16/10/2026
THE FINAL TEST - THEUNISSEN BOARD - END OF THE ULTRA LONG SEASON 2026
Theunissen Board Ultra Long Distance Race,is not a speed race. It is the last of the 3 ultra longs in this Board. It is a long race, a hard race, but it is not the ultimate farthest. The ultimate is just above Theunissen, further north. But Theunissen is nother one everyone fears, because it is 944km of true Karoo, with no free ride.
WHAT IS THEUNISSEN - THE HISTORY
Theunissen is a small town in the heart of the Free State, in the Lejweleputswa region, about 95 kilometers northeast of Bloemfontein and about 45 kilometers south of Welkom on the R30 road.
The town was established on 13 September 1907, Proclamation 41 of 1907. It was founded by Boer War Commandant Helgaardt Theunissen, named after him in honour of his service in the war. Before that the place was known as Smaldeel.
It is a farming and mining community, small community, only 9.2 square kilometers. It has the only W**e Eestate in the Free State, the Theunissen W**e Farm. It is flat, open, grasslands, big skies.
That is why Cape Fanciers liberate pigeons there. It is flat, open, hot, no landmarks. The birds must cross the Karoo, over the same flat farmlands and grasslands that made the town. There is no help from mountains to guide them. Only heart and experience.
On 09 October 2026, liberated at 06:00:00 sharp in Theunissen, 371 members sent 2656 birds on the Federated Board take sky. This was the final exam.
REAL WEATHER - WHAT THEY EXPECTED - NO FREE RIDE
The weather prediction before the race. Over most of the inland lengths of the Karoo, the forecast was NW wind. North West. Plus n north north west in parts.
That is a straight headwind for birds flying back to Cape Town. Not a tailwind. Not a push. A headwind.
In this bird's world, every km is earned on its own. No gifted wind help. No free ride. If you want to come home, you must beat the wind yourself.
The prediction said no bird will make it on day one. They expected birds to come next day. Because there was no way birds will make it through 944km into a NW NNWheadwind, with hot Karoo by day, cold Karoo by night.
Official forecast:
Free State inland: 33 to 34C, hot, fine and warm to hot, wind NW headwind.
Paarl arrival side: 13 to 18C, overcast, occasional showers, wind 4 to 5 m/s S-E, gusting 27 to 30 km/h.
Hot Karoo, cold Karoo, wet coast. All headwind. Only work. No help. Every wing beat was earned. Her wind beat was earned.
THE WINNER - YOU CANNOT BEAT EXPERIENCE
1st Federated Board - HJ EHRENREICH
1st Union Paarl District - HJ EHRENREICH
1st Club - HJ EHRENREICH
Union: 44 Members / 357 Birds
Federated: 371 Members / 2656 Birds
Bird: ZPHS FBYB 20 21509 CWF H
THEUNISSEN BOARD QUEEN
Distance: 944.681 KM
Clock Time: 06:12:50 on 10 October 2026 - second day morning
Velocity: 1150.8804 m/min
But she was the FIRST clock on second day. And look how front she was.
2nd place clocked 06:49:08. That is 36 minutes behind. 3rd place 07:40:43. That is almost 1 hour 28 minutes behind. In a Federated Board Truck of 2656 birds, she was way front from second to third and all the rest.
That time means this bird was overnight very, very close from the loft. On Saturday morning 10 October, at 06:12:50, just after sunrise, she was already home. She spent the night in the Karoo, alone, in the cold, into a NW headwind the whole way, and she did not stop. She roosted close to Paarl Valley and came at first light.
In her world, there is no free km. Each km is beaten. 944.681 km of NW in her face, and she beat every one.
THE BLOOD AND THE HISTORY - IN HJ EHRENREICH'S OWN WORDS
This hen was bred as follows. From the father side, out of the Herman Vuurens line of Charles Kerekes, which was also responsible for my Kimberley Board winner in 2024. From the mother side, Wegge Jansen x Bulldog x double Board winner bought from Mr Ahmed.
The hen did not race during 2025 and flew Kroonstad and Vryburg every year except as a young bird.
Some of her positions:
2024 - 19th Vryburg Board
2022 - 26th Kroonstad Board
2023 - 34th Vryburg Board
2023 - 62nd Kroonstad Board, etc
RESPECT AND THE UNBREAKABLE BOND
Mr HJ Ehrenreich, is a very well respected fancier in the Federated Board. One of our eldest. He is known to win in the PDHU He is a master class, especially long distance.
You don't see it a lot nowadays that people fly 5 year, 6 year old birds. Especially with a bird that has a good track record. Most fanciers, after one, two or three years, when the bird earns his respect, that bird is already in the breeding loft.
Why? Because they are scared. If the bird does one or two times good, they get scared to lose a Board winner. They put her straight to stock.
Mr Ehrenreich is not scared. His trust in his birds is a unbreakable bond. He knows his birds. He knows his craft. He still keeps believing. He is not too afraid to lose that hen. Because he knows her blood already runs through his loft. Her children and grandchildren are there. That is why he keeps pushing her. Because he trusts her to always come back and to proof anyone wrong doubt it.
That is the trust between the owner and his bird. The unbreakable bond. This is 6 years together. Every morning, every feeding, every training, every Karoo night, every NW headwind etc. He knows her. She knows him. She knows how to hide from predator birds, how to find water, how to sleep safe in the Karoo, how to beat a NW wind when young birds give up.
Look what year. 2020. Six years old in 2026, not raced in 2025, kept, rested, then comes back and wins one of the hardest ultra long distance races in the Federated Board against 2656 birds, 36 minutes front, into a NW headwind, with no free ride. That is not luck. That is heart built over years, over many Karoo nights, over an unbreakable bond. Every km earned. Every wind beat earned.
HJ Ehrenreich did not just win a race. He kept a champion for 6 years, healthy, motivated, loved. That is fanciership.
That is why you cannot beat experience.
Congratulations HJ EHRENREICH - THEUNISSEN BOARD CHAMPION 2026 - THE ULTIMATE ENDURANCE BIRD - FIRST ON SECOND DAY, 36 MINUTES FRONT, NW HEADWIND, NO FREE RIDE, ALL EARNED - FROM THE LEGENDARY TOWN FOUNDED 1907 BY COMMANDANT HELGAARDT THEUNISSEN.
ONE SPORT. ONE PASSION. ONE FAMILY.
