OLR Addict (1): Vincent BÉGUIER
It was some time ago, and I was with Alex, busy with our feathered activities…
Alex: « This guy is on top of everything, he doesn’t let any information slip by about my pigeons or their offspring entered in the lofts. » Vincent had just informed him about the arrival in Pattaya of a pigeon from Tom Van Gaver, the result of a cross between one of Tom’s pigeons and Lucie, Alex’s Olympic hen, which Tom had purchased. Hmm, I thought, another passionate enthusiast, clearly with a sharp eye for OLR (One Loft Races). I didn’t waste time reaching out to him.
Vincent also has a unique journey in pigeon racing, a somewhat thwarted passion, we could say…Living in Vienne, Aquitaine (hence the name Team Alienor for those who get the reference), but working in Île-de-France, Vincent cannot manage a pigeon colony the way traditional competitive racing would require. He did it some time ago with success, but the distance and a relocation curtailed his ambitions. He had to juggle his back-and-forth trips and weekly absences… But no matter, he found a way to stay involved, though in a different way.
A genetics enthusiast, bloodlines hold few secrets for him. He has an encyclopedic memory and knowledge of modern racing pigeon origins from the past 30 to 40 years! When we discuss the pedigrees of winners, he often tells me, « See this one? You’ll find this bloodline with such and such fancier who won this national and performs very well in OLRs. » Usually, I had missed the OLR performance part… This is followed by an avalanche of WhatsApp and Messenger messages with the results from derbies and the pedigrees of winners to back up his insights: Impressive!
Earlier, I mentioned his keen attention to the Margris pigeons. In fact, he does this with all of them… but mainly through the lofts! With him, we often ask ourselves: is there such a thing as loft genetics? Hence the idea to put some questions, reflections, and observations on paper and share them with you in several articles currently available on Pigeon Master (obviously 😉).
Vincent enters pigeons into both “small” and “big” lofts like Moledo, Superstar, or Carmelo Yupi, as well as in Pattaya, Thailand Masters, and Afrikapro.
The bloodlines he cultivates are Jelle Roziers, either through inbreeding or crosses with, for example, Dale Zehr, Kolvenbag, Embregts-Theunis…His primary ambition is to reach the finals, and with a bit of luck, why not a victory?
By participating in this way, his track record includes (among others):
- 9th place in the Algarve Great Derby final 2021
- 16th in the Algarve Great Derby semi-final 2021
- 10th in the Sevilla OLR final 2022
- 1st in the Petite Final of the One Loft Race des Plumes 2023
- 463rd in the Pattaya final 2023 (money prize)
- 20th in the Algarve Golden Race semi-final 2022
With Béguier pigeons:
- 1st in the 2023 France Regional Championship
- 1st in HS1 France Masters
- 13th in the 2024 France Regional Championship.
His breeding loft consists of around 15 breeding pairs, raising between 45 and 60 young birds annually. Among these, 40 to 50 are sent across the globe to represent France, Aquitaine, and Team Aliénor (Monjoie St Denis!).
Vincent also immediately accepted the idea of participating in an OLR auction, which will be held on Pigeon Master, where he will present some of his best pigeons. Thank you, Vincent, and good luck with the ongoing competitions!
Fred LEFEVRE
