In their search for crossing material for their sublime Janssen colony the Eijerkamp family in the middle of the nineteen eighties came across the Van Loon pigeons and it was, love at first sight, a love which, to this day still holds true. From Jaap Grootendorst they took over an outstanding group of breeders and they were immediately crossed into the best of their Janssen line. This soon resulted in "
John" (co-winner of the National Vitesse Championship), "
Linda" (2nd National Ace Pigeon WHZB) and of course
Flits 85"Flits 85" (2nd Olympiade Pigeon Speed 1995). During those years the master himself was also visited in Poppel. Children and grandchildren of the foundation breeding pairs such as, "
Blauwe van 84" x "
Dochter National I Schellens" and "
De 530" x "
Dochter Blauwe van 81", were acquired.
The Eijerkamp family had fallen like a rock for the Van Loon pigeons and wherever they shone in the Netherlands, they tried to obtain the toppers or their direct offspring for their breeding lofts. During this process the pigeons from Anton van Haaren from Heesch played a very important role as naturally did the heavily inbred cock
Silver Shadow"Silver Shadow" (6 x 1st) from Aad van Berkel, who together with his brothers and children have formed a substantial part of the current successes. Just like diamonds, from the lofts of Leo van de Werff, the super breeding couple of "
Louis" x "
Suzanne" were acquired, as were top racers such as
Beach Boy"Beach Boy" and "
Thoma", who later developed a formidable service record in the Eijerkamp breeding lofts.
The
van Loons acquired from Staf Theeuwes proved to be of immense worth, of which the outstanding breeder
Chicago"Chicago" was the absolute flag bearer. The boost these bloodlines gave to the Eijerkamp-van Loon strain was invaluable. Another important introduction was the purchase of the 4th National Ace Pigeon Dagfond
Don Leo"Don Leo" and his exceptional brother
Fabio"Fabio"...both acquired at the total sale of Leo van de Werff , they were therefore an already proven blood line for Eijerkamp. They gave the Eijerkamp-van Loon strain at the beginning of this century its definitive form.
