Gerard Koopman

HISTORY

More than 80 years of success in Dutch pigeon racing

The Koopman lineage is one of the most famous in the world today. This Dutch family has more than 80 years of history in the field of homing pigeons, where the roots were laid down by the patriarch Cornelis. His love for animals and especially for pigeons made him an excellent fancier. Initially, he concentrated his interest on a neighbour's birds, which resulted, years later, in him discovering the phenomenon of racing.

Although his father was not enthusiastic at first, Cornelis was given his first loft when he was 12 years old. It was the start of a career to stardom. On 31 January 1938, the day Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands was born, Cornelis met his wife, Jansje, whom he married after the end of the war (27 April 1945). Jansje was to become the backbone of the Koopman pigeon family. They had four children, of whom Gerard was the youngest. During the war, all the birds had to be destroyed, but after the war, they created a new loft.

Cornelis and Jansje had an egg business and in 1965 they also established a new company for agricultural products, including cereals, artificial fertilisers, potato seed and other services. The egg business was started by Gerard's parents, but it was the older brother, Jaap, who was really in charge. In 1969 he also became the importer of Mariman, a Belgian animal products firm. He probably inherited the commercial instinct of his parents. Through Jaap's commercial talent, new business possibilities were discovered.  

His contacts with Belgium offered Cornelis a totally different perspective on pigeon racing. The Koopman patriarch obtained quality birds from the Mariman breeding centre and, through son Jaap, pigeons from J.H. Ameln who had pure Janssen Arendonk birds in his loft. The combination of these two lines (Mariman and Janssen) gave birth to the birds Kneet and Vooruit.  Both won several championships in 1981. The love for animals that Gerard had inherited from his father and his ambition led him to enjoy his first successes in 1981. Gerard was initially crazy about football, but a meniscus injury made him decide to say goodbye to football and join the pigeon guild and, from the beginning, he teamed up with his father Cornelis. Numerous victories were the result until 1997, which gave them their justly deserved worldwide fame.

Van Loon connection

Gerard, the youngest son of the Koopman family, was drawn to pigeons and decided to race with his father after suffering an injury that took him out of football. It was his relationship with the great Louis Van Loon de Poppel that soon established Gerard as one of the top pigeon fanciers in his area. Van Loon became Koopman's mentor and best friend, giving him wise advice on racing and pigeon breeding. He also found several pigeons for him to build his own loft. He also accompanied him to the Janssen brothers in Arendonk, where he bought several pigeons. He also bought a male from Mr. J.H. Ameln and together with the Van Loon birds, he formed the basis of the current Koopman lineage, which includes such legendary birds as De Zitter, De Eric and De Beatrixdoffer, among others.
 

The Gouden Duifje pigeon

The Gouden Duifje, from the Janssen brothers, is the female with the golden eggs. This pigeon descends from one of the best pairs of the Arendonk brothers. Their union with the birds of Louis Van Loon in Belgium, brought a series of offspring worthy of admiration. It is worth noting the incredible relationship that Gerard and Van Loon had. Louis was a close friend of Gerard, becoming Gerard's tutor and teaching him everything he knew about pigeons.

In the early seventies in Nieuw Dordrecht, a neighbouring village to Nieuw Amsterdam, there was a fancier, Herman Ameln, who achieved incredible results with his star pigeon, 48. Gerard did not stop until he was able to acquire this magnificent pigeon from Herman's loft. This pigeon 48 had 75% Janssen blood. This bird was a spectacular racer and an even better breeder. It is for this reason that the pigeon became one of the base birds of the Koopman line. Other birds that Koopman acquired over the years were, among others, Black Power, a cross of Janssen bloodlines by Meulemans and her sister, Black Power Lady. Black Power later became the sire of the wonderful Amore. He also bought the dam of Kleine Dirk and many other dogs with which he built up one of the best lofts in the Netherlands in the 80s and 90s.

Until 1997 Cornelis and Gerard Koopman, father and son, formed an almost invincible team. Their pigeons lived in a loft no more than 15 metres long and the birds returned at such a speed that they could hardly keep time.   In 1997, the racers' loft moved to new premises in Ermerveen and Cornelis, the founding father, left the sport. The breeding stock remained at Nieuw Amsterdam for the first few years, because Cornelis took care of some breeding pairs, with great love and dedication, as always. Gerard soaked up all the knowledge that the great master, Van Loon, offered him as a tutor and friend. Gerard was aware that his way to the top was to talk and listen and follow the advice of the great masters in the sport. He processed the information in his brain and put what he learned into practice for his own colony. That is the great strength of great fanciers. And Gerard wanted to be a great expert, the best of all. In 2010, the patriarch of the Koopman lineage passed away and Gerard was the only one responsible for the loft.

Breeding pairs

Three breeding pairs form the lineage of Koopman pigeons, invincible over distances ranging from 100 to 800 km.

From 48 by Gouden Duifje

These two aforementioned pigeons were mated together in 1985 and were an absolute success. The pair produced the famous Zitter or the well-known Beatrixdoffer, which won a lot of prizes including 1st. St. Ghislain against 10,828 pigeons. Also birds like Zeno, Olympic bird in Utrecht, the 959 or Ringlose, who created a new line of Ace Pigeons in Germany, are some of the descendants of this pair. The Zitter bird gave Ons Louis, winner of a 1st place in Bourges (700 km) in 1993 against 7.688 pigeons. The most famous son of Ons Louis is the great Branco, Olympic bird in 1997 in Basel and again sire of the miraculous Zebran. A daughter of Zebran is Wonder Lady, winner of a 1st place in Orléans against 5,163 pigeons.

Raket 84 by B85-6294112 (Van Loon)

Raket 84 is a son of Jonge Raket by 76 from the Janssen brothers. His female, 112, is a direct pigeon by Louis van Loon. This unique pair produced a lot of spectacular pigeons. As an example, the bird Eric, 1st in Uden against 15.511 birds, 1st in Beek against 14.881 pigeons or 1st in St. Ghislain against 2.206 birds, among other prizes. Eric is undoubtedly one of the most important pigeons of the current Koopman lineage. He is the sire of De Sultan and the legendary and fabulous Gentil, who represented the Netherlands at the Basel Olympiad in 1997. He is the sire of many world famous pigeons and the basis of the new Koopman colony.

Gentile by Golden Lady (Dirk and Louis Van Dyck)

Goden Lady is a daughter of the world famous Kannibaal of Dirk and Louis van Dyck. In his mind Gerard already made the pair and decided to buy this female. In 1998 she was mated to Gentil. Kleine Dirk was born from this union, which meant the beginning of a new era. In the following years, this pair produced a series of amazing racers.

The Ermerveen loft

Gerard dreamt for quite some time of acquiring a farm and configuring it in such a way that it would become the home of his homing pigeons. In the mid-1990s he found a spectacular site in the village of Ermerveen, very close to Nieuw Amsterdam. After a lot of work, he moved there with his whole family and his pigeons at the end of the 90s. Gerard is an expert in long-distance one-day races and, with the move, his successes continued unabated. Some of his most important racers in this discipline are: Kleine Dirk, Mister Ermerveen, Judy, Yi Min, Wonder Lady, Annelies, Miss Ermerveen or Vita, among others.