Gaby VANDENABEELE Gaby VANDENABEELE TOTAL AUCTION – www.pipa.be TOTAL AUCTION ORGANISED BY PIPA TOTAL Start: 29 October / End: 10-11-12 November 2018 ‘Rudy’ BE06-3008003 ‘New Bliksem’ BE13-3056024 ‘‘Without Gaby and Bliksem, I would have never had Harry” JAN HOOYMANS GABY VANDENABEELE TOTAL AUCTION PIPA 2018 Index Preface Nikolaas 2 Breeding scheme 4 Life story Gaby 6 Rudy 24 New Bliksem 26 Super Romeo 32 More performing children of Rudy 40 Hyper Exclusive Rudy Pairings 42 More children Rudy 46 Diego 54 Royal Blue 56 Mr. Magic 64 Benji 68 Neptunus 74 More topracers & topbreeders 84 Promising yearling racers 89 References Gaby Vandenabeele 94 Eentveldstraat 18, 9910 Knesselare (BE) Phone: +32 93743887 E-mail: [email protected] | www.pipa.be 1 GABY VANDENABEELE TOTAL AUCTION PIPA 2018 THE END OF AN ERA I received a phone call from Gaby in the beginning of May, and I was asked to come over as quickly as possible. At the time, I had no idea what this would be about. Thomas and I went to Dentergem the next day, where we were told that Gaby’s doctor had urged him to stop keeping pigeons. Christine was there as well, and she confirmed that Gaby had to make a really tough decision, in order to avoid any more strain on his lungs. It was an emotional conversation with Gaby, Christine Gaby is a man of his word: when he makes a decision, and Ilse. Thomas and I were just listening, or at least he is not likely to change his mind. His decision to end we were trying, because it was an unsettling moment. his career is final. Not a single fertile pigeon will be We did not fully realise the impact of that phone kept in Dentergem. Only those few pigeons that are no call on 3rd of May, and I still do not realise it today, longer fertile and that are very dear to him, will get to 24th of July 2018, as I am writing this: the greatest spend their days in Dentergem. legend of pigeon racing in Belgium, whose pigeons have left their mark across the globe, will no longer Gaby is a man of few words but with a clear vision. be keeping pigeons. It feels as if Messi would We really appreciate the fact that he made the first step: suddenly decide to end his career, or Pele, the he asked us to offer his entire life’s work to the world, Nikolaas Gyselbrecht, CEO PIPA greatest of all times. confident that this is the best way to end his career. 2 GABY VANDENABEELE TOTAL AUCTION PIPA 2018 During that first conversation we quickly understood When my brother joined the project, selecting the best that he had not taken this decision lightly – it was moti- pigeons for our online auctions continued to be our vated by both reason and emotion. Even though Gaby main priority. We have been organising numerous will always be very passionate about pigeon racing, auctions over the years, we have sold some fantastic his doctor has made it clear to him that if he were to birds, and new records were set along the way, although continue racing, keeping or this was never really a goal as such. breeding pigeons, this would Trying to discover exclusive pigeons have negative consequences will always be our true passion. for his health. ”This event will no doubt be our This event will no doubt be our most We talked about the emotions special auction ever, and the most that he felt when making this most special special auction in the history of our decision, about the pigeons sport. This is the life’s work of a man that he feels very attached auction ever” who has dramatically changed the Nikolaas Gyselbrecht, Gaby Vandenabeele and Thomas to, and we also discussed the outlook of our sport, like no one Gyselbrecht after the agreement of the total auction. NIKOLAAS GYSELBRECHT practical side of things. He else has ever done before him. wants everything to be perfect- ly organised, down to the finest Gaby, we are proud that we can reali- details. This really typifies Gaby se this project for you. We genuinely as a person. hope that it will be a major success, because this will be a special moment, and not only for us. To you, this will PIPA once started off as a pigeon newspaper. After a mark the end of your life’s work. few years, we also started selling pigeons, and I quickly understood that special birds were my main passion; We wish you a good, happy and long life after your Nikolaas Gyselbrecht, exclusive pigeons that are well above average, pigeons pigeon racing career, and a joyful retirement. We wish CEO & Founder of PIPA the world looks up to. you all the best! 3 GABY VANDENABEELE TOTAL AUCTION PIPA 2018 & ‘Goed jong ‘76’ ‘Flicka’ & ‘Kleinen’ BE76-3052115 ‘Wittenbuik’ BE87-3008002 BE81-3238253 ‘Moriska’ & BE88-3206112 & ‘Georgette’ BE85-3049648 & BE86-3158708 ‘Prinsesje’ BE88-3206173 ‘Kolonel’ & ‘Rita’ BE92-3233008 BE93-3354340 ‘Pipo Wittenbuik’ BE94-3237367 & ‘Patsy’ BE99-4393724 ‘Brother Kolonel’ ‘Condor Bliksem’ BE96-3156158 ‘Tsunami’ BE04-3231000 ‘Dolores’ BE04-3230937 ‘Manuela’ BE95-3332945 ‘Kaatje’ & BE02-3003668 & BE00-3195099 & ‘Royal Blue’ & ‘Mona’ ‘Bliksem’ BE05-3006583 BE04-3069721 ‘Helena’ ‘Frieda’ BE06-3008013 & BE98-3158062 ‘Diego’ BE99-3103770 BE07-30083470 & ‘Kaatje’ BE00-3195099 ‘De Kapoen’ & ‘Gloria’ ‘Lisa’ & ‘Topstar’ BE12-3162831 BE11-4291462 BE04-3069722 BE03-4343129 ‘Kiana’ & ‘Rudy’ BE09-3095175 BE06-3008003 ‘Prinses Gloria’ & ‘New Bliksem’ BE13-4186089 BE13-3056024 40 years of breeding in 1 layout ‘Prins Bliksem’ ‘Glorious Bliksem’ BE14-3053860 BE14-3053859 4 GABY VANDENABEELE TOTAL AUCTION PIPA 2018 ‘Picanol’ ‘The Lion King’ BE82-3258240 BE09-3095111 ‘Fideel’ ‘De Stier’ BE83-3105147 BE89-3119028 ‘Spy’ BE09-3095184 ‘Turbo’ BE90-3119128 ‘Goliath’ & ‘Sandrine’ BE09-3095224 BE07-3199994 ‘Wolfgang’ & ‘Ballerina’ ‘Fyther’ BE91-3204047 BE95-3211364 ‘Jonge Bliksem’ & ‘Dirkje’ BE11-4291405 BE01-3266512 NL05-1936558 ‘Condor’ ‘Neptunus’ & ‘Daughter Champion’ ‘De Kapoen’ & ‘Gloria’ BE97-3157176 BE99-3199708 BE07-4361085 BE12-3162831 BE11-4291462 & ‘Goed Jong’ BE04-3001535 ‘Blauwe Duivin’ & ‘Blauwe Kweker’ ‘Cees’ & ‘Henriette’ ‘Prinses Gloria’ BE05-3006565 BE03-2183842 BE13-4186089 NL07-2007622 NL08-1730730 & ‘Nicky’ BE09-4280727 ‘Harry’ ‘Dochter Cees’ NL07-2007621 NL09-1375328 ‘Super Romeo’ & ‘Amalia’ & = in auction BE12-3088052 BE10-9039333 ‘Broer Ballon’ ‘Benji’ BE10-2024097 BE12-3088009 ‘King of Aces’ BE14-3067004 Beyond these, there are many more fabulous pigeons that can be added, and interconnections that can be made between the main pigeons on the Vandenabeele lofts to this day. In this layout, we have listed the most important ones. 5 GABY VANDENABEELE TOTAL AUCTION PIPA 2018 Gaby VANDENABEELESIMPLY THE BEST OF THE BEST Can you name a pigeon strain that has been more successful in international races ranging from 400 to 800km than the Gaby Vandenabeele family? Take it from us, there is no such breed. No other pigeon family has even come close to the pigeon family of the grandmaster from Dentergem. No other loft across the globe has bred more When Gaby and his wife Christine moved to champions than the noble Vandenabeele strain. their current home in the Wontergemstraat in And their exceptional race-winning abilities have Dentergem in 1979, no one would have guessed been repeatedly passed on to future genera- that this would be the starting point for the most tions. That is why this breed is in a league of fantastic success story in pigeon racing. The first its own. It also explains why the Vandenabeele pigeons to stay in Gaby’s loft unsurprisingly came pigeons are in such demand. from his father Gentiel, himself a middle distance champion in West Flanders back in the day. Gen- 1976: The start of a success story tiel’s pigeon breed was mainly centered around Gaby’s career in pigeon racing has been nothing pigeons of Valère Desmet-Matthijs (Nokere), Pol short of impressive; so impressive in fact that it Bostijn (Moorslede) and Lucien Verstraete (Dein- is hard to put into words. His achievements as a ze), and they would prove an excellent starting fancier have been praised by the international point for Gaby as well. The first three bloodlines press, and we reckon pretty much everyone is to play a prominent role in Gaby’s loft are stock now familiar with his palmares. breeders Kleinen, Bijter and Groten. The world’s most successful pigeon strain 6 GABY VANDENABEELE TOTAL AUCTION PIPA 2018 There was one pigeon that played a particularly impor- distance and the one day long distance (400-800km). tant role in this success journey: Kleinen BE81-3238253. Gaby had already started making a few investments but His breeding achievements still show in pigeon races it soon turned out that his own pigeons were perfor- today, now more than 37 years later. In fact, all of Gaby’s ming a lot better than the newly obtained long distance international champions are related to him, including pigeons. He promptly decided to compete in the long Wittenbuik, Bliksem, Rudy and the new generation. They distance with his own pigeon breed and the bloodline of turned Gaby Vandenabeele into a grandmaster, and into stock breeder Kleinen in particular. His team performed one of our sport’s great heroes! even better than before, adding more prestigious results to their already long list of achievements. The palmares of a superstar 7 x 1st National, 100 x 1st Provincial in 1988-2018 There is a saying that goes: “every disadvantage has its advantage”. Gaby did not realise it at the time but it Gaby got involved in pigeon racing at a very young age, was thanks to his own opponents that the Vandenabee- in the lofts of his father Gentiel, a proficient fancier with le pigeons were able to develop into an internationally a top quality breed.