Draye – Denies (St.Joris, Weert) win 1st Provincial Limoges 624 old pigeons

Last weekend, Limoges was on the race calendar for the long-distance specialists among us. The winner in the province of Flemish Brabant is the top colony Draye – Denies from Sint-Joris-Weert. Their top-class pigeon, the “761”, wins 1st Provincial out of 624 old pigeons and also takes bronze national out of 6,972 old pigeons. This champion has a fantastic track record to present from the past seasons. But it is not just this champion in the colony. In the middle distance, too, he is currently racking up consecutive results on a continuous basis, and this with a small colony. Below, we present the best 3 pigeons to you, all originating from Geert De Clercq and tested here. Take a look at the results and you will have to admit that these are true champions in this difficult season. 

Best Middle Distance Results 2026

Toury 515 Old and Yearlings: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,10,20,47,48,… 13/20

Lorris 2,091 Old and Yearlings: 1,2,3,6,7,11,65,78,… 9/12

Lorris 1,464 Old and Yearlings: 1,2,20,21,… 5/6

Toury 1,519 Old and Yearlings: 3,4,5,35,… 5/5

Widowers and Hens

Both sexes are raced here, but always with partners staying at home. The cocks were paired in February and allowed to brood for 8 to 10 days. After that, they were not paired again and went into widowhood. The hens were paired later and allowed to stay together for 3 weeks. They went along for the first time on Saturday with eggs, again the following week, and then they were separated the Tuesday after that. After that, they flew a race again on Saturday, all nests had been removed, and the cock was ready. Most of them were therefore allowed to brood for 10 to 12 days.

Compared to the past, the pigeons here now train twice a day, usually on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Once they move to the long-distance races, the Wednesday evening training is skipped, and they go straight away. Both the long-distance and middle-distance pigeons are housed in the same loft. So, on Wednesday and Thursday, pigeons are taken out of the loft, and there is activity there. But that doesn't bother the pigeons; they simply show their qualities. Of course, there are also stay-at-home pigeons; these get to see their hen on Saturday when most pigeons are home, and in this way, everyone is rewarded. The pigeons are then usually separated in the early evening to return to rest and recovery. The widowers here also did not train before March 9 due to bird of prey problems; we had to pair them in February, and we simply waited until this pairing was complete before releasing them. We did let the hens out sooner, however, and they are also allowed to stay with their cocks on widowhood until the next day after the first race. As a result, we find that we have fewer problems with them mating with each other.

In terms of nutrition, they receive two types of sports mixes throughout the week; we only add Aidi breeding mix upon returning from a national race. We believe this helps them recover more quickly. Furthermore, we like to use Aidi Health Elixir, and otherwise, very little goes into the drinking water. We keep our pigeons free from trichomoniasis by administering a pill every three weeks, and they received only one treatment for coccidiosis at the end of April. Just as the only course of treatment for the respiratory tract was administered at that time to ensure they were clean for the middle-distance races. We have a check-up with Raf Herbots every 4 weeks, and if necessary, we can still intervene then.

Limoges Winner

BE 22-2020761 “De Limoges” Checkered Cock

1 Prov Limoges 624p ( 3 Nat 6.972p )
1 Lorris 217p
3 Vierzon 1.741p
4 Tulle 306p
5 Lorris 659p
7 Prov Tulle 378p ( 53 Nat 3.726p )
7 Prov Souillac 432p ( 138 Nat 4.673p )
7 Soissons 688p
8 Melun 470p
9 Aurillac 371p 
11 Vierzon 1.342p
20 Toury 1.238p
20 Nat (z) Tulle 1.084p
37 Soissons 2.251p
124 Nat Bourges 6.713p

Father BE 20-2072166 Son Magic 506 – Erik Limbourg
Son of “506/15” Magic 506 won 4th National Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB 2019 with, among others, 1st National (z) Cahors 1,999p – 1st Provincial Issoudun 1,213p x “536/15” Sister Iron Lady

Mother BE 21-4204941 Granddaughter Uranus – 100% Willem De Bruijn
Daughter of “NL 514/17” Son Uranus x “NL 276/15” Daughter Zidane

Top performers in the middle distance

The first 2 we present are 2 nest brothers, and all 3 of these pigeons were bred by Geert De Clercq.

BE 25-4053009

1 Toury 515p
1 Melun 202p
3 Lorris 2.091p (1-360p )
4 St.Soupplets 375p
5 Lorris 3.420p
5 Toury 2.791p
20 Lorris 1.464p

BE 25-4053010 Checkered 010
1 Lorris 2.091p
1 Lorris 1.464p
1 Momignies 278p
1 St.Soupplets 278p
6 St.Soupplets 457p
10 St.Soupplets 399p
10 Toury 2.113p
28 Toury 2.791p
62 Lorris 1.894p

Father BE 23-4051514 Driebander Jan Pappens
Son of “NL 01/20” Son Gerard Ace Jo & Florian Hendriks x “101/13” Branka 101 herself won 3 Prov Chateauroux 3,150p

Mother NL 23-9315783 Al Capone x Davina – Gerard & Bas Verkerk
Sister of “Kendall” 1 Nat Ace Pigeon Old Birds with 12 prizes
Daughter of “NL 556/18” Al Capone won 1 Nat Ace Pigeon Middle Distance NPO 2019 x “NL 131/16” Davina won 3 Nat Ace Pigeon Middle Distance/Long Distance 2018 – 7 Nat Ace Pigeon All Round and is sister of 1st Nanteuil 31,438p

BE 25-4053012 De 012 

1 Lorris 2.091p
1 Toury 439p ( 4/2.791p )
2 Toury 515p
2 Lorris 1.464p
2 Soissons 802p
2 St.Soupplets 497p
7 St.Soupplets 278p
13 St.Soupplets 399p
15 Soissons 1.478p
15 St.Soupplets 793p

Father NL 23-9314923 Chequer Froome – Willem De Bruijn
Brother of “Once in a Lifetime” 1st National Ace Pigeon Young Birds NPO 2023 – 1st National Ace Pigeon Young Birds Pipa 2023.
Son of “NL 219/14” Son Olympic Froome x “NL 218/20” Hunters 218 won 1st Pont 3,296p

Mother NL 23-9371659 Beauty Patagoon – 100% Willem De Bruijn via Team Patagoon
Sister of Ace Pigeon Young Birds Brabant 2023
Daughter of “NL 858/21” ½ brother Murphy’s Law Willem De Bruijn x “NL 078/22” Daughter Red Rum 1st National Ace Pigeon Pipa 2020 x “Desert Vixen” 1st National Ace Pigeon Yearlings Long Distance 2021

Rudy and Patrick, congratulations on these amazing results from the entire HERBOTS TEAM.

Buelens Kim