On Saturday, May 17th 2025, the Rethel race (376 km) became the stage for a sensational performance by the renowned Gebr. A & B Leideman from Collendoorn. With a strong northwest headwind and a liberation at 11:15 AM, their pigeons simply outflew the rest — and we mean everyone.
In a massive joint release with Afdeling 11, this race featured a staggering 21,251 pigeons. And yet, the first four pigeons clocked were all from the same loft: Leideman’s own racing team. A mind-blowing achievement!
📊 Race Overview – Rethel
- Liberation: 11:15 AM
- Wind: Northwest (headwind)
- Weather: Cool and cloudy – tough flying conditions
- Total pigeons in joint release: 21,251
- Distance to Collendoorn: Approx. 376 km
- Winning Speed: 1241 m/min (~74.5 km/h)
- Number of pigeons entered by Gebr. Leideman: 137 (including 48 marathon pigeons)
- Prizes won: 90+
- Prize percentage: Over 65% for the sprint/middle-distance team
📝 Note: 48 of the 137 pigeons entered were marathon birds — naturally not aiming for top rankings in this short middle-distance race.
🥇 Top Results – Gebr. Leideman
- 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th prize in their section
- These were also the 4 fastest pigeons of the entire 21,251-bird joint release
- Also: 7th, 10th, 12th, 21st, and 23rd
- Over 50 pigeons in the top 200
- Their 10th pigeon still clocked 1188 m/min
A jaw-dropping result that proves once again that Leideman birds are simply in a league of their own.
💎 What’s the Secret? The ‘Goed Grijs’ Dynasty
At the heart of their dominance lies ‘Goed Grijs’, the Van den Brande-bred hen that changed everything for the brothers.
She won 7x 1st prize, including:
- 1st NPO Laon – 6,371 birds
- 1st Duffel – 5,821 birds (by 2 minutes!)
- 1st Heusden-Zolder – 2,775 birds
Her powerful returns were so intense that André and Bert moved her to the breeding loft out of fear she might injure herself. From that moment on, she laid the foundation for an internationally celebrated bloodline.
🌍 Global Impact of the ‘Goed Grijs’ Line
The success of the ‘Goed Grijs’ family stretches across the world. Highlights include:
- ‘Speedy Grizzle’ – 1st National Ace WHZB/TBOTB 2019 at Eijerkamp
- ‘Olympic Femke’ – multiple national titles at Foppe van der Meer
- 1st Pissanulok, Thailand – 2,310 birds
- Peter Janssen (Germany) – 1st prizes with multiple ‘Goed Grijs’ descendants
- Daniel Dehon (BE) – ‘Grizzle Best Kittel’ (bred from a ‘Goed Grijs’ daughter x Best Kittel II)
This dynasty produces champions — not just in the first generation, but well into the third.
🧬 Generations of Winners
What sets the Leideman strain apart is consistency across generations:
- 1st Marche – 10,076 birds
- 1st Zutphen – 11,284 birds
- 1st Hannut – 5,477 birds
- 1st Venlo – 4,429 birds
- 1st Arlon – 3,722 birds
- 1st Etroeungt – 5,962 birds
- And many more…
These results aren't just coincidence. They’re the result of a carefully constructed breeding philosophy focused on winning pigeons — over and over again.
🔥 Conclusion From The Pigeon Boss
The Rethel race of May 17th, 2025, will be remembered as a milestone — not just for the phenomenal result, but because Gebr. A & B Leideman’s pigeons were the fastest of over 21,000 birds.
And let’s not forget: this result came with 48 marathon pigeons in the basket — true long-distance specialists not even aiming for top results at 376 km. That makes the sprint/middle-distance team’s performance all the more astonishing.
📣 Want to learn more about the champions from Collendoorn? The official fan page of Gebr. Leideman will soon be live on PigeonBoss.com — stay tuned!
Untill the next blog,
Jan de Wijs
The Pigeon Boss
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