The long distance is one of the most popular flight categories for pigeon fanciers across the country. Precisely for this reason, the trophies won in these distance categories are a reason for great joy for the fanciers who, this season, managed to get on the national podiums.

2023649-2021 – Cosmin Olteanu

At the end of the 2022 season, the 1st national place of the Long distance Yearlings category was occupied by the young hen with the series 2023649-2021, which belongs to the famous Cosmin Olteanu, from Urlați, Prahova county. She finished the norm with 5.71 penalty points and 1,780 ranked kilometers. The father of the national champion is a good brother to “484”, the Olympic hen in the Middls distance Old birds category, and her mother is a 100% Marcel Wouters bird. The method by which the pigeons were trained this season was the widow, and the champion 2023649-2021 had the cock stopped at home in order to motivate her. From the first three stages of the Long Distance, the hen finished her norm in this category, a norm that propelled her to the 1st national place. “This season was a difficult one, due to changes in the flight direction, but in the end, the valuable pigeons were able to achieve very good results. National trophies are always a reason for great joy, and they clearly reflect the value of the birds, as well as the certainty that the things we do are good. This wonderful hen also takes the 1st place in the national Gold Club”, reported Ciprian Mănescu, manager of the loft.

Irinel Popa

The national vice-champion of the Long distance Yearlings category is Irinel Popa, from Bârsănești, Bacău county, with the hen 2015666-2021, who managed to finish this norm with 5.87 points in the 1,861 kilometers he had to cover in the three races . “The hen 2nd place national Long distance Yearlings 2022 is a superb one, who comes from a family of very good pigeons. Her father is a cock bred by me, from a cock purchased directly from Belgium, from fancier Peeters Fabienne. The mother of the champion is also reproduced in my breeding loft, from an original Drapa hen, being a granddaughter of the famous «Pokerface» and a cock by Etienne Devos. The flight method used this year was natural. For two stages she was engaged on eggs, and on the third stage she left on small chicks, occupying the 1st place on the launch. The joy he brought me through this arrival, for me, was immense. I mention that the hen was ringed with a Gold ring, and in this category she ranks 2nd nationally. The 2022 season was a very successful one for me and I am proud of the work done and the quality of the birds. However, let’s not forget the health of the pigeons, which is very important during the season”, told us the fancier from Bacau.

Marius Paraschiv and Petrică Muscalu

The team Paraschiv M + Muscalu P, from the town of Gherăseni, Buzău county, formed by pigeon fanciers Marius Paraschiv and Petrică Muscalu, wins the “bronze” in the Long distance Yearlings category, with the hen 1273115-2021. In the three Long Distance stages, the bird accumulated a score of 8.43 penalty points and covered 2,007 kilometers. “The father of our champion is the hen with the series 741815-2020, the grandson of “190”, from Stănescu + Dobre, from the Capital, and is a half-brother to the 1st, 8th and 9th national Middle distance Old birds in the U.C.P.R., in the 2020 season. His mother 1273115-2021 is 551591-2020, original pigeon from Freddy Vandenheede. The cock with the series 1273115-2021 is also related to the 1st place in the County Long distance Yearlings this season. Our club has the longest distances in the county, but quality pigeons make the difference. Our method of play this season was the widowhood”, declared Petrică Muscalu.

Fairytale season for fancier Adrian Mândricel

0862538 – Viking – Adrian Mândricel

The Long distance Old birds category was clearly dominated by the pigeons of Adrian Mândricel, from Baba Ana, Prahova county, birds that were able to set a national scoring record in this category. This season, Mândricel teamed up with Cornel Isăcilă, who took care of all the training of the pigeons in the flight group during the season of races with old birds. Together, the two friends have achieved notable performances, and in this category they are ranked 1st and 2nd nationally by the famous cock «Viking», series 0862538-2020, and the hen «Xena», with series 0862421-2020. In the first three End stages, “Viking” was able to set the new national record, with 0.71 penalty points in the 1,809 kilometers he had to cover. As for origins, his father comes from a cock by Marcel Cadariu (Stichelbaut & Desmet Mathij) and his mother is original Raymund Hermes. On the other hand, «Xena», who became national vice-champion in the Long Distance old birds with 1,809 kilometers and 1.82 penalty points, has both original parents Raymund Hermes. The method of play by which they were trained was natural. In-season training consisted of flights around the loft, morning and evening, of approximately 45-50 minutes, and once or twice between stages personal car training, from the distance of 80 kilometers. “This is the best season since I’ve been pigeon-holing, and these are the first national results achieved. The trophies won are a huge joy for us and, at the same time, they represent a great honor”, concluded Adrian Mândricel.

0263395-2020 Cristian Profir

Cristian Profir, from Bacău, is the happy winner of the 3rd national place this season. His hen, with the series 0263395-2020, completed the norm with a score of 4.23 penalty points in the 1,823 ranked kilometers, thus succeeding in awarding her the category “bronze” at Long distance Old birds 2022. “My queen consists of 10 pairs of pigeons, two pairs for the Long Distance and the rest for the Marathon, the marathon being the category I am targeting in the future. Pigeons are flown to widowhood, both cock and hen. Most raise at least one young in the spring, after which they are widowed and remain so until the last stage of the competition. When one of the runners achieves a representative result in two stages, the partner stays at home to provide the necessary motivation. I try to prepare the pigeons physically and I am careful nutritionally, depending on the flying conditions they will have in the next race. I always check the weather before the stages. I do the recovery with electrolytes and quality probiotics. The treatments administered are only on the recommendation of Dr. Sonia Caragea and I try to keep them to a minimum. I don’t do anything preventive, I only vaccinate for paramyxovirosis. Training in the spring is around the loft, and when the pigeons manage to fly without a flag for 30 minutes, routine training with the personal car begins. The year 2022 brings me the greatest joy in terms of pigeon fancier, managing to get on the national podium. In the pedigree of the champion hen we find well-known names from Holland and Belgium, such as G&B Verkerk, Surinx-Pletsers, Louise Vandevorst and Michel Van Lint. The hen was flown as a widow, with the pair always waiting for her at home”, explained Cristian Profir.

The Fanciers category trophy arrives in Vrancea

Cristinel Chelaru

The national 1st place Fanciers Long distance is won by Cristinel Chelaru, from Păunești, Vrancea county, with a score of 43.16 penalty points. “As a method of flight I practice the widow with both sexes, from the beginning of the season to the end. I start the season with a batch of around 100 pigeons, the ones that don’t do top results are removed from the batch for the next year, and I compact the team with that year’s chicks. The basis of my loft is a hen of Thibaut Boons, purchased from Pipa, competed in Belgium, where she achieved notable results (seven times in the top ten provincially). She is the daughter of two Olympic pigeons in the Large Middle Distance category, pigeons with Pross Rossens birds behind them. This hen is the mother of many pigeons in my breeding loft, which managed to take a leading place at every Long Distance stage this season and mother of several racers with top national standards such as the cock series 2003793-2020 – 2nd national place Long Distance Maturi, the cock 493782-2020 – 12th place national Long distance Ace, Old birds or the hen 403923-2019, which obtained the 13th place national Long distance 3 years rankings. Another cock dear to me has the series 493780-2020, a pigeon that this year also managed to take the national podium, 3rd place national Long distance Ace 2 years rankings, he is also a team pigeon, arriving three times in the first platoon. The latter is a son of a cock from my good friend Florin Heres from Bacău, paired with a Dutch hen by Arie Dirjkstra. The paternal grandmother of 493780-2020 is also 3rd national Long distance Ace 2 years rankings in 2016, competed by Florin Heres. Another good brother with 493780-2020 also manages a 1st place on the launch this year, at a stage of Chelm – 640 kilometers. I mention that the pigeon season was a dream season for me, managing to keep the pigeons in top form from the first stage to the last, thus winning 1st place in all five long distance stages in the Fanciers category and 4 times 1st place in pigeons category, which propelled me to the 1st place in the national Long distance Fanciers category. I am absolutely convinced that the successful pigeon sport mainly revolves around the good pigeon, in a good fancier, in the hands of a fine and observant fancier”, stated Cristinel Chelaru.

The same Adrian Mândricel, from Prahova, is also the national vice-champion of the Long distance Fanciers category, with 91.69 points. He engaged a batch of 41 pigeons at the first stage. The main actors in winning the team “silver” are the cock “Viking”, the national 1st place Long distance Old birds, and the hen “Xena”, who is national vice-champion in the same category.

Eugen Stoica

Eugen Stoica from Felnac, Arad county, managed to climb to the third step of the national podium in the Long distance Fanciers category, with a score of 183.51 points. “One of the birds that helped me a lot to achieve this result is the hen with the series 9001876-2018, which, at the end of the season, obtained the title of national champion Long distance 3 years rankings. Another team pigeon is the provincial champion in the Long distance Eold birs category, having the series 2001853-2020. He climbed to the 5th place national Long distance 2 years rankings and the 6th place national long distance category 2022. The third team pigeon is the provincial champion in the Long distance Ace 2 years rankings category, the cock with the series 1001853-2019, which is also the 4th place national Long distance 3 years rankings and 10th place national Long distance ace 2 years rankings. These three pigeons are half-siblings, their mother being a Koopman hen. My flight method, by which I prepared my lot, was the widowhood. I started the competition season with 64 pigeons. It was a difficult flying season, but in the end we got six national trophies. I consider that these trophies are a reward for the work done by both me and my pigeons”, Eugen Stoica, from Arad, revealed to us.