World-class racing pigeons

There is no weak link in champion racer and renowned breeder Boet Troskie’s racing pigeon stock. He recently sold all his superstar pigeons at three auctions. Thomas Smit reports on the first auction.

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Boet Troskie’s involvement in pigeon racing has lasted more than 50 years. But every race has its beginning and its end, and this filmmaker, champion racer, renowned breeder and well-known businessman recently put all his superstar pigeons up for sale in a series of three auctions.

Everything Boet does is done thoughtfully and properly, or not at all. I still remember the disbelief of many fanciers when he successfully hosted the 2001 FCI Absa World Pigeon Olympiad in Cape Town – a South African first.

And the fact that Boet organised the World Grand Prix Pigeon Race from a farm in Zevenwacht, to be hosted concurrently with the Olympiad, placed his business skills in a special league.

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The foundation pigeons
The bulk of Boet Troskie’s racing pigeon stock consists of various line-bred pigeon families and crosses based on champion locals, and older and later importations.

These include bloodlines from Oscar de Vriendt, Janssens, Jules Rijkaert, Jos Deno, the Herbots Brothers, Gommaire Verbruggen, the Houben family, Andre Carelsen, Piet Klue (Putterie-Slimme), Walter de Rijk, Heinz Seegmuller, Frans Van Beirendonck, Nico Dreyer, Piet Schoeman and Willie van Rensburg, among others.

All of Boet’s purchases were well-researched, and his foundation pigeons have outstanding performance pedigrees.

Jhb auction report
At the time of writing, only the Alberton auction has been held (with the others to be held just before and as this issue of Farmer’s Weekly hits the stands).

The Alberton auction brought in R310 000 for 112 pigeons. Interestingly, no large pigeons were seen. Boet has proven that it’s all about what works for you (big or small champions). Lot 10, a stunning Blue Chequer cock, went to Joburg attorney Gys Louw for R51 000. This is a bargain compared to prices in Europe, and given the general unavailability of these pigeons.

A Belgium import from Gaby Vandenabeele and the direct son of Bliksem, it is one of the best pigeons that ever entered SA, and a proven breeder of top racers in Boet Troskie’s Bloemfontein loft. The Vandenabeele pigeons make great cross material and are known for top scores in one-day loft races all over the world.

More superstars
Lot 8 was a medium-size, muscular cock and the direct son of a “click” pair of the Deno-Herbots partnership in Belgium. It went for only R10 000.Then there were the pigeons bred by Walter De Rijk in Belgium, which are good for short to middle distances. They went from around R7 000 to R14 000 each.

Lot 46
Boet always mated birds that had Ace racers and super breeders on both the paternal and maternal line of the pedigree. Although this method is not unique, Boet’s discipline of not allowing a weaker link in the pedigree is distinctive. Thus, the family tree of a fine Blue hen (Lot 46) was graced with a blend of the best genetic material money can buy.

Starting from the top down, the sire of Lot 46 is a cross-breed from the Houben line on its sire side, which comprises many superstars. Its dam is bred from a son of Jules, which bred 20 winners. The dam of the son of Jules is Blondie, who did well for Boet over long distances.

The son of Jules was mated to a daughter of Kleine Didi, which is also an Ace achiever over long distances. The dam of Lot 46 is also a cross-breed. Its sire is a super breeder obtained from Campbell Strange. It was mated to a daughter of Cosmos from the Houbens, which bred famous pigeons for Bloemfontein attorney Nico Dreyer.

Contact the auction organiser Koos Fourie on 051 522 6885.

Email Thomas Smit on [email protected] or call 011 680 4778.