I wrote recently that I intended to write an article about the hens of Luc and Hilde Sioen and while preparing a ‘Descendant Chart’ as a guide, I realized that I can add nothing to the Luc and Hilde Sioen history, methods and bloodlines than has already been translated in the last few years and published in De Duif.

We are fortunate that we published these super reports on our own website in the ‘Duif Chronicles Online’ section and I will include the links below to take you straight to the English Language articles.

What a story it is. What fanciers they are. And what we can learn from a fancier from generations of fanciers in West Flanders the cradle of the famous long distance races of Belgium and home to the most famous names in the history of the Pigeon Sport.

If you can spare a few hours to read through the articles and maybe re read them over again,  I am sure you will agree that Luc and later Hilde are true world class fanciers that practice this hobby because of the sheer joy and love of it.

Starting from Luc’s fathers days through Luc’s early years as Pol Bostijn’s ‘Loft Boy’ through the Marathon race ambitions with Deng fu Chen to the up to date breathtaking results with a team of mainly hens of the highest caliber, motivated to the utmost and prepared to absolute perfection to produce a whole series of devastating results in the toughest long distance competition in the entire Pigeon Sport World , producing generation after generation of super athletes of the highest performances at  not only Provincial but National level.

Luc and Hilde are moving house right now and had a removal sale last Autumn making almost 3 million Euro for 140 Lots but they retained a small number of hand selected individuals from their base birds that are from a basic bloodline and as you will read they are of approx 75% Willem de Bruijn lines through the original Heremans Ceusters Rossi,Spinneke and Kleine Blauwe and 25% Jan and Rik Hermans trough their original Witpen Dondersdeen and Jaarling Dondersdeen lines direct from the original Kannibaal of Dirk Van Dyke.

Legendry Middle Distance Antwerp Blood raced and severely selected by Willem de Bruijn and Rik Hermans and subsequently by Luc and Hilde week after week only on results, to produce a longer distance bird up to 500 miles in West Flanders with additional Antwerp speed bred in and selected in the important races that count for over twenty years.

Having taken a one year ‘Sabatical’, the good news is the new lofts are almost built , the license has been obtained from the Belgian Authorities to keep ‘livestock’! and  when we speak about legendry bloodlines I must also add that my memories are clear of the West Flanders legends of the sixties and seventies like Van Hee, Bostijn, Van Bruane, Hector Debou, Cattryse /Beuaselink and many more and I feel for sure that Luc Sioen with the extra benefit of Hilde’s natural way around the birds will enter this same level of legendry status.

Sometimes we do not or can not see it, but when you read Luc’s history from the beginning I am sure you will also see that he is one of the individuals through his way with the birds and his absolute love of the sport and between them both an absolute natural ability to produce what we all dream of he will be a legend not only now but for many years to come.

 

https://www.syndicatelofts.com/luc-sioen-hilde-vanoverschelde-moorslede-belgium-1st-2nd-4th-5th-6th-and-7th-national-la-souterraine-i-ii-in-2015/

https://www.syndicatelofts.com/luc-sioen-hilde-vanoverschelde-moorslede-belgium-1st-2nd-4th-5th-6th-and-7th-national-la-souterraine-i-ii-in-2015-2/

https://www.syndicatelofts.com/luc-hilde-sioen-1st-national-poitiers-against-14094-yearlings/

https://www.syndicatelofts.com/luc-hilde-sioen-fireworks-from-chateauroux-and-la-souterraine/

https://www.syndicatelofts.com/luc-and-hilde-sioen-1-2-4-6-8th-provincial-montoire-west-flanders-3446-birds/

Its almost all about the hens…