Jelle Jellema lives up to his reputation again in 2017 with a splendid result in the national race from Barcelona. His racing hen wins a 2nd National against 4,504 pigeons, and he has no less than 10 pigeons in the top 300. A great result.

A great result

Jelle Jellema shows once again that he can be successful in Barcelona as well, despite the distance to his loft. He had basketed 21 pigeons, and 11 of them were able to take a top prize. Among these 11 prize winners ten racing birds finished in the top 300 against 4,504 opponents. Here are the results:

Barcelona 2017 against 4,504 pigeons: 2-84-132-136-172-191-209-235-262-302-1035 (21/11)

And here is a look at the arrivals:

17.56u    14-1559574    Saar, hen from the line of Klein Kweekstertje, Nirvana, Brockamp, Beens
05.42u    13-1755791    granddaughter Kiara and Bergerac Doffer
07.16u    14-1559583    Rena, a daughter of Roman x Evi
07.31u    11-1292573    Jack, Jellema x van Dommelen
08.38u    13-1736389    hen, grandchild Orion / Saffier / Rooie Japie / Limoosje (Zwiers, Den Ham)
08.58u    14-1559594    cock from the line of Orion / Zwart Goud
09.17u    13-1755771    Silvia, from son Miss Gijsje (898) x Klein Kweekstertje
09.40u    14-1559577    granddaughter Zwart Goud and Waldeck
09.56u    13-1755850    Granddaughter Nirvana
10.21u    13-1755779    Erin, granddaughter Hellas

Saar, 2nd National Barcelona

Racing bird NL14-1559574 Saar wins a 2nd National Barcelona for Jelle, and she was basketed with a youngster of 8 days old. She is a very strong hen with supple muscles. Jelle spotted her flying from the south, and she carried a lot of speed entering the loft; she did not waste a single second. Saar will no longer be basketed for races, as Jelle wants to breed more pigeons that can cope well with long and demanding races. She will be moved to the breeding loft straight away, he said.

Last year Saar won a 182nd National St. Vincent and a 275th National Perpignan, and she had a great result from Limoges as a yearling as well. Saar comes from the team's own bloodlines of Klein Kweekstertje and Zwart Goud, crossed with pigeons from the top lines of the famous German fancier Peter Brockamp, enhanced with some Arjan Beens lines as well. The dam of Saar is Lauren, a successful long distance racing bird and winner of a 6th NPO Orange 2013 and an 8th National Cahors 2014. The sire of Saar is a son of Waldeck, which in turn won a 5th NPO Orange in 2011. Or to put it differently, this racing hen has nothing but excellent origins. Click here for a closer look at Saar's pedigree.

Barcelona specialist

Jelle Jellema has gradually developed into a Barcelona specialist over the years. He has been able to get his pigeons in peak form for this race, which has led to some great results indeed. His achievements in recent years clearly show that his pigeon breed is capable of covering longer distances. Here is a look at his results from Barcelona in the past four editions:

2017: 2-84-132-136-172-191-209-235-262-302-1035 (21/11) of 4,504 pigeons
2016: 3-10-18-37-77-173-317-928 (12/8) of 5,244 pigeons
2015: 358e with 1 basketed pigeon of 5,183 pigeons
2014: 1-3-102-195-256-351-501-644 (12/8) of 5,423 pigeons

He has won three podium places in this classic in just four years' time, which is a remarkable achievement.