A new category that we are analyzing is the Marathon ace Yearlings, whose winners from the 2021 season we present to you in today’s article. Until we actually reach the occupants of the first three national positions, implicitly the winners of the trophies at stake, we specify that last season 959 norms were achieved, a record from the establishment of the category. At the same time, both the champion of the category and the vice-champion come from the Buzău Pigeon Association. If we add to these results the 3rd place National Marathon Yearlings, plus the two national trophies won by Vasile Bratu, also from Buzau, we reach a total of five national marathon trophies won in a single season by Buzau fanciers, an impressive figure for a pigeon fancier association with 250 members.

The National Catalog of the Marathon ace Yearlings category, 2021 season, is opened by Bănică Tătăranu, national champion of the category with 20.44 penalty points. He is followed by his association colleague Ciprian Lefter, whose pigeon obtained a higher coefficient by only o,38 points. In third place we find Viorel Bulata, from Timiș, who completes the national podium with 22.83 penalty points. Therefore, we notice very small differences between the scores of the three pigeons on the podium.

The national champion is a cock

Bănică Tătăranu chose to participate in the marathon stages on the Poland route. Thus, he hired his pigeons at the three stages of the association, Bielsk, Terespol and Terespol National, competitions in which the young male RO-20-0747751 performed very well. He ran very well from the first stage of the marathon, Bielsk (853 km), where he took 47th place out of 6,966 pigeons. A second ranking followed, an equally good performance, obtained at the National Terespol competition (847 km), by occupying the 64th place out of 6,739 pigeons. From the two stages, the young cock had accumulated 16.25 penalty points, which gave him great chances to achieve the Marathon Ace norm with a very good score. But he still needed at least an equally good ranking, which came with the last marathon competition of the season. The launch for this stage was also made from Terespol (812 km), and the young cock obtained the 16th place out of 3,823 pigeons. Thus, he finished the norm with 20.44 penalty points, a coefficient with which he obtained the trophy of national champion of the category. “I have been competing since 2015 and in recent years I have started to participate more in the marathon stages. The flight group differs every year, ie I keep between 80 and 100 pigeons, which I compete using the natural method. This cock, who has mostly Kipp origins, competed only on the eggs. During the season, the pigeons received a marathon food produced in our country. I did the workouts according to the time, taking them by car to 50-60 km. I have to say I don’t have much time for pigeons. Because of this, they compete naturally and quite hard, because I don’t have time to take very good care of them “, said Bănică Tătăranu.

The Lefter brothers take second place

In second place we find Ciprian Lefter, but, in reality, we are talking about the brothers Ciprian and Daniel Lefter, who compete from the same loft, with the same clock, but with two titles. In the 2020 season, the two shared their group of pigeons, Ciprian competing with the young and Daniel with the old birds. Although there are two fanciers, the one who takes care and maintenance of the pigeons is entirely Daniel Lefter, who, in turn, can only reach the pigeons on weekends and very rarely during the week. However, their efforts were fully rewarded by the hen RO-20-0744335, national vice-champion for Marathon ace Yearlings, with 20.82 penalty points. She was engaged at the same stages as Bănică Tătăranu’s champion, finishing 16th at the Terspol stage, 58th at Bielsk and 63rd at the National Terespol. “We competed in the same formula until 2010, when I left the country. I came back in 2019 and started competing again with my title, and in 2020, at the suggestion of my brother, I decided to compete for two titles, in his name the youngsters were competing, and for me, the old birds. But my brother is gone and I’m in charge of the pigeons. I don’t spend a lot of time with them either, because I work in Bucharest, and I only get to them on weekends. My wife and father take care of the rest of the day. I leave them in writing what to give them, sometimes I prepare their food during the day with various supplements on it, especially yeast, and in season I sometimes go out at night to take them to some workouts. The pigeons are kept apart from October to April, then they are mated and some of them even raise chicks. Widows play in the country, and after the first long distance race they go back to natural. The food I use is very good, so that the pigeons are as prepared as possible. It is produced by Ornistore, and sometimes I add a mixture of Beyers, cheese and other supplements, also for preparation. On the weekends when I get to them, before the marathons, I administer RO200, Tollyamin and brewer’s yeast, although the basketing will be in a few days. It is difficult, but not impossible. This hen is a special pigeon, very calm and attached to me, I can say. It comes from a young birds exchange between us and our friend George Cretu, who competes at UCPR “, explained Daniel Lefter.

Viorel Bulata, wins the third place, with the most ranked kilometers

Both Nuremberg, the first marathon stage of the Western Province, and Berlin National were very difficult competitions, with speeds of 800 and 900 m / min, respectively Stendal Național was not a very accessible stage either, but, nevertheless, the young cock RO-20-0384319 competed by Viorel Bulata, from the Timiș Association, finished the whole season well. He competed in all three stages. In Nuremberg, it ranked 4th in the county, out of 6,589 pigeons. He obtained the same place at Stendal Național (1,029 km), but out of 793 pigeons, also in the county, while in Berlin Național (1,029 km) he took the 32nd place out of 1,863 pigeons, also in the county ranking. In total, he obtained 22.83 penalty points and ranked 3rd National, but being the pigeon with the longest stages among those on the national podium. At the same time, the cock is also the provincial champion in the Marathon yeralings category, provincial vice-champion in the Grand prix Marathon yearlings and triple champion of Timiș County. “I want to start by saying that he is the only 2020 youngster reproduced from that pair from breeding loft, a cock from the Mustache Family and a hen from the pigeons that competed very well, from a friend from Caras. At first I didn’t even want to ring it. As a young bird he competed normally, with not . He was also engaged in the long distance competition in the chicken championship, and as a yarling, he did not stand out until the first race. But when the marathon stages came, things changed radically.
He was always the first to arrive at my loft, getting very good rankings, although the stages were very long and very difficult. The pigeons competed naturally for the long distance races. This stage and the first marathon were competed in widowhood, and the last two marathons competed in the natural, again. For feeding we use Hungarian food, a dietary mixture and one for preparation, but we feed the pigeons according to the situation. I don’t have a specific schedule. I also take them to trainings between the marathon stages, about one or two trainings of 60 km ”, detailed Viorel Bulata.