We continue our efforts to promote racing pigeons and racing pigeon fanciers on the national podium in the 2021 season and today we address the first of the distance categories, the Long distance category, the section dedicated to mature pigeons. Here we encounter a completely new situation, namely the fact that both the champion and the vice-champion of the category come from the same pigeon association. At the same time, the 3rd place nationally is occupied by a pigeon fancier who demonstrates that dreams can come true and that this sport rewards those who have the courage not to give up.

At least in recent years, the Olt Pigeon Association has been constantly supplying national champions in various competition categories. But, perhaps even more so, in the 2021 season, the pigeon fanciers from Oltenia demonstrate their abilities, so we find them on the national podium in almost all categories. This is also the case of the Long distance old birds category, where Cătălin Nițu ranks 1st nationally, closely followed by Cristian Lemnaru. As it is known, both are basic pigeon fanciers of Olt, with enough national trophies in their palmares. Eugen Silivestru from the Ialomiţa County Association is the third pigeon fancier to pick up a national trophy at Long distance Old birds, completing the national podium, although he comes from an association with a small number of pigeons and pigeon fanciers.

Cătălin Nițu (OT), again on the national podium

Although it has been a few seasons since his last appearance on the national podium, Cătălin Nițu returns resonantly in the 2021 season in the forefront of national columbophilia, winning one of the most coveted categories. He won the 1st place in the National Long distance old birds 2021, with only 2.88 penalty points, after the cock RO-18-9006751 ranked very well in three of the long distance stages in which he was engaged. In two of these competitions, he obtained the second place on the entire launch, at a distance of 660 km, from 4,731 pigeons, respectively 2,460 pigeons. He also performed very well in the first stage of the season, where he ranked 18th out of 10,905 pigeons. “As origins, he comes from the very good fliers of Romulus Matei. He has competed well so far, as a yearling achieving the Long distance norm, and at the age of two he achieved the norm for Long distance Ace. The pigeons competed as widows all season. I separated them two weeks before the first short distance race and they stayed that way until the end of the season. I used a mix of food made from several varieties from Versele Laga, Vanrobaeys and Beyers, and for recovery I used electrolytes, to which I added honey. After the first long distance race, I started to train them by car, of about 50 km, at which, depending on the case, they could be seen, but this at the end of the season. For example, the champion saw his hen before the fourth fund and did not come great “, Cătălin Nițu detailed.

Cristian Lemnaru (OT), national vice-champion of Long distance old birds 2021

Not only the 1st national place, but also the 3rd national place is won by a cock. But, between the two, the hen RO-18-0538007 of the well-known pigeon fancier Cristian Lemnaru managed to be in top 3. She obtained a coefficient of 3.96 penalty points and we can say that she competed “shoulder to shoulder” with the champion of Cătălin Nițu. For example, in the same Mykolaiv competition on July 24, in which 2,460 pigeons participated and in which Cătălin Nițu’s cock took second place at the launch, Cristian Lemnaru’s vice-champion was the one who occupied the first position in the race. Basically, this was the stage with which he ended the norm, because before this competition he had ranked 5th out of 8,103 pigeons and 11 out of 3,751 pigeons and already had a very good score. “The hen is a good sister to the cock who last year won the 2nd place in the national category in the H category and a mother to the sister with this year’s vice-champion in the General Mature category. On her father’s side is a great-granddaughter of Yvan, the famous pigeon of the Herbots family, and the hen’s mother is reproduced from a grandson of Hary, the pigeon of Jan Hooymans, and Dolce Vita, my hen with two national cups won. She competed in widowhood after breeding and raising a chick and laying a second set of eggs. That means I separated the pigeons two weeks before the first long distance. I use Versela Laga food, Gerry, Energy and Superstar mixes and a training and recovery program based on Rohnfried supplements. Between stages I did a 50 km training by car, at which the widows did not meet. However, I stopped the cock at home after the second long distance race. I want to add that he is part of a very good pigeon family, his mother breeding me three national top 3 pigeons in two years, with two different cocks “, explained Cristian Lemnaru. We also remind you that the same hen ranks 3rd nationally in the category of the 2021 Long distance Palmares.

Eugen Silivestu (Ilfov) wins a national cup from one of the smallest associations in the country

Because there are just few active fanciers in the county, the management of the Ialomița Pigeon Association decided that in the 2021 season the long distance stages will take place in protocol with the Constanța and Călărași Associations. Under these conditions, 199 pigeon fanciers and 5,337 pigeons took part in the first long distance competition, figures that “presented” more confidence for the participants. This is also the case of Eugen Silivestru, from Ialomița, who obtained in the 2021 season the 3rd place in the national Long distance old birds. Right from the first long distance competition, which we mentioned above, the pigeons of the Ialomita pigeon fancier did very well, winning the first two places on the launch. However, the real performance started to build with the second long distance race, when the cock RO-19-0033755 entered the “scene”. Ranking the first race, but with a few more penalty points, for this pigeon followed two other stages drawn in indigo: the 1st place out of 3,497 pigeons and the 1st place out of 1,530 pigeons. All three races had a distance of 606 km, and the total coefficient obtained by this cock is 5.25 penalty points. “I mainly compete for the long distance and marathon and in racing pigeons activity I am helped by two more friends, Vasile Nedelcu and Aurel Boboc. My pigeons come mostly from Ion Predoi, with infusions from Gica Stanca and Freialdenhofen pigeons. We had a batch of 60 pigeons for this season, which, two weeks before the first long distance race, started the widowhood program. I use a lot of local seeds for feeding, to which I add some mixtures from Versele Laga, especially those that contain several small seeds. Between the basic stages, they also received a treatment, trichomoniasis or against respiratory problems, where I used medicines made in Romania. Also between races I took them to a 70 km training session, by car. As origins, the cock’s mother is reproduced from a cross of pigeons from Ion Predoi and Vasile Nedelcu, and his father is a very good flier, coming from Ninel Sandu “, said Eugen Silivestru.

Beyond all these, Eugen Silivestru’s result is an example that performance can be done in almost any condition.