Fox Line Petri

The red line of Schreurs-Hauben started at the loft of Guillaume Petri.

Goede Rode Vander Espt

In 1962, Petri went to the final sale of the late Charles Vander Espt, baker in Oostende and a great champion in his time.

Vander Espt had founded his own strain with pigeons of master Theo Vandevelde where he was at home. He exchanged also pigeons on a regular base with Oscar Devriendt of Moere and his fellow-villagers the Cattrysse Brothers.

It is known that Vander Espt had a very good line of pale and red pigeons (a.o. the Karel of Oscar Devriendt, 1 nat. Libourne). This red lines where reinforced with the introduction of some Bricoux and Horemans pigeons, directly or via Hector Desmet.

It was out of this red line that Petri bought a proven champion, the Good Red, 3001569-57. THis Good Red had a lot of Cattrysse blood in his veins, especially as being a triple offspring of the world famous 45-45. He inherited his red colour from a sister of the Karel,  3334013-53, a daughter of the Old Karel 3216797-38 X a blue granddaughter of the 45 Cattrysse.

  
The Goede Rode Vander Espt, a proven racer but an even better breeder


Petri mated his old Red Vander Espt with a blue hen he had from Jules Vander Espt, brother of Charles and father of the Vander Espt Brothers of Leffinge.

It was known that the pigeons at Leffinge originated mostly from the strain of Charles Vander Espt.

From this half inbreeding pairing came a pale white feathered coq who won 1st national Saint-Vincent in 1969 as a yearling. That year, Saint-Vincent was very hard, and the coq of Petri was the only bird to reach his home the same day.

Convinced of the exceptional qualities of this bird, Petri reserved him for breeding purposes. In 1971 he moved him to the loft of Schreurs-Vandueren at Opoeteren.

Goed Rood Desmet

In a public auction in 1965, Petri bought a superior hen: the Good Red Desmet.

The auction was organised by André Desmet of Semmerzake, who was an undisputed champion at the half long to long distances. His complete racing team consisted of mostly pale birds, known around the country as the Vale Trein, the pale colored train.

At the base of this racing team was one founding couple:

  • Old Pale Rik (an hommage to 2 times World Champion Rik Van Looy) ring 4494251-59
  • the Angoulême hen 4296252-62, direct from Delouvroy Ronse, out of his champion the Old Red.

Petri who always wanted the utmost best, bought a daugher of this founding pair, the Good Red.

Founding pair of the Fox line

It was Petri himself who mated the Good Red Desmet to his national Winner the Vale Witpen Saint-Vincent... and consigned the breeding pair to Jan Schreurs and Bèr Vandueren.

The breeding pair gave lots of excellent pigeons and Petri evidently got his part of it.

A direct son of the Fox pair was de Vale As (Pale Ace) 5136961-72 who won 16 x first prize at the loft of Petri!

Three children of the founding pair, all three bred in 1972, were going to stamp their qualities into the breed of Schreurs-Hauben:

  • Vos (Fox) 5136980-72
  • his nestmate Zilverkop (Silver Head) a pale coq 5136981-72
  • the red 7000-hen 5207000-72

Magistral blend with the blue line

Jan Schreurs never had the intention to breed a pure line of reds and pales (even if he didn't dislike the color and even if until today half of the breed of Schreurs-Hauben is red and pale...)

Very soon he discoverd that the red line "clicked" very well with his blue Cattrysse line.

In fact the their Marseille and Marathon line are perfect examples of the excellent blend of the two lines.

In 1974, Jan Schreurs mated his Old Cattrysse with the best daughter of the Fox founding pair, the 7000-Hen.

This coupling gave him at least three outstanding breeders

  • 5214626-74, a pale coq, grandsire of the Marseille
  • 5214611-74, a pale coq, grandsire of Wittikje Peeters
  • 5247305-74, a blue hen, granddam of Wittikje Peeters

Reinforcing the red line with the Pale Beunen

The Zilverkop was a real founding pigeon. Mated to an inbred daughter of the Blauwe Marathon, he sired the Superbreeder 47, a pale coq 516047-80.

But here Jan Schreurs masterly introduced some new blood via the Brother Car Winner or Pale Beunen!

Schreurs mated this Brother Car Winner consecutively with two sisters of the Blauwe Marathon and each time paired a daughter back tot the Superbreeder 47, who himself was already a grandson of the Blauwe Marathon.

Thus the Superbreeder, halfly outcrossed with the Tournier/Bricoux blood of the Pale Beunen, became sire of

He was also grandsire of 26 nat. Biarritz, 1 interprov. Saint-Vincent, Goed Vaal etc.

Further offspring of the Superbreeder and the Pale Beunen line: Saffier 95 nat. Bordeaux, Pyreneeën Lady 40 nat. Perpignan, 51 nat. Saint-Vincent, 95 nat. Pau, Kleine Barcelona 83 nat. Barcelona, 82 nat. Barcelona, Birgit Primus Inter Pares, Zus Birgit 44 nat. Perpignan, Barcelona Jan 34 nat. Barcelona, Dark Angel 28 nat. Barcelona, Adelina 21 nat. Barcelona, Goele 10 internat. Saint-Vincent, Vale Barcelona I, Blue Angel, Rita etc.