The ambition, the tenacity, the iron will, the high quality pigeons and their exemplary care, represent the pigeon fanciers of Cristian Ştefănescu from Vrancea, who helped him to obtain the 8th place National Gold Club with the hen having series 2003667-2020. The hen’s father is a 100% Gino Clicque pigeon, being bred from two pigeons purchased from Belgium. This pigeon, in addition to its very good origins, was introduced to the breeding loft with great confidence due to its extraordinary physical qualities. The champion’s mother comes from the famous Belgian breeder Andree Roodhoft, being the granddaughter of the super breeder “Tom”.

Cristian Stefănescu has been competing with pigeons since 2012 and started right in pigeon fancier, obtaining good results at national level right from the first season: 13th place national Long distance yearlings 2012, 8th place national Long distance ace yearlings 2014, 15th place national and 33rd place national Long distance ace yearlings 2019, 6th place national Long distance yearlings 2020, 14th place National Long distance old birds 2020, 18th place national Long distance ace yearlings 2020, 12th place National Long distance old birds 2020, 10th place National Long distance Fanciers palmares 2020, 8th place national Gold Long distance 2021. At the provincial level, the places occupied are the following: 9th and 15th provincial place Long distance ace 2019, 3rd place provincial Long distance yearlings 2020, 2nd place provincial Long distance old birds 2020, 6th place provincial Long distance ace yearlings 2020, 4th place provincial Long distance fanciers 2020, 5th place provincial Long distance Palmares 2020, 3rd place provincial Long distance Palmares Crescători 2020, 2nd place provincial Long distance Palmares 3 years 2020, 5th place provincial Long distance fanciers Palmaresc 3 years in 2020. There were many places on the podium in the categories Long distance yearlings, Long distance old birds, Long distance ace yearlings, Long distance ace old birds, Long distance fanciers, Long distance fanciers Palmares. From the obtained results it is clear how much the pigeon fancier in the Long distance and Long distance ace categories is in love. The pigeons are competed with total widowhood method, and the pigeon care products are purchased from Herbots, following this maintenance scheme all season long.

“In 2020, all the young birds were ringed with Gold rings”

Asked about the idea of the U.F.C.R. to establish the Gold Club, the pigeon fancier emphasized that the prizes at stake are a good motivating element, adding that the high level of fairness of the competition is to be appreciated: “Pigeon fancier activity in Romania is on the rise Gold seems to me a very good initiative, as I am a big fan of the Long distance and Long distance ace categories. As for the Gold Club’s new rules, I’m a little skeptical. From my point of view, I don’t think that the number of rings sold on each association could indicate the real sporting value of the pigeon, but it’s just a personal opinion. I started to buy 10 Gold rings in 2018, in 2019 I also had a number of 10 Gold rings, but in 2020, on the advice of a colleague, I bought 50 Gold rings, I ringed all my young birds with them, proving to be auspicious. I consider this competition to be very well organized and fair, and the prizes consisting of money or a trophy are a good motivating element”.

Arriving late and full of oil, the champion hen succeeds one last super performance

Winning the Gold Award nationwide was not without its emotions and adventures. The season started well for Cristian Ştefănescu, his champion hen did her job as she knew best, ranking stage after stage and getting good scores every time. But, in order for everything to remain an unforgettable story for Cristian, before the last long distance stage, Kalinca 690 km, the hen was engaged in another preparatory stage, from where she returns home only five days before basketing for the decisive race and full of oil. Due to the skill and good relationship that the pigeon fancier manages to create with his pigeons, the bird was quickly recovered both physically and mentally, as evidenced by the result obtained at the last stage of the flight plan: 18th place out of 3261 pigeons, engaged by pigeon fanciers from 5 counties, and the 4th place from 1550 pigeons in the zonal classification. With the help of the low penalty score from this race, the resident from Vrancea obtains his 8th national place and the 2nd county place within the Gold Club. An event with a happy ending, a beautiful pigeon story, which shows us how easily the winged champions overcome the difficult moments in their sporting life, how easily they can recover physically in such a short time, and the next time they enter the competition, as if completely reset, he fights again to win the competition as if nothing had happened just a few days before.