Today we visited comb. Cooper to convey congratulations. Thomas Kuiper and Lieke Koopman won a fantastic top prize in the world’s most famous one-loft race Pattaya International (PIPR) on January 7 with their hen ‘Brittany’, namely the1st ace pigeon of the overall classification over 5 flights in a final field of 5,805 pigeons. How did any of this come about? We sought out Thomas at his home address in Assendelft for the full story.
Comb. Kuiper/Assendelft - Thomas Kuiper and Lieke Koopman
'Brittany' - 1st Asdif PIPR 2022
Thomas and Lieke moved into their current home address about 10 years ago. Originally a welder, Thomas tended pigeons with his father in his youth. Lieke works as a nurse in a hospital and her great passion is her horse. Over the years, they have done a tremendous amount of work and remodeling together in their yard and on their home. Now we can note that a veritable pigeon wahalla has emerged with a cozy courtyard. Full of pride, Thomas shows us his lofts. Martijn gets his hands on one top breeder after another. All the lofts look really peaky maintained and the health of the pigeons is excellent. Thomas started pigeon racing starting in 2016. After years without pigeons, it began to itch for him. He started with some ornamental pigeons, but he soon got tired of those, they don’t fly…. At that time he came in contact with pigeon fanciers connected to p.v. De Postduif in Wormerveer. Jan Kaman gave 15 late youngsters to Thomas. And he bought 6 pigeons from Dirk Kaayk. From this team he bred ‘Suzanne’, NL17-101, who became the mother of, among others, ‘Sven’ (1st NPO winner 2021), ‘Irene’ (1st Ace Pigeon Allr. Circle 4, Div. 6 NH 2021) and ‘Little Susie’ (6th Ace Allr. Div. 6 NH 2018). In short, comb. Kuiper was able to find his way to the top of Division 6 North Holland from the first racing season in 2017. It will be flown with 32 racing couples and played for the Top 10 in the department.
The pigeons receive feed from Versele Laga, among others. And that’s where the story of ‘Brittany’ begins. Last year Thomas saved a total of 8 codes that were mentioned on the feed bags. 8 x chance to win a prize… And yes, Thomas won an entry for the OLR Pattaya International by means of a raffle among all submitted codes. He was very happy about that, as he would also like to participate in OLRs in the future. This way he could get acquainted with the ins and outs of an OLR. Thomas selected a hen. In his eyes a hen is tougher and can be played every week. ‘Brittany’ suited him, as far as you can find anything about a hen before an entry…. It always remains a guess. With the pedigree it was all right. Father of the pigeon is ‘Alejandro’, from our breeding loft, out of the pairing ‘Vitali’ x ‘Pepper Pot’. This cock has raced in the Derby Sevilla 2020 and was bought by Thomas through an internet auction. Mother ‘Antoinette’ concerns an hen that Thomas and Lieke raced themselves in Assendelft. She is a daughter of ‘Ivan Jr.’ x ‘Blue Queen’, 100% strain originating from Jan and Joke Kaman from Wormerveer. ‘Brittany’ can be considered a beautiful ‘Zaan’ hen 😊!
Thomas and Martijn with 'Alejandro', the father of 'Brittany'
Thomas considered it possible that ‘Brittany’ should be able to race a place among the Top 500 of the PIPR, theoretically speaking … After all, mother ‘Antoinette’ was a top hen who belonged to the first pigeons of his loft every week … Gradually, during the various races, ‘Brittany’ came across well every time. Highlights included a 6th place against 6,673 pigeons in the 330 km race, good for $500. After the semifinals in which she reached 213th place, ‘Brittany’ was ranked3rd Ace pigeon of the overall classification. During the night and morning of January 7, the tension in the Kuiper home rises to great heights. The waiting starts, 7.55h the pigeons are released. Beforehand, the odds are estimated. Had the wind been against them, ‘Brittany’ might have been lost. But that was not the case. It was tail wind, 530 km, a good final ranking in the ace pigeon classification should be possible if ‘Brittany’ gets home on time. At 13.14h the first pigeon is clocked, this pigeon appears to be from Mike Ganus. Then the waiting starts and finally at 3.13 pm ‘Brittany’ actually walks over the plate, good for a 265th prize.ste place. In the words of Thomas “I’m still shaking from this” when we speak to him by phone some time later. A cash prize of $1,250 is in. It is then a long wait until the next day. But finally the news follows that ‘Brittany’ became the1st Ace PIPR 2022 in the overall classification. Thomas and Lieke followed everything from the living room in Assendelft. Being present live at the finale itself was not among the possibilities. Esther Noorderijk accepts the beautiful cup and check for $20,000 for Thomas and Lieke. And with this, comb writes. Cooper from Assendelft history! Keep an eye on this combination in the future, we will be hearing a lot from them!
Thomas and Lieke, congratulations again on this special achievement! Enjoy!