In conversation with living legend Hans Eijerkamp - Part 2
06 May 2026
Together with Miet and Jo Herbots, we headed to Brummen to visit living legend and international pigeon icon Hans Eijerkamp.
Hans runs “Greenfield Stud” together with his son Evert-Jan, where phenomenal top performances have been recorded for decades.
The purpose of our visit was to browse through Hans’s “collection of stories.”
We were looking for stories about and with Hans that have not yet been written down.
The “05” of Bertie Camphuis
And then the next question: despite all the top pigeons that have passed through the impressive breeding lofts here in Brummen, which pigeon or which pair has left the greatest impression on you? After this question, it became quiet for a moment. Evert-Jan and Hans looked at each other, and without exchanging a word, they quickly agreed to point to “the 05” of Bertie Kamphuis. “The 05” (NL77-476105) was crowned 1st National Ace Pigeon Middle Distance WHZB in 1981. His father is “NL74-1262495” (Janssen line via Freek Romein), and his mother is NL72-516418 (Smeulders line, which also traces back to the Janssen Brothers). The fact that so much Janssen blood flowed through the veins of “the 05” was decisive for the Eijerkamp family to go for him. Bertie himself was not immediately convinced to sell his top pigeon, but Hans turned to “Annie,” Bertus’s wife, and the deal was sealed. In Brummen, “the 05” became a foundation breeder of an unprecedented level. From the “05 breeding line,” the Eijerkamp family bred, among others, “James Bond” (1st National Ace Pigeon Middle Distance 1984), “Wonderboy 05” (2nd National Ace Pigeon 1990), and “Wonderboy 06” (1st National Ace Pigeon 1990).
“Especially when paired with the ‘Merckx hen of ’74,’ it was more than a jackpot. Famous offspring such as ‘141’ and ‘142’ came from this pairing, from which the lines of ‘Jonge Generaal’ and ‘Flitz’ originate. And we could go on listing a whole series of successful descendants.” You could clearly see that Hans and Evert-Jan were still enjoying the memories.
Bringing in pigeons that also perform well in other lofts
Evert-Jan turns around in his chair once more and says, “when my father and I start talking about buying pigeons, we can never say ‘no’ to each other—but we do have our own strategy. Your remark that ‘you don’t buy good pigeons, but a good family of pigeons’ is absolutely correct. Up until around 2004, we mostly looked for top pigeons from the famous Janssen Brothers’ lines, but in 2005, during the national days in Rosmalen, we were sitting together with Willem de Bruijn, and Willem said… ‘I’ve found a goldmine in Belgium,’ referring to Heremans-Ceusters. Those words did not fall on deaf ears, and in 2006 we brought in 30 youngsters from Vorselaar. The Heremans-Ceusters pigeons changed a lot in Brummen. They were even better than the Janssen pigeons, and when crossed, they were unstoppable. What class! The contact with Leo was well maintained, and when Hans and Evert-Jan heard that all Heremans-Ceusters pigeons would be sold in March 2007, they wanted only one thing: to buy and cherish the very best pigeons. They had achieved a lot of success with these birds in a short time, and both Hans and Evert-Jan were firmly convinced that acquiring the best from Vorselaar would give the Eijerkamp colony an unprecedented boost. It became a sale the men would never forget: pigeons such as “Euro,” “Rossi,” “Spinneke,” “Peter,” “Charlene,” “Goochelaar,” “Mysterious,” and of course the super crack “Jackpot” moved to Greenfield Stud to ensure the next generations. We invested a great deal of money in that sale because we thought it marked the end of Leo’s success story—but Leo Heremans did not stop and once again achieved phenomenal results. In May 2013, Leo sold his pigeons again, and my father and I believed so strongly in these birds that we purchased, among others, the “New Olympiad” (€210,000). Looking back, the Heremans pigeons turned out to be more than a golden investment.”
A similar story applies to the purchase of the “Geeloger” from Eric Limbourg. “Geeloger” became 1st National Ace Pigeon KBDB Allround and was bred from two original Willem de Bruijn pigeons—and anyone who knows Willem de Bruijn knows that those pedigrees are richly infused with Heremans blood. So once again, we bought a top pigeon from a family that had already proven its quality both with us and in many other lofts. A superb deal was also made with the Leideman Brothers. Just like with Heremans-Ceusters, we first bought a few youngsters, and it was immediately a hit. “Speedy Grizzle” (NL19-1248576) won 1st National Ace Pigeon Sprint Natour 2019. She was raced only four times and achieved: 5/10,065 birds – 6/6,829 birds – 6/6,209 birds – 27/3,325 birds.
Later, significant investments were also made during the total sale of the Leideman Brothers, and currently we have a world-class breeding pair in the loft with “Viton” x “Daughter Goed Grijs.” “And,” Evert-Jan continues without hesitation, “all these purchases have one thing in common: a passion for pigeon racing. At home, I have ten ‘tile sayings’ on the wall, and one of them is: ‘From true passion, something beautiful always emerges.’” Evert-Jan glances over at his father and says: “we owe so much to pigeon racing. Not only the commercial success through the furniture pigeons, but above all the relaxation that pigeons bring. When you’ve had a very busy day at work, or when things in life don’t go as planned, the pigeons have always been there to bring peace—and for that, we are truly grateful to the sport.”
The future in Brummen and the Pulderbos project
Evert-Jan: “It is an open secret that since 2025 we have been running a new project in Belgium, more specifically in Pulderbos. Starting from the 2026 racing season, we will make our dream come true and begin racing in the highly competitive Belgian scene. On July 8, 2025, thanks to our swift and decisive way of doing business, we were able to purchase not only the house and the pigeon lofts, but also the pigeons and even the guard dog of Antwerp icon André Roodhooft. A unique deal that means a great deal to us, as it gave us the opportunity to acquire a loft that has achieved 6 national victories, Olympiad pigeons, national championships, and even a national KBDB ace pigeon. Something like that was an opportunity we simply could not let pass. The supervision of “Project Pulderbos” will be entrusted to Oliver Sabol—the man who has already proven in Brummen that pigeon racing is in his DNA. A man who knows very well how to guide a pigeon colony to the top of the results and who also has the skill to maintain performances at an exceptionally high level throughout an entire season. But please, let us not judge too quickly, because Oliver will need time to adapt to the Belgian system and the Belgian competition. Let 2026 be a year of gaining experience, and we have agreed with André Roodhooft that he will guide Oliver in this process. There is no better mentor than André to show Oliver the way in Belgian pigeon racing. We know that both Belgian and Dutch fanciers will closely analyze and compare our results, but all of this has already been thoroughly discussed within our team, and we want Oliver to start the 2026 season without any pressure. Our respect for Belgian pigeon racing is immense, and we hope we will succeed in making a strong impression.”
We also look to the future in Brummen with great confidence. I myself have taken a bit more “distance” from the furniture retail parks, which allows me to spend much more time at Greenfield Stud. In addition, our daughter Fleur is becoming increasingly involved in the day-to-day running of the pigeons. The role of head caretaker—due to Oliver’s move to Pulderbos—has been entrusted to the Polish fancier Michal Jagielski. Michal studied animal care and, a few years ago, asked if he could complete his internship here. After his internship, he kept coming back, especially during the racing season, to lend a hand—and now he has been given the opportunity to take over Oliver’s role and prove his dedication and knowledge in the 2026 season. We also have Arnold Paalman. Arnold is responsible for the breeding pigeons, but in addition, he also manages his own colony under the name Paalman-Eijerkamp. Arnold has incredible knowledge of pigeons and an exceptional feel for them. He came here at the age of 14 to clean the lofts, but he hardly spoke a word. Only when he was alone with my father did he begin to talk more freely, and my father’s insight into people told him that this would become a top fancier. Since the age of 20, Arnold has been a permanent fixture in the breeding lofts in Brummen. And of course, we must not forget Henk Juriëns—the man who commercializes the Eijerkamp pigeons worldwide. He also started here at the age of 14 as a student worker, and remarkably, he has never had another employer; he has now been with us for 44 years. No one knows us and the pigeon world better than Henk. As the Eijerkamp family, we are extremely proud to have such people on our team. Good and loyal employees are vital, and when things don’t go well, it is up to us to remain enthusiastic toward our team. That enthusiasm will always motivate them not to give up, but to do everything possible to get out of a difficult period and push forward. And of course, as a fancier, together with your team, you must closely follow the evolution in pigeon racing—in every aspect. Many roads lead to Rome, but you must not allow yourself to be pushed aside by the crowd. As we have already said… make sure you stay at the front!
Conclusion
The day flew by, and although we still had so many questions—and despite how much we enjoyed listening to the emotionally told stories—it was time to wrap things up. Despite all their success, it is crystal clear that the Eijerkamp family has “kept both feet on the ground” and treats everyone as equals. In a financial magazine, we once read an article about the success of the two furniture retail parks owned by the Eijerkamp family, and we are happy to echo the conclusion drawn by the author: “The success of the retail parks is based on the hospitality experienced by the customers.” Well… hospitality… that is exactly what Greenfield Stud and its owners radiate!
As we leave the magnificent pigeon facility, we take one last look at the impressive setup. We glance at Evert-Jan and can’t resist asking one final question: “Evert-Jan… if you were locked up for 24 hours with a fancier and could only talk about pigeons, who would it be?” Evert-Jan doesn’t hesitate for a second and answers, “Ad Schaerlaeckens… and if he’s on holiday, Willem de Bruijn would also be fine.” We share a laugh and once again see that sparkle of happiness in Evert-Jan’s eyes. And while he gives his granddaughter a warm kiss on the cheek, he glances toward his father Hans from the corner of his eye to make sure he is doing well. Evert-Jan watches over his family and everything happening at Greenfield Stud like a devoted guardian.
Hans, Evert-Jan, and the entire team… thank you for your time, thank you for your hospitality, and we wish you every success!
Stefan Mertens
