The
Jan Arden Story
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When
one gets involved in discussing the sport of
pigeon racing the name of Jan Aarden is sure
to appear especially in relation to the long
distances because the strain of racing pigeons
created by this master has been immortalised
by some due to the impact it has made throughout
the world. But who was this Dutchman
credited with being the creator of a great marathon
strain? A man whose bloodlines run through many
of the winners and others to the fore in the
Barcelona International and indeed many national
and international winners throughout the world
of modern pigeon racing.
Jan
Aarden was born in the city of Oosterhout on
the Sixth of November 1893 to Martinus Aarden
and Lucia Schoenmakers. There he attended school
at the Abbey of St.Paulus. From his earliest
days Jan had a great love for animals and birds
and in particular racing pigeons. The love of
the latter was kindled by a Fr. Paulus who kept
some racing pigeons in the Abbey grounds and
needless to relate the young Aarden in due course
became the "boy manager" of the good
Father's stock. There his passion for the thoroughbreds
of the sky intensified and by the time he was
18 he was a member of a racing pigeon club in
Oosterhout, where in a short period of time
he owned a loft of good short and middle distance
racers.
An
early influence upon Aarden was the family of
Oomens from Breda who were the long distance
stars of the Netherlands prior to World War
2. Aarden developed a close friendship with
the father of the family and in due course owned
some of their birds. The famous 37 of Jan Aarden's
was a grandson of Zilvervosje which had Oomens
bloodlines on both sides of the pedigree. This
light check' hen with a reflection of silver
in her wings was a wonderful breeder as well
as a racer. Her bloodlines are there in the
families of the great Aarden fanciers like Muller,
van Agtmaal, van den Burgh, van der Wegen, van
den Eijnden and the Kuypers, as well as being
the grandfather of Ko Nipius's second national
Barcelona. In fact her contribution to the development
of the marathon pigeon in Europe is immense
especially in the light of the truth that there
is very little known about the hen's origins
but thanks to Steve Patrick of Parick Bros who
won the English NFC Pau National with an Aarden
I can state that the Zilvervosje is a daughter
of Slaper (H 46- 270518) + the Goris Duivin
of Alfred Goris (Kruisland). This fabulous hen
when mated with Zesentachtig ( H 47- 433486)
bred Late Meesters (H 49- 525758) : a pearl
of a pigeon. (The famous 131 was a great granddaughter
of Late Meesters). The latter appearing in the
pedigrees of many of the best modern representatives
of the strain. The partnership of Eijerkamp-
Muller confirms that the Zilvervosje was the
foundation bird of their family. The sire of
van Wanroy's the Spin is a grandson and the
dam is a granddaughter of Zilvervosje. And of
course the Spin was the foundation bird in the
families of Kuypers Brothers and Peter van den
Eijnden. And as stated Aarden's 37 was a grandson
of the hen. In turn 37 was the grandfather of
Giel van Agtmaal's 500 as well as the grandfather
of Jan de Weert's 131. Surely two of the best
of the Aarden dynasty.
Further
research showed that Zilvervosje was the granddaughter
of the Oude Witpen- a famous breeder of Toon
Stoffelen. And that the Bontje Aarden, dam of
Ligtenberg's 10 was a granddaughter of Zilvervosje.
Bearing in mind that the Bontje Aarden was the
mother of Janus van der Wegen's Oude doffertje.
The list appears to be endless re the breeding
influence of Zilvervosje but as stated she was
also a very good racer. Some of her triumphs
included the following: 3rd nat. Dax (1949);
2nd nat. Dax (1950); 55th nat. St. Vincent (1950);
7th nat. Dax (1951); 47th nat. St.Vincent (1951).
After
Jan's marriage to Janntje Akermans on the twentieth
of July, 1916, the Aarden's moved to and lived
in the village of Teteringen for almost four
years. There Aarden built a loft and moved his
pigeons there but because of family commitments
and the First World War there was a lack of
success. In 1921 the family
moved again- this time to Steenbergen, followed
by another move to Grintweg in 1924.This was
not to be the last removal for eventually the
family settled in Steenbergen where Jan and
his wife managed a hotel where even today many
fanciers from throughout the world visit and
is held as a sort of shrine.
The
early nineteen twenties saw another important
influence bearing upon Jan in the person of
his son Anton who was also interested in the
sport and who at the age of 18 joined with his
father in a combination. Anton's influence led
his father from the shorter to the longer races
and although the results were not outstanding
by luck and friendships Aarden through his skills
and patience built his wonderful strain. One
of those friendships was Piet de Weerd, the
world famous pigeonologist, whose knowledge
and advice Jan pondered. Another fruit of their
friendship was the so called " Piet de
Weerd pigeon": perhaps Aardens main breeding
hen, of Delbar / Deguffroy origin. In fact the
Delbar's played a prominent part in the Aarden's
origins for some of the early breeders carried
the blood of this strain. Now during research
for this article I encountered material suggesting
Aarden was the builder but de Weerd was the
architect of the strain. Whatever the merits
of the suggestion there is no doubt that Jan
Aarden was a master of stockmanship. Visiting
good lofts and obtaining the best upon which
to build. Like all great creators however he
knew that genius can involve the
experience of others.
By
the end of 1930 in the breeders of Jan Aarden
was the blood of Ost-Roe alongside stock from
Henrey Rey and a super hen from Leo De Cock.
The Ost- Roe bloodlines belonged to Jules Roeckaert-
the former title he used for sometime. Here
I relate to the colour of reds in the Aardens
which raises some eyebrows to the extent that
there is disbelief that red is a colour truly
representative of the strain. Research however
confirms that reds were at the basis of the
strain through the stock of Rey and Roeckaert.
The most prominent of the former's loft was
Ouden Vassart- a red which Rey purchased at
the auction of Pauwels from the Sas of Gent.
From Roeckaert Aarden bought for stock a light
checker Belske, whose father was Leon a red
cock from Leon Van der Saude. Perhaps this may
lay to rest the suspicion surrounding the Aardens
of red or mealy
plumage.
With
his natural talent and genealogical knowledge
coupled with an emphasis on inbreeding Aarden
used the stock obtained from Roeckaert, Rey,
and others to build and experiment. Initially,
he paired the Blaue Ost Roe to the Oude Rey
duivin which showed the spark of genius for
he had immediate success with this pairing.
Their famous product was the great Fietsvlieger
who as well as a winner on the road bred some
outstanding birds. Mated to Dikke Blauw his
outstanding nestmate he bred the Schone Blauw
- a pigeon who excelled at winning first prizes
at racing. When pairing the Reydoffer with Belske
Aarden produced another great pigeon in 46-
who won many races. A full sister of the 46
namely Orleanske won from Orleans three years
in a row. From the pairing of Vetkonk from De
Cock with the Fietsvlieger Aarden bred Verkeeroe
Duivin- one of the best racing hens in his loft
if not in Holland. The Dikke Blauw was also
mated to Roeckaert's Duveltje and produced the
Mooike - another famous representative of the
strain. The above where in the main Aarden's
basic couples and indeed Mooike, Dikke Blauw,
Schone Blauw, and the Verkeerde Duivin won prizes
from a very tough race from St. Vincent. From
this and other results Jan Aarden realised that
he owned pigeons of excellent quality.
The
success of the developing Aarden strain caught
the attentions of Jan's fellow fanciers in Steenbergen
and many were purchased resulting in the area
becoming the hot bed of long distance racing
in Holland. This also contributed to the evolution
of the strain. A few of the latter around the
period after the Second World War until 1960
included Toon and Piet Ligtenberg whose famous
hen Oude Witpen when coupled with another Aarden
were the parents of two of the most famous representatives
of the strain. The famous number 10 of Ligtenberg
and the fabulous Oud Doffertje of van der Wegen.
The latter being the foundation of the van der
Wegen strain while number 10 became the father
of the famous Dolle of Marijn van Geel- the
origin of the van Geels.
Alongside
other Steenbergen fanciers who set the sport
alight with Aarden stock where Toon Toffelen,
Jan van der Par, Jan de Weert, and van Agtmaal.
The latter being credited in some quarters with
being a better racer of the Aarden's than the
great master, himself. Another important input
to the Aarden's was the great Jan Cools. A good
friend of Aarden's, Cools owned some good pigeons
of the strain and they shared breeders with
each other. Resulting in the production of top
class performers.
As
the strain developed it dominated the races
from Dax, St.Vincent, Bergerac, and Barcelona,
among others. Taking Europe by storm and extending
beyond to become a truly world wide family.
Piet de Weerd helped in this context by buying
good representatives of the strain and selling
them off to others. Another
important contributor to the success of the
Aarden dynasty was Piet Lazeroms from Zegge.
This Aarden specialist bought out top lofts
of Aardens and through this he owned the best
of the strain. In turn Lazeroms was used as
the main source of the Aardens by the best fanciers
in Europe and elsewhere. For example, Van Peperstraten
and de Heyde. The latter built his loft on his
famous Klapper which he had got from
Lazeroms. There's also the exploits of Van Zelderen
who won five nationals with Aardens. Recent
examples is Theo Ernest whose Barcelona successes
are based upon the Aardens and also the Brugemann
Brothers whose famous loft is foundered upon
another Aarden source - Hein and Hub Oostenrijk.
Nor should the exploits of Jac Stekatee of Bruinisse
be overlooked for he formed one of the top Aarden
studs of the 1990s. His Golden Breeder 788 is
considered one of the best of the Aarden dynasty
as is the highly thought of 60 of another Aarden
ace, Cees de Jong. Then there is the world known
breeders and racers of Polder and de Vogel of
today...
It
would appear to be the case that the few mentioned
adherents of the Aarden strain were fired by
the master in their pursuit of excellence. I
say a few for there are many, many more who
could have been named who in their own way as
breeders or racers contributed to the development
of the strain. In his early days in the sport
Jan Aarden could not have imagined what his
love of racing pigeons would lead to for arising
from the strain which he produced there now
exists a dynasty- the Aarden dynasty of long
distance and marathon thoroughbred racing pigeons.
Therefore, to conclude, what better memorial
to Jan Aarden but to ensure that the strain
which he moulded and which became a dynasty
will continue to overcome distances, mountains,
seas, and other obstacles on the way to nest
or perch. Thus, all todays Aardenists will continue
the work of the master from Oosterhout and Steenbergen.

by: Liam O Comain