Top 3 National Middle Distance – Old Birds 2025

For several seasons now, in Romania, the number of races in the Middle Distance category has increased to seven. This has improved competition and significantly raised the performance level—an aspect particularly evident in the 2025 season, when the scores of the pigeons ranked in the Top 3 National Middle Distance – Old Birds are low and very low.

In total, during the 2025 season, 1,375 norms were achieved in this category. Fanciers from Prahova, one of the strongest associations in the country, clearly dominate the national rankings, occupying half of the places in the National Top 10. Several breeders from the Western Province also performed excellently in the Middle Distance – Old Birds category; although the associations there have fewer members, the results are impressive.

National Champions: the Stroe & Bartoș Tandem

Outstanding pigeon fanciers Alin Stroe, from Șurani, Prahova, and Istvan Bartoș, from Covasna, have formed a tandem since 2024 within the Prahova Association. The two are the national champions in the Middle Distance – Old Birds category for the recently concluded season.

Their result was achieved by the hen RO-2023-0957149 and is all the more spectacular as it was obtained with four classic Middle Distance races at a distance of 380 km. The tandem’s champion hen clocked four races released from Peștera (Bulgaria), achieving the following rankings: 3rd / 4,587 pigeons, 1st / 462 pigeons, 5th / 1,973 pigeons, and 14th / 5,770 pigeons.

“We race total widowhood, starting from the first or second race. The pigeons in the racing team are paired, they rear two youngsters, after which they are separated. Our champion is one of the best racing hens we have had so far. She is bred from a cock obtained from Cosmin Olteanu—himself a very good racer—paired with another excellent hen of ours, Inna, a multiple county champion,” explained Alin-Florin Stroe.

The hen is also an excellent performer in other categories, being an Olympiad pigeon in the H-Old Birds category and national vice-champion in the As Middle Distance – Old Birds category.

National Vice-Champions: the Șut–Bondar Team

Second place on the national podium is also occupied by a tandem. This time, the team is formed by two pigeon fanciers from Bihor, Andrei Bondar and Vlad Șut, who had an excellent performance in the 2025 Middle Distance races. They are both national vice-champions in Middle Distance – Old Birds and national champions in Middle Distance – Breeders. They also stand out for racing exclusively with cocks.

The “author” of the Middle Distance – Old Birds performance is the cock RO-2023-0007761, national vice-champion with 9.19 penalty points. For this national title, the cock clocked two Paprica races (364 km) and two Trebic races (487 km), achieving the following results: 1st / 553 pigeons, 2nd / 545 pigeons, 4th / 2,040 pigeons, and 8th / 4,566 pigeons.

“In 2025 we raced only widowhood cocks, after trying to race hens as well in 2024, but without great success. Therefore, we race cocks with their partners at home, the hens waiting for them in the boxes after training flights and races. We widow them two to three weeks before the first race, and they remain widowed throughout the entire season—over three months. The base feed we used was the Gaby Vandenabeele mix from Beyers, supplemented with Energy Kipp 4, a mix containing about 50% hemp, with the rest being rapeseed, safflower, and shelled sunflower seeds in various proportions. Between races, preferably on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we trained the cocks at 77 km. Our vice-champion pigeon comes from a Gaby Vandenabeele cock and a hen with Hooymans and Schaerlaeckens origins from Domenic Bedeleanu”, explained Andrei Bondar.

Team Haidu B. & Robaș M., Outstanding in the 2025 Season

Another team truly shone in the 2025 season: pigeon fanciers Haidu Balasz and Mircea Robaș from Seini, Satu Mare Association. The two, who have formed a tandem since 2018, achieved in 2025 results worthy of an entire career—all in the Middle Distance category.

Their achievements include: 1st National As Middle Distance – Young Birds, 3rd National Middle Distance – Old Birds, 3rd and 4th National Middle Distance – Young Birds, and 2nd National Middle Distance – Breeders.

In the Middle Distance – Old Birds category, the national trophy was won by the cock RO-2023-0579196, which accumulated a coefficient of 12.20 penalty points. He achieved the following rankings: 1st / 320 pigeons (399 km), 3rd / 1,547 pigeons (414 km), 5th / 2,543 pigeons (399 km), and 23rd / 4,454 pigeons (427 km).

“We started the season with 44 pigeons. We race both cocks and hens on widowhood. After rearing one round of youngsters, the hens are separated, while the cocks remain with the youngsters until they are sufficiently grown to be separated, about two to three weeks before the first race. The pigeons are fed in the boxes, using the Concurs, Sport XL, and Energy mixes produced by Animi’s. Between races, depending on how difficult the next race is expected to be, the pigeons are taken to two or three training flights of 50–80 km. The cock that brought us this trophy has over 30 races clocked. His sister placed 9th National Speed – Young Birds. His mother is a Stichelbaut and Simion Emil hen, and his father was acquired from the team Robaș Gabriel, Bucaciuc Daniel, and Cuzmic Cristian, back when they were racing together,” stated Haidu Balasz.