Moors Jozef & Eric win 1st Provincial Cahors Limburg against 523 birds

In the demanding long-distance race from Cahors, Moors Jozef & Eric from Neerharen clinched an impressive 1st Provincial Limburg against 523 old birds (316th place on national level against 5.226 birds).  It’s their second provincial victory ever — a result they truly cherish. “We've often come close, but it always slipped through our fingers. This time, it finally happened – and what a way!”

Over four decades of passion

Jozef and his son Eric started pigeon racing back in 1977. In the early years, results were limited, but a strong bond with the Van Wissen family (Maastricht) and the introduction of Eijerkamp pigeons provided the necessary boost.
They have continuously invested in their breeding loft, with a clear focus on performance and selection. Over the years, they collected several zonal wins and one previous provincial victory on Vierzon — and now a new milestone from Cahors.

The winning hen: consistent and underestimated

Their winning pigeon is a five-year-old hen with solid genetics. The sire was obtained from Jos Thoné, and the dam is a mix of a Gommaire Verbruggen ace and a Vandenabeele pigeon via Jo & Florian Hendriks.
“She was our third nominated bird,” they explain. “A consistent hen who never missed a distance race, but never arrived first either. We didn’t expect this result.”
Still, she proved her class before, scoring in 2024 on Chalons-sur-Saône, Limoges I & II, Brive, and Tulle. This year she again performed well on Chalons and Limoges. She stems from one of their oldest and best-performing lines.

Practical total widowhood

They race using total widowhood – a system that favors the hens. “The cocks perform less, but the hens compensate more than enough.”
In terms of preparation, the hens are raced weekly while the cocks stay home between two long-distance events. Feeding gets richer as the distances increase.
Supplements include vitamins, electrolytes, and disinfection, but they’re also experimenting with Beute products following the advice of Vincent Schroeder.

Breeding and selection

Their breeding loft houses 40 pairs. “Some think that's too many, but we believe you need to breed and race a lot to select properly.”
Young birds are selected based on their build and homing ability, not necessarily early results. Yearlings must show promise, and old birds must be proven regulars.

Father & son team

“My father is still my biggest inspiration,” says Eric. “At 87, his commitment is admirable.”
Their ambition for the rest of the season? Consistency, a high prize percentage, and ideally another provincial top result. And the dream? Barcelona.
Also, Eric is running as a KBDB candidate: “I want to help shape a fair and enjoyable future for our sport.”

Maarten Herbots