Active in pigeon racing for four decades, almost as long at the top of Belgian pigeon racing and still full of joy and enthusiasm. In the course of his career, Serge Van Elsacker has not only won many 1st prizes provincial and interprovincial, but also presented Olympic pigeons and won a national victory.
It’s a very special jubilee that the likeable Belgian celebrates on February 8, 2019 – but let’s start at the beginning: Together with his wife Kirsten Jepsen, Serge lives in Schilde. A stronghold of pigeon racing in the Antwerp area, where he caused great excitement back in 1986, when he was proclaimed ‚King of the Union of Antwerp‘. The unrest becomes understandable when one realizes that the Union Antwerp was described by many reporters as the ‘High School of Pigeon Racing’, in which the best hits in the country are measured. Now let´s have Serge tell his story:
“Kirsten and I have been traveling very well since 1981 and I was the youngest breeder ever to win this title. At that time, I was 28 years old”, recalls Serge. “One of my competitors was William Geerts. A celebrity in the Belgian pigeon sport, who also came from Schilde and at that time already had six Olympic champions.”
More than just a mayfly
Many of Antwerp’s famous pigeon fanciers thought that this was just a mayfly, but over the years they were soon convinced. Another big name in pigeon racing was Heinz Willi Ritz from Jüchen in North Rhine-Westphalia. The man who invented ‘Blitzen’ (flashing). ‘Blitzen’ means that he fed Blitzform for five consecutive days. “In those days”, said Serge, ” Heinz-Willi achieved incredible results.”
“The young couple Serge Van Elsacker and Kirsten Jepsen won everything they could win with the pigeons last year.”
This photo appeared within a big story about the successful breeders in 1991 in the Flemish tabloid ‚blik‘.
Röhnfried products since 1984
„At that time especially the personality and the performance of H. W. Ritz impressed me very much. And I already believed in Röhnfried products. Since 1984, I have been using the Röhnfried products referred to H. W.. I have taken advice and bought pigeons from him and we became really good friends. Of course, William Geerts was not allowed to know that, because after all he was still a direct competitor.”
Member of the Röhnfried Racing Team
Both breeders already belonged to the Röhnfried Racing Team. On top Heinz-Willi was a good friend of Hans-Peter Schwarzkopf, at that time managing director of Röhnfried and a pigeon fancier himself. “Thanks to these last two I got a contract in February 1989 for the Röhnfried Racing Team. Then we also had a conversation with the then owner Friedel Gyllensvärd and the rest is history.”
A success story, because becoming part of the team always requires a personal success story, combined with the enthusiasm and conviction for the Röhnfried concepts.
Health problems with the pigeons? Wrong!
“Since I use the Röhnfried products, I have never really had ‘real’ health problems with the pigeons. In between, I also tried one or the other ‘miracle product’ that I got, but NOTHING !!!! could keep up with my ‘Röhnfried products.”
“The ‘old’ products from the earliest days that are still close to my heart and those I still use are Blitzform, Pavifac Spezialbierhefe, Gervit W, Energie-Öl, K+K protein 3000, RO 200 and Jungtierpulver. From Avipharm I have now switched to Bt-Amin forte and to reduce the risk of infection I use the renewed Avidress Plus.” *
Serge – we are very proud and happy to have you ‘on board’ and we wish you all the best for your continuing success!
Your Röhnfried Team
*Blitzform, Gervit W, Avipharm and K+K Protein are among the first Röhnfried products