Team de Hoogh (Oosterhout) excels with 1st Provincial Pont-Sainte-Maxence against 4,987 pigeons thanks to top talent ‘705’
15 Jun 2025
Team de Hoogh is a close-knit family quartet consisting of Dries (78), his son Gert (52), grandson Danny (22) and uncle Ad van Vugt (60). Their connection to pigeon racing is no coincidence, but a family history that goes back 103 years. Generation after generation, they proudly carry on the same passion for the sport.
It was in 1922 that Gerrit de Hoogh, Dries' father, kept his first pigeons. Even before the Second World War, he caused a sensation in the sprint and middle distance races. With six sons in the house, pigeon racing was naturally not limited to him alone. Four of them also caught the pigeon virus, with the Gebr. de Hoogh combination being the most notable. As early as 1970, they made history with a national victory from Orléans with young pigeons. For years, they were among the absolute best in the Netherlands. At the time, Dries raced together with his brother Frans, from Rijen, a village near Oosterhout.
The next generation was soon ready. When Gert, Dries' son, was born, the pigeon tradition was continued. Father and son started flying together and systematically expanded their loft. This paid off: under the name D. de Hoogh & Zn, they became Provincial Champions several times and regularly finished in the national top 10.
An absolute highlight followed in 2015, with the national flight from Cahors: 1st and 2nd national against 9,238 pigeons: a performance that still captures the imagination.
And it didn't stop at three generations. With the arrival of Danny de Hoogh, the baton was passed on again. Danny and his uncle Ad van Vugt formed the successful combination Van Vugt–de Hoogh. Two years ago, they decided to join forces. Since then, they have been flying together under one name: Team de Hoogh.
Stock building
The foundation of their colony is built around one pigeon: the progenitor ‘Adwin’. His influence on the loft is enormous: his descendants, up to and including the third generation, have already flown at least 98 first prizes, without double counting. ‘Adwin’ was bred by Gertjan de Hoogh and his son Adwin, Gert's nephew and grandnephew. His bloodline mainly features the Leo Heremans type, with the famous ‘Biesmans’ as his father, also grandfather of, among others, ‘Wout’ from Jan Hooymans, and “Klazientje”, granddaughter of ‘Euro’, as his mother.
They crossed ‘Adwin’ with various hens, and each time this yielded strong results. He is undoubtedly the cornerstone of their breeding loft.
In addition, they have also brought in a lot of quality through the Scheele brothers. The friendship between my father and Jaap, and earlier between my grandfather and Adriaan, brought us into contact with this top line. We got top pigeons with multiple top-10 NPO finishes, such as: ‘Mighty Mike’, “Dylan”, etc. The best recent addition to their loft is undoubtedly ‘Golden Rico’, a son of stock pigeon ‘Rico’, which we bought at the Golden Ten, says Danny.
Recently, they also acquired a few promising pigeons from the very best of Gerard & Bas Verkerk. The first impression is excellent: the pigeons show a lot of class and fit well into their system. Among others, they have a son of ‘Al Capone,’ the 1st National Ace Pigeon and father of two different 1st National Ace Pigeons in 2024. Pigeons from the lines of ‘Fabio’, “Hotshot”, ‘Solange's Playboy’ and ‘Davina’ are now also part of their future.
Danny: "In the search for this stock structure, these are the pigeons that perform best for us. That's because we are looking for pigeons that are good at all distances. We also try to get a pigeon that is fairly all-round. You can see this now with the winner of Pt.St.Maxence. This pigeon has already raced five times in the top ten provincial against an average of 9,000 pigeons, which it did in the sprint, middle distance and one-day long distance. We really have pigeons that can perform well over many distances, which I think you can also see from our recent list of achievements."
Feeding schedule
The feeding schedule is simple but well thought out. Because the pigeons have to cover quite a few kilometres, especially from their location at the back of the province, they are given plenty of food. We want them to be fit at the start of every race.
At this stage of the season, recovery is crucial, so they feed them generously. They give them a 50/50 mix: Vanrobaeys' GPS Champions Mix and Peter Theunis' Champions Mix.
Playing system
They play with both cocks and hens, but always in pairs, with one of the two staying at home. If they fly with the cocks, their hen stays at home and vice versa. Their experience is that cocks lose their motivation over time when flown in double widowhood. They usually play the young birds on the nest.
Medical supervision
For the medical care of their pigeons, they have been working closely with Jan van Wanrooij of Belgica de Weerd for many years. They regularly use their products. In addition, for several years now, they have also been using the products of Vincent Schroeder (Schroeder-Tollisan). They alternate between the products of both companies, depending on what the pigeons need.
The team is certainly not in favour of excessive treatment, but they do try to monitor everything closely. For example, they treat for trichomonas every four weeks. As far as ornithosis is concerned, they pay particular attention to the pigeons themselves. They often clearly indicate when something is wrong.
Achievements of the last decade:
• 1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 5th Prov. Niergnies (200 km) 17,929 pigeons
• 1st NPO Melun (366 km) 16,023 pigeons
• 1st NPO Pt.St.Maxence (305 km) 12,470 pigeons
• 1st & 2nd National Cahors (850 km) 9,238 pigeons
• 1st NPO Issoudun (560 km) 6,438 pigeons
• 1st NPO Chateaudun (468 km) 6,277 pigeons
• 1st Prov. Pt.St.Maxence (305 km) 6,215 pigeons
• 1st Prov. Pt.St.Maxence (305 km) 4,987 pigeons
• 1st & 2nd NPO Grand Prix Melun (366 km) 3,801 pigeons
• 1st NPO Montlucon (610 km) 3,762 pigeons
• 1st NPO Chateauroux (578 km) 3,135 pigeons
• 1st National Sector Limoges (698 km) 941 pigeons
Championships won & ace pigeons:
• 1st Inter-Prov. Section Champion Golden Rings 2019 (One-day long distance & Young birds)
• 1st Inter-Prov. Ace Pigeon Golden Crack One-day long distance 2019
• 1st Prov. Champion One-day long distance Nominated 2019
• 1st Provincial Champion Young Birds 2013
• 1st Provincial Ace Pigeon Young Birds Speed 2021
• 1st General Rayon 2016-2017-2018-2019-2020-2021-2022
• 2nd National Ace Pigeon Young Birds NPO 2013
• 2nd Provincial Champion Sprint Unassigned 2018
• 2nd Provincial Champion Sprint Unassigned 2019
• 2nd Provincial Ace Pigeon One Day Long Distance 2019
• 3rd National Ace Pigeon Middle Distance FCI World Best Pigeon 2022
• 3rd National Ace Pigeon Middle Distance PIPA Rankings 2022
• 3rd Inter-Prov. Section Champion Golden Rings 2018 (One Day Long Distance & Young Birds)
• 3rd Inter-Prov. Section Champion Golden Rings 2021 (One Day Long Distance & Young Birds)
• 3rd Provincial Champion Middle Distance Unassigned 2021
• 3rd Provincial Champion Sprint Unassigned 2022
• 3rd Provincial Champion One Day Long Distance Unassigned 2019
• 3rd Provincial Champion Young Birds Unassigned 2019
• 6th National Ace Pigeon Middle Distance NPO 2019
• 7th National Ace Pigeon Middle Distance Fondspiegel 2018/2019
• 7th National Champion Middle Distance Assigned NPO 2019
• 7th National Champion One Day Long Distance Fonspiegel 2018/2019/2020
• 7th National Ace Pigeon Allround 2023/2024
• 8th National Champion One Day Long Distance Unassigned NPO 2020
• 8th National Ace Pigeon One Day Long Distance 2018/2019
• 9th National Ace Pigeon Sprint 2021/2022
• 9th National Ace Pigeon Sprint FCI World Best Pigeon 2022
• 10th National Champion One Day Long Distance Nominated NPO 2018
• 10th National Ace Pigeon Middle Distance 2023/2024
Notable results from recent weeks include wins in two races.
1st NPO Chateauroux (578 km) 3,135 pigeons with ‘Femke’
A pigeon from Gebr. Scheele paired with a daughter of “Adwin”. As a yearling, “Femke” already won 2nd Nat. Sector Chateauroux (583 km) against 4,112 pigeons & 6th in the whole of the Netherlands against 10,546 pigeons.
1st Prov. Pt.St.Maxence (305 km) 4,987 pigeons with ‘De 05’
This top cock is one of the very best. Without duplicates, he has already won 5 first prizes, including:
• 1st Prov. Pt.St.Maxence (305 km) 4,987 pigeons
• 2nd NPO Melun (366 km) 15,776 pigeons (1st fastest Semi-Prov. 7,699 pigeons)
• 3rd Roye (260 km) 489 pigeons
• 6th Prov. Roye (260 km) 12,180 pigeons (1st against 611 pigeons)
• 6th Prov. Pt.St.Maxence (305 km) 10,549 pigeons (1st against 524 pigeons)
• 7th Noyon (264 km) 3,494 pigeons (1st against 812 pigeons)
• 7th National Ace Pigeon Allround 2023/2024
• 9th Nat. Sector Issoudun (560 km) 2,409 pigeons
• 10th National Ace Pigeon Middle Distance 2023/2024
• 11th National Ace Pigeon Allround FCI World Best Pigeon 2024
• 11th Melun (366 km) 2,811 pigeons
• 17th NPO Chateauroux (583 km) 3,299 pigeons
• 21st NPO Fontenay (434 km) 8,230 pigeons
• 28th St.Soupplets (323 km) 2,646 pigeons
• 37th Nat. Issoudun (560 km) 7,163 pigeons
Conclusion
Team De Hoogh experiences pigeon racing as a family, which makes it extra special. Of course, they enjoy the early prizes, but they also enjoy the daily training sessions, working together and sharing their passion. It is this bond that makes it all worthwhile.
Congratulations from the entire Herbots team!
Christophe Mathues
