It is at his home in Ailly-le-Haut-Clocher that this pigeon fancier who has been in the news all summer welcomes us. Winner of the 2021 Barcelona international competition in the female category with the aptly named “Lady Barcelona”, Philippe has been able to put things right, as he likes to say, to start again on a good footing and reach the Holy Grail.
Simple, “without fuss”, he started pigeon racing almost only for the atmosphere, “the good camaraderie and “a certain state of mind” he explains when he looks back on his beginnings. He started in tandem with his brother and already won some nice prizes at the nationals. But we won’t dwell on this past, however glorious it may be. As a footballer and an active member of the community (Philippe was a trainer, among other things), he decided in 2015 to give up football and to devote more time to pigeons, giving himself the means to succeed, especially in the international races. However, we can say that these years of football have allowed him to keep a certain fighting spirit for competition, a sporting spirit and a coach’s soul.
For the origins, some old stocks of the loft were kept but Philippe wanted to cleanse everything and started to look for the best pigeons. For the long-distance, the pigeons of Jean Luc Fauqueux from Le Tréport are the base bredingstock. “I got the best from Jean Luc, the daughters of his best cocks, 50% of the first offspring were already prizewinners at Saint Vincent in 2019 as yearlings. Another introduction, the A.P Overwater (NL) “After I talked to him I realised that he played in a way that I liked, I had already played on nest in the past and I wanted to continue. Especially with the females. Without forgetting other big names in international pigeon racing such as Jelle a freindJellema with whom Philippe’s become a friend. “He was one of the first to congratulate me on my victory in Barcelona, which is always a pleasure.”
Because of his geographical position and knowing that he needed pigeons able to part from the mass to win top prizes, Philippe bought them from Paul and Alexandre Margris. The aim was to make a difference in the one-day internationals. In the loft, you can find the origins of the “St palois” 2nd European Ace pigeon on the internationals in 2018 or the descendants of the famous “Timoko”. More recently, investments have been made by Frédéric Lefebvre via the Pigeon-Master sale. “I have obtained some beautiful youngsters to race”.
During our visit, at the end of the moulting period, both sexes are together “feeding lightly and without the nests, there is no laying”. During the season the favourite play method of our champion is the natural play. And for each pigeon a specific programme is determined “I know it’s time-consuming, it takes a lot of time but it’s what I like to do”. The dates of the matings are made according to the competition and the most suitable position for each female. The nesting position sometimes puts the male at a disadvantage, but that doesn’t stop them from making prizes. “By playing naturally and with this method, a natural selection takes place and we manage to have good males too.
When Lady Barcelona was housed, she was brooding with another female. “You have to have an open mind,” explains Philippe, before adding, “Playing lesbians in a nesting position is twice as likely to win. They motivate each other and are at the same stage of motivation, which is not the case with a classic male/female pair.
Discover the Bazille method in the Pigeon-Master video
2019
- 1e et 11e as pigeon national femelles 2 concours du CIF
- 1 er championnat général femelles CIF
- 1e et 21e as pigeon Européenne femelles sur 2 internationaux 87034-16 et 130549-14
- 2e championnat de France + de 750km
- 3e as pigeon Français plus 750km
- 3e et 4e national femelles Pau
- 3e national femelles Perpignan
- 4e international femelles Perpignan
- 4e et 10e international femelles Pau
- 7e et 19e national femelles St Vincent
- 9e et 24e international femelles St Vincent
- 10e au World Best Pigeon catégorie Marathon
- 11e national Perpignan
- 13e international Perpignan
- 28e international Pau
- 73e international femelles Narbonne
- 76e national St Vincent
2020
- 1e Championnat de France + de 750 km
- 1e As Pigeon Européen St Vincent sur 3 ans 18/19/20 (21888-16)
- 1e Championnat Femelles sur les concours internationaux CIF
- 1e championnat des 1ers inscrits Auchy les Hesdin
- 2e As pigeon National St Vincent sur 3 ans 18/19/20 (21888_16)
- 2e As Pigeon Européen St Vincent sur 2 ans 19/20 (21888-16)
- 2e Championnat général des Internationaux d’Auchy les Hesdin
- 3e National femelle ST Vincent
- 3, 4, 34, 50, 52e national Narbonne femelles
- 4e et 35e national Narbonne Yearlings
- 5e as pigeon Français + de 750 km (87034-16)
- 6e National femelle St Vincent
- 8, 71 et 111e national Narbonne vieux
- 12e Championnat général vieux CIF
- 12, 15, 75, 117, 119 international Narbonne femelles
- 15e Championnat de France 100 / 300 km
- 16e as pigeon pigeonneaux Français
- 16e et 97e international Narbonne Yearlings
- 4, 8, 66 et 73e international St Vincent femelles
- 19e et 26e National St Vincent vieux
- 20e et 29e international St Vincent vieux
- 34e international Narbonne vieux
2021
- 1e International femelles Barcelone sur 5840 pigeons
- 1e National femelles Barcelone sur 1318 pigeons
- 1e Championnat National femelles sur les concours internationaux (430 amateurs)
- 1e As pigeon National sur St Vincent International sur 3 années (2019 à 2021)
- 1e Championnat du dépôt d’Auchy les Hesdins aux 2 premiers inscrits sur les Internationaux
- 1e Championnat du dépôt d’Auchy les Hesdins aux 3 premiers inscrits sur les Internationaux
- 3e Championnat du dépôt d’Auchy les Hesdins aux premiers inscrits sur les Internationaux
- 4e Championnat National aux 2 premiers inscrits sur les Internationaux
- 6e International Barcelone sur 16485 pigeons
- 6e National Barcelone sur 3639 pigeons
- 8e Championnat National aux 3 premiers inscrits sur les Internationaux
- 9e Championnat National général sur les Internationaux ( 830 amateurs)
- 18e Championnat National aux 5 premiers inscrits sur les Internationaux
- 38e Championnat National aux 1 premiers inscrits sur les Internationaux
- 2e, 15e, 71e … International femelles St Vincent sur 2039 pigeons
- 2e , 15e, 57e … National femelles St Vincent sur 1112 pigeons
- 13e, 32e, 110e, 167e … National St Vincent sur 4389 pigeons
- 15e, 36e, 119e, 181e … International St Vincent sur 8280 pigeons
- 2e, 40e , 71e … St Junien ALC CALC Yearlings de 2392 pigeon
Louis Gustin
