue Bar Pigeon, ZA CRU 4282-25, placed 8th on Hot Spot 2, winning R5 000. Additionally, more fanciers joined the initiative by paying R1 000 per bird to nominate further entries. In the absence of a major winning score, the SAIPR owners generously decided to support the cause, signing a cheque of R40 000 in favour of Loerie Kinderhuis.
Final Race Money Winners ─ SAIPR 2026 Winter Season
The Final Race was held on 18 August 2026. The pigeons were released at 7:20am from Colesberg under clear skies and in comfortable weather conditions against a light headwind. Three pigeons arrived together, completing the 580km race distance in 7 hours and 8 minutes at an average speed of 81,3km/h.
Ulltra, entered by the South African-German syndicate of Stear Painter and Simon Ullrich, finished just 1,59 seconds ahead of the runner-up to claim the R750 000 first prize.
Bred from Painter’s SANPO Gold Medal bloodline, Ulltra is closely related to pigeons that finished first and sixth in two separate AfrikaPro One Loft finals.
Top 10 Final Race winners
- 1st: R750 000 to Painter and Ullrich. Stear Painter (SA) and Simon Ullrich (Germany). Pigeon named ‘Ulltra’ ZA NDK 1277-25 Blue Bar. Bred in South Africa by Stear Painter. Auctioned for R402 000.
- 2nd: R250 000 to Dinokeng Million Rand OLR (Banie Deetlefs). ZA CRU/D 3041-25 Blue Bar. Auctioned for R99 000.Offspring of ‘Turbo Kittel’, eight times SANPO Medal Winner.
- 3rd: R175 000 to JPH and S Posthumus. ZA 810-25 Blue Bar.
- 4th: R125 000 to Nico Muller. ZA TPA 9779-25 Blue Cheque.
- 5th: R90 000 to Out of Africa Lofts and Rudi van Vuuren. ZA VPU 4265-25 Mealy. Bred by Out of Africa Lofts, owned by Egbert O’Kelly.
- 6th: R80 000 to Protea / McDermott (Hennie van Rensburg and Sheldon McDermott). ZA TRPF 5693-25 Blue Bar.
- 7th: R70 000 to Sandgawies (Louis Pereira and son Michael). ZA GPU 3847-25 Blue Bar White Flight.
- 8th: R60 000 to JJJ vd Linde and Ben van Rooyen. ZA BPF 751-25 Blue Bar.
- 9th: R50 000 to Charlie Kerekes ZA ODRA 2736-25 Blue White Flight.
- 10th: R40 000 to 3 R’s Syndicate (Rona Grundeling, Rob Lambie and Rob van Veen). ZA OERF 15459-25 Blue Bar. Bred by R & R Lofts, owned by Rona Grundeling and Rob Lambie.
Results – 4 Hot Spots Winners SAIPR 2026 Winter Season
Despite a 67km difference between the first two Hot Spots, a helping wind during Hot Spot 2 allowed the winning pigeons to finish both events in 3 hours and 19 minutes. Hot Spot 3 was completed in 5 hours and 15 minutes, and Hot Spot 4 took 6 hours and 46 minutes.
Hot Spot (1) Bultfontein, 288km, 17 July 2026
Jerry Wright of the UK won R50 000 with his blue chequer pigeon (ZA MOUN 184-25), bred in South Africa by Ferdie Lubbe of Mountain Lofts. The pigeon recorded an average speed of 86,6km/h (1 443,39m/min).
Hot Spot (2) Glen, 355km, 24 July 2026
Johan Smallberger won R50 000 with his blue chequer pigeon (ZA TWUK 1011-25), which recorded an average speed of 106,5km/h (1 775,82m/min).
Hot Spot (3) Edenburg 444km, 31 July 2026
JPH & S Posthumus won R50 000 in the 444km Hot Spot 3 race from Edenburg on 31 July 2026. Their blue bar pigeon (ZA 810-25) recorded an average speed of 75,96km/h (1 265,92m/min).
Hot Spot (4) Springfontein, 505km, 7 August 2026
Justin Lambie of Exclusive Pigeon Paradise won R50 000 with his blue bar pigeon (ZA JKL 79-25), which recorded an average speed of 74,5km/h (1 242,25m/min).
Top 5 Results – Hot Spot Averages Champion Pigeons
SAIPR 2026 Winter Season
- 1st: R50 000 to Leohan Lofts. ZA VSD-234-25 Blue Bar White Flight.
- 2nd: R25 000 to Kalahari Loots / KLD (Bernard Loots & Leon Meyer). ZA LEON 1646-25 Blue Pied.
- 3rd: R10 000 to Ninja Lofts ZA VPU 2705 2025. Grizzle.
- 4th: Webster Lofts. ZA DIAZ 300-25 Blue Bar Auctioned for R68 000. (Full sister of ‘Blue Moon’. Final Race winner and Champion pigeon Dinokeng Million Rand OLR that auctioned for R400 000.)
- 5th: Protea / McDermott (Hennie Van Rensburg / Sheldon McDermott). ZA TRPF 5681-25 Blue Bar.
Top 5 Results – Grand Averages Champion Pigeons
SAIPR 2026 Winter Season
- 1st: R100 000 to Willie Munnik. ZA GPU 0729-25 Blue Bar.
- 2nd: R30 000 to Pigeon Palace (Kings & Gys Louw). ZA TPA 7178-25 Blue Cheque Pied.
- 3rd: R20 000 to Painter and Ullrich. ‘Ulltra’ ZA NDK 1277-25 Blue Bar. Auctioned for R402 000.
- 4th: Passion Lofts (Rod & Denise Chisholm). ZA OERF 6687-25 Blue Bar.
- 5th: Kalahari Loots / KLD (Bernard Loots and Leon Meyer). ZA LEON 1646-25 Blue Bar.
Top 5 Results Challenge Race
SAIPR 2026 Winter Season
The SAIPR Challenge Race is held concurrently with the Final Race. If an entrant’s reserve pigeons are not needed to replace any of the three Main entries during the pre-final phase, the participant has the first option to enter their reserve pigeons into the Challenge Race at a cost of R5 000 per pigeon. If an entrant declines, punters may enter those reserve pigeons.
- 1st: R50 000 to R & R & J Thone (Syndicate Rona Grundeling, Rob Lambie & Belgium Partner Jos Thone). ZA 34946-26 Blue Bar. Bred by R & R Lofts (SA) Gaby Vandenabeele / Tom Lock strain).
- 2nd: R30 000 to Van Schoor Lofts. ZA KPUD 1687-25 Blue Bar.
- 3rd: R20 000 to DRK Klub Klerksdorp. ZA LEON 1631-25 Blue Bar.
- 4th: R10 000 to Passion Lofts (Rod & Denise Chisholm). ZA GRPF 0679-25 Blue Bar.
- 5th: Bertus Nel. ZA NOK/CAS 592-25 Blue Bar.
