Twenty-eight Teletekst positions (National top 10) in only ten years time!!
Brinkman FROM Tuk is name that guarantees great success at its own loft, but maybe even more at other fanciers. Racing from distances hardly realisable for most birds, the Brinkman birds is inaccessible. Just because of that many great champions from Tuk to also moor these qualities in their own strain. And without a doubt; it works! The many references Herman and his son Rik received are amazing. Only a few or maybe none have so many National and International references at their disposal.
The birds that do a great job origin from only the best strains in the world. Theelen through Vertelman and Van der Wegen birds through Hans Eijerkamp and Sons. It was in Zutphen, the village Eijerkamps successes both in business as in pigeon racing grew beyond proportions, where the dream of a great champion from Tuk began. In 1978 Herman and his wife Ria got Married. And they needed furniture for their new house. The National giant in furniture Hans Eijerkamp could easily fulfil these needs and buying furniture at Eijerkamp, free birds of his best strains were given away. Like this Herman got very best lines of the great Van der Wegen strain, all the lines of ‘De Lamme’, ‘De Barcelona’ and ‘Het Oud Doffertje’. The four birds Hans Eijerkamp promised Herman, were send to his house in Tuk. As the longexpected ling distance ‘cracks to be’arrived, disillusionment in the Brinkman residence was big. These were no pigeons, they looked like sparrows! This would not helped Herman, so he concluded. Herman picked up the phone and Hans Eijerkamp promised him new birds, if he would not succeed them. So tge ’trash’got to stay and as time passed on, three out of four Eijerkamp bird became true champion breeders!
After the moulting process the already looked much better and Herman he learned a lesson; long distance birds need time to develop fully. The magnificent four Eijerkamp birds were not placed in the breeding loft right away , they first had to prove themselves in racing. An example is ‘De Bergerac’, bred form a half sister to the famous ‘Barcelona’ and who was a grandson to the phenomenal ‘Lamme’of Janus van der Wegen. ‘Lamme’ himself won four prizes in the National top 11, while his son ‘Barcelona’ won 1. National Barcelona and later on 2 national Dax too. ‘De Bergerac’ was a fine racer himself too. He won a/o 1. prize at the race of Heesch (120 km) and furthermore in his Club a/o 1. Bergerac, 2. Ruffec, 4. Dax and 9. St. Vincent. But his class as inheritor was probably even bigger. His granddaughter ‘De Schoorsteen’ won a/o 4., 5., 9. and 22. National in overnight racing and in the National acebird competition WHZB he realised the best score ever. At the Dortmund 1987 Olympiad he was the best bird in the sporting class to represent The Netherlands.
Her sire was ‘De Fijne Zwarte’, a birddad Jan Brinkman had purchased long ago. A fabulous cocokbird indeed, with a lot of Jan Aarden blood through Ko Nipius and a bit of the ‘Zilvervosje’ lines of baker Meesters running through its veins. Ths cockbird became one of the foudation birds at the Herman Brinkman loft.
NL79-237141 is sire to ‘Het Super 942’and ‘Oporto’ was second best Olympiad-bird in Oporto and he sired the NL83-1663317, winner of a 13. and 31. National St. Vincent and afterwards he became a top breeder at Alex Rans from Herent Belgium.
A son to this ‘317’ won a/o 1. International Bordeaux for Alex Rans, ‘Sjoekie Sjoekie’, a grandson to ‘De Fijne Zwarte’won 15 prize cards in overnight, amongst them nine times in the first 100 National.
In 1990 Herman visited the very successful partnership Vertelman and Son and he purchased 12 youngsters from them. One of the direct sons to the famous ’50’ of thes International grandmasters from Hoogkarspel ensured a superb continuation of the success-story on the other side of the country. ‘Brinkie Boy’ ( 1. National NPO Limoges, 6. National Creche, 20. National Bergerac, etc.) and ‘Rode Barcelona’ ( 2. Barcelona bird in the northern section) were both grandchildren to this great ’50’.
The entrance of the Vertelman-birds meant a golden hit. And like that the Brinkman base arose. A loft of birds that can not be called great by size. 10 pairs of proven breeders, 12 hens on the nest, 18 old widowhood cockbirds and 30 yearling widowers ensured all the top positions and championships.
Hermans dad Jan Brinkman was not only his teacher, he still is of great support in this beautiful hobby. Herman adopted the great skills from his dad and for that he is very grateful. Therefore a place between all the world class fanciers in this book ‘The Arts of a Champion is a good ode to Jan Brinkman. Together they talked a lot about pigeons ans as time passed by they became much wiser. Simplicity is the motto of father and son . No hotchpotch, like giving many medicines and vitamins. “No, unless it is really necessary, we leave our bird alone as much as possible. We believe many fanciers feed too heavy mixture. We prefer giving them barley, so we avoid to making them fat. Besides birds are very well capable of gathering reserve very soon after a period of scarcity.”
” Furthermore we keep up all they do. In other words. At least every week I keep up a diary. Observing birds means everything. Unfortunately we are all very short of memory. I help myself therefore by writing everything down. The status of the pinions, the moult of the down, behaviour in forme, possible cures including dose and duration, etc. Doing this, I really earned a lot! I learned with as eventual goal to score.”
Ans that is exactly what Herman does for about 25 years already. Not only his father is a great support for Herman, his son Rik-Jan helped him fantastically too during the last years. At his own loft he even made it hot for his father, becoming a/o 4. an 6. in the overall classification of the prestigious National Fondspiegel competition over the years 1998-2001. Unfortunately this support ended with Rick-Jan leaving to Bolivia for 6 months this year and him starting a study in Maastricht from September 2003 on.
Outside the Olypiad birds, Brinkman became 8. worldchampion (Versele Laga) in 1993. In 1996 he came in 3. in the world. In 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997 he was champion of the prestigious National Fondspiegel competition, in different categories, From 1994 uo until 1997 this classification pointed out Herman Brinkman as the best overnight racer of the Netherlands.
Seventy-six times the grandmasters from Tuk listed a top 30 National position.
In 2003 they again raced a superb bird NL-4218758, a daughter to ‘Brinkie Boy’ x sister ‘Tukse Lady’ won a/o 45. Nat NPO Ruffec 1.936 birds, 67. Nat. NPO Ruffec 1.847 bird, 146. National St. Vincent 1.169 birds and 36. National Bergerac 2.989 birds. Not surpriseingly, this 2-years old hen became 1. acebird overnight races in 2003.
Many other fanciers too obtained great fame with Brinkman birds:
- 1. International Bordeaux in 1995 Alex Rans from Herent (Belgium)
- 1. National and 2 International Bordeaux 1999 by Jan and Hanne Sas from Vosselaar (Belgium)
- 1. National Bergerac 1998 by Bennie Homma from Balk
- 1. National Bergerac 1994 by A. Kors from Steenwijkerwold
- 1. National Brive 1997 by Wagteveld partnership from Heerenveen
- 1. National Bergerac 1997 by A. Wassens from Hoonhorst
- 1. National St. Vincent 2003 by Albert Vos from Nieuw Dordrecht
- 1. National Perpignan by Ben van Munckhof through Frans van Wel from Bakel
- 1. National Perpignan 2003 by W. de Schepper through Alex Rans from Herent
- 2. National Perpignan 2003 by Luc v.d. Gucht from Hulst
- 2. International Barcelona by J. Korver from Graft
- 3. National Barcelona 2003 by Marcel Michiels from Messelbroek etc.
The ‘Kleine’and the ‘Zwarte’Brinkman birds brouhgt great succes to Buellens and Son from Heverlee (Belgium), as they won 9, 27, 74 and 111. National Barcelona. And that is only just a small selection of all great references with Brinkman birds. The man with extreme long distance birds whose breeding strategy remains: “good birds are bred from good birds…and it is as simple as that!”