Hok Van Den Bruel (Itegem) wins the 1st Provincial Châteauroux Antwerp for young birds

Itegem - The last national flight of the season in Châteauroux was a great success for Kurt Van Den Bruel. His loft won the 1st provincial prize against 3,482 youngsters with the young pigeon BE24-6107235 "Lola". This was not the only top performance, as no fewer than eight of their youngsters finished in the provincial top 100. At national level, the results were also impressive, with "Lola" in 11th place nationally out of 15,060 youngsters, and five pigeons in the national top 100. 

A family success story 

The win is a real family success story, as Kurt's son Robin Van Den Bruel's pigeon loft, which plays in Ramsel, also performed well at the national flight. Together with his girlfriend Jessie, he came 52nd, 62nd, 69th and 71st in the national rankings, again against a field of 15,060 youngsters. Pigeon racing clearly runs in the Van Den Bruel family! 

Stars of the season 

Lola 

1st Prov. Châteauroux against 3,482 youngsters
11th Nat. Châteauroux against 15,060 youngsters

Otis

3rd best young bird in 5 national races Pipa ranking

Fay

This pigeon is played at Robin Van Den Bruel's loft in Ramsel and has won a.o.:
62nd Nat. Châteauroux against 15.060 youngsters 
14th Nat. Ace Pigeon YB KBDB G.M.D. 2024 & 6th best youngster on 5 national Pipa-Ranking races

The system behind the youngsters 

The strength of the success lies in a disciplined approach. The youngsters are separated by sex shortly after weaning, without forming pairs, and they train every day in the morning. Darkening takes place until the longest day of the year, and additional lighting follows shortly afterwards. Before the season, the pigeons undergo intensive training, and rearing is a crucial part of the process: the youngsters are reared up to 20-25 times before making their first official flight. 

When it comes to feeding, they closely follow the advice of Jelle Roziers, one of the world's leading pigeon fanciers. The pigeons receive a balanced mix of Aidi Fly Mix 1 - 2 - 3 and complementary products such as Condition Booster and Omega Plus Oil. 

The lofts themselves were modified in 2020 with open corridors and ceilings to keep the pigeons' health at an optimum level. The open structure ensures good ventilation, which promotes the health of the pigeons.

Results 2024 

The year 2024 was marked by a number of successes. Below, an overview of Kurt's national results in black and the national results of his son Robin's loft in red:
Bourges 10/08/2024          26,549 youngsters
16-110-123-208-294-320-388-405-413-479-542-669-705-767-814-819-820-1046-1247-1390 …..  22/56   18/41
Vierzon 18/08/2024            16,892 youngsters
23-100-125-136-141-163-174-175-185-213-236-282-362-388-424-443-450-462-470-478-507-525-570-574-618-657-689-723-772-785-868….    31/48    28/38
Argenton 24/08/2024          14,745 youngsters
90-186-425-574-606-665-770-801-923-949-1138-1152-1193-…..  17/47     14/37
Argenton  08/09/2024         9,401 youngsters
17-19-55-70-118-119-160-167-169-175-180-212-215-300-311-354-383-383-450-472-484-489-493-631-633-684-697-702-709-841-892….  26/40       18/37
2nd and 3rd Nat. Zone B3 /1,246 youngsters
Chateauroux  14/09/2024       15,060 youngsters
11-15-33-33-49-52-62-69-71-101-105-159-170-258-363-373-490-578-605-648-676-724-802-912-998-1032-……    23/40     23/36
1st and 4th Nat. Zone B3 /2,233 youngsters
1st and 4th Provincial /3,482 youngsters
Provisional final ranking in the PIPA classification: Best young pigeon with 5 prizes in the middle-distance races.
3 – 6 – 8 – 29- 47 – 64 – 68 – 74 – 79 

A family affair 

With the whole family, including daughter Jolien, helping out where needed, pigeon racing at Van Den Bruels is more than just a hobby. It's a passion that has been passed down from generation to generation, and one that always leads to success. The impressive results speak for themselves: this season has been more than successful for Kurt and his son Robin. After winning the 1st Nat. Argenton against 22,869 youngsters in 2022 (the fastest of the 28,035 pigeons) and the 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon H.M.D. KBDB 2022, the Van Den Bruel family continues to build a fine record in pigeon racing! 
Kurt & Nancy, Robin & Jessie and Jolien, congratulations from the whole Herbots team! 

Maarten Herbots