To start this article here is what Marcel has to say about himself, "I have been winning with pigeons since I first started in 1981 and have been successful right up to federation and National level from the beginning. My performances took a new dimension soon after I introduced my two main families of Janssens from Bertie Camphuis and Peter Van Osch. In addition my pigeons have produced many federation winners for fanciers all over the world including Holland, England Switzerland, Canada, America etc. My pigeons are flying from 50mls through to 450mls and especially when the wind is on their nose, my pigeons get in front in numbers with unbelievable consistency. I only quote my performances since 1995 till the present day because this is when I really started to cultivate my two main lines of pigeons and I want to underline what they are capable of winning". Now there's confidence in your pigeons and the performances that they have achieved in recent years and also in these lofts there is one boss.

Marcel is the boss and not the pigeons they have to do what is expected of them or they are out. Lets step back a bit to three years ago when I was introduced to a Dutch fancier who at the time was just another Continental fancier visiting the Blackpool Show. I asked Marcel where he came from and as his head went slightly back he confidently said Zutphen. Ah yes the home of the Eijerkamp Family plus other top fanciers such as Peter Van Osch who I wrote an article on some 12 months ago. Others include Cees Suykerbeck the fancier who raced the World Famous "James Bond" and bred the equally famous "Commander Bond" and "Glamourboy". The B & A. Roording partnership who are past winners of the National Short distance Championship. Then there's the master breeder and racer Bertie Camphuis who was the National Champion on several occasions. With such competition there was no doubt about the fact that if Marcel was going to succeed he had a mighty big task ahead of him. The last few years have been good to Marcel but 1999 saw him compete alongside and beat the best in Fed Zutphen 200 members and became the "Man of The Moment". Marcel won 1st Speed Champion short distance-middle distance-young birds autumn races. 1st Short Distance Champion which was also in the Combine 750 members. 1st Middle Distance Champion. 1st Nominated Young Bird Champion. 1st Nominated Autumn Champion consisting of 5 races for young and old birds to 250mls. 1st "Young Gun" 14 times basket 14prizes. 3rd "Top Gun" 13 bask/12pr. 6th "Tommy Gun" 14bask/12pr. bird champions from all old bird races. 1st "Young Gun" 17bask/17pr. bird champion from all races. 1st "Young Gun" 7basket/7pr and 6th "Tommy Gun" 7bask/6pr bird champions short distance.

When you consider these performances against some of the acclaimed fanciers of the Zutphen area, this is a fancier on the up because no matter how you look at it these are performances worthy of World Wide recognition. What is more creditable is the fact that Marcel has beaten them with their own pigeons especially the Camphuis lines that have performed all over Europe. These pigeons are descendants of such recognised pigeons as "05" best Middle Distance of the Netherlands 1981. "James Bond" again Middle Distance Champion 1984, then from the same family "Commander Bond" winner of many 1st prizes against the toughest competition. "Wonderboy 05" 2nd Ace pigeon 1990 and "Wonderboy 06" 4th Ace Pigeon also 1990. The reputation of these pigeons has been spread all over the world since they were purchased by the top racing and breeding lofts of Hans Eijerkamp & Sons who have seen these great stock birds to go on to produce numerous winners. Why have you gone for the local pigeons instead of searching for something better from outside your own area. "I decided to concentrate on the Camphuis line of Janssens because of the fantastic results achieved all over Europe with these bloodlines. They have been winning awards up to National titles for two decades and have never really altered in their type. I studied the family before I went to meet the man to get to know more about his birds and so I would know the right questions to ask and the right pigeons to bring back with me. As much information as I could get was read and read again, digested and logged. I read all about his best pigeons and about the man himself. It became quite obvious that the line of the already famous "05" was without doubt the line that was producing Champion after Champion. Many of the neighbours of Camphuis also knew that these were the best pigeons in the area which made it more difficult to obtain them. Everyone was snapping up anything that became available from him and when you consider that he only has 12 prs of breeders and about 14 widowers then birds from him were pretty thin on the ground". "I tried for two years to buy birds direct from him and he told me each time that I had to wait my turn and in the meantime I was buying direct birds of his from other sources and they were always birds from the fantastic line of "05". These few birds were already starting to tell me that I was on the right track with 4 of them in particular starting to produce some brilliant racers.

When you consider that they were at that time out numbered in the loft by about 5 to 1 by my own family which were already very successful and were well established then this only made the wait seem even longer. Eventually my time came but it was not to buy birds, on my first visit but just to meet with Bertie and discuss what was available and to see what I thought of his birds. I have to be honest here and say it was hard on that first visit to what had become a holy grail. They were simply magnificent, better than I ever imagined they could be, all my pigeon life I had a certain idea what a team of pigeons should look like. Although a few lofts that I had visited over the years in Holland and Belgium had come close to it nothing really fulfilled that ideal. That was until now here was my ideal, brilliant pigeons with everything I was hoping they would be and more. I talked with Bertie and found out from him what the best breeders were and the best performers". "At that time Bertie had only recently sold "Wonderboy 05" to the Ponderosa and his nest brother "Wonderboy 06" was soon to be following him so I bought a full daughter of "Wonderboy 06". At that time I wanted to order more than Bertie could supply so again I had to wait for another year, however I managed to prize away some of the older breeders from Bertie and all were from sisters and brothers of "05" and the "Wonderboy's". One hen in particular was an obvious target for me as I knew from my studies that she was a fantastic re-producer, this was in fact Bertie's best stock hen "The Golden Breeding Hen" and she was a full sister to "05" and bred the dam of "Wonderboy's 05 & 06". She also bred the super "43" winner of 15 x 1sts and is dam of 5 different Combine winners and g.g.dam of 1st Afdeling 8 Peronne 30,300 birds. This hen is largely responsible for Bertie winning 2 National titles of Sprint Champion and Middle distance Champion in the same year against 55,000 fanciers, something never before achieved in the history of Dutch pigeon racing.

So after visiting Bertie many times we have become good friends and we have now started breeding pigeons together, a couple of years later a dream came true when I had the "Golden Breeding" hen in my loft". Marcel's racing system appears a little strange from the British way because his breeding season starts in December when the widowhood cocks rear their first nest then they are allowed to rear another nest in March. Marcel does not have a problem with the moult coming forward because he only races in the sprint to middle distance events. The first races are competed in when they are still rearing their second nest and therefore the w/h cocks are first raced when the hens are still with them. But when the weather gets warmer the hen and one youngster are taken away to another loft and the cock is left with the other youngster to rear himself. Marcel uses this system because the longer that they are on a youngster the better. In the w/h loft there are 20 cocks which are more than enough for the races that he competes in and as he said he does not like too many pigeons around him.

Training all takes place from the same spot for both old and young birds, the old birds are started three weeks before the first race. They are exercised around home in the evening but because Marcel believes that they only play around home they are taken for their training tosses three times each week. They are also given the precautionary treatments for the usual problems prior to the season getting into full swing, they are also seen by the vet to help make sure that the pigeons are healthy. The products that Marcel uses are Lincon, Spectin, Orni Speciel and Doxin. Marcel generally has about 55 youngsters to race and they have to work and prove their worth if they are to stay in these lofts. For the first three weeks the youngsters get only maple peas and maize so that they learn to eat the bigger corn at an early stage, then later they get a good mixture. The darkness system is also in use at these lofts and they go on it when they have started to fly well around home. By this time they have started to drop the odd flights but that soon stops when they go on the darkness and they soon drop their body feathers. Marcel did point out that the darkness youngsters do not go into the old bird race team as yearlings.

Training for the youngsters is started six weeks prior to the first race and they go 4 to 5 times each week and are gradually brought up to what Marcel calls his race rhythm. Like the old birds go to the same spot that is on the line that they are expected on race days. If you want to win with the young birds then they must be trained sufficiently or you are not going to win with them. Marcel also likes to race the youngsters to the nest where possible because he wants to win no matter what the races. The lofts are all well kept and consist of one at 3.60mtrs x 2.50mtrs for Young birds, the widowhood cocks have a 3.00mtrs by 2.00mtr loft while the stock are housed in a loft measuring 2.00mtrs x 1.80mtrs for 16prs. Marcel is as keen a fancier as you are likely to come across and with the competition from his area you can well understand why it is so hard to get to the top.

Marcel is one of those fanciers who is always on the go (you might say like a little ferret) and the pigeons are following in their owners footsteps keen and always one step ahead of the competition. There is no doubt about the fact that before he is finished Marcel is going to win an awful lot more with this outstanding team of pigeons which are starting to make inroads with the racing in the U.K. This fancier has all the capabilities to more than emulate his famous neighbours in Zutphen over the next few years and I hear that he is also being pushed by another of the up and coming fanciers from this famous place on the world pigeon map.