Herbots | Aurillac: Old Pigeons

For the sixth consecutive year, we found ourselves ringing the bell at Hooymans.be (namely fancier Gregory Bekaert and breeder Jan Hooymans) to congratulate them on yet another national victory. Yes, you read that correctly: six years in a row… One might think: “Those guys must be used to winning nationals by now; it probably doesn’t affect them anymore.” But nothing could be further from the truth. We saw a deeply emotional Gregory, because this victory was one he had never expected.

The reason?

“Although I basketed the pigeons exactly the way I wanted, the result in the National La Châtre race was disappointing. We did have an early pigeon (18th National), but there were too many ‘gaps’ in the arrival times. At Aurillac, however, they came home like a storm and we achieved an outstanding result: 2,373 old birds: 1-9-16-26-50, etc. and 3,516 yearlings: 2-8-11, etc. What makes this performance even more special is that, apart from my first nominated pigeon, all of these pigeons were racing this distance (727 km) for the very first time, and that with a headwind. I would also like to thank Christian van de Wetering, who guided me perfectly throughout the preparation.”

“Did I actually see my national winner arrive?” No… I had just gone to feed my young birds one last time and, as I left the young bird loft, I saw her sitting there. The clock showed 5:19 p.m., and I knew that if I could clock her before 5:22 p.m., it would be bingo. I can tell you that my heart skipped more than a few beats.

Several reports have already been published about the management system of this colony, but here is a brief reminder:

As mentioned, Gregory is the racing fancier and Jan Hooymans is the breeder.
Every year, Jan sends around 150 youngsters from the first round to Mol. Later in the season, another 150 youngsters (fourth round) follow, about half of which are bred from marathon pigeons.
Gregory never looks at the pedigrees beforehand. His motto is: race first, study the pedigree afterwards.
Every day, no fewer than nine different groups have to train. To keep everything under control, Gregory follows a very strict schedule. Each pigeon is given exactly five minutes to enter the loft after training. If they fail to do so, an extra training session is added with the next group.
Feed and supplements are supplied by Aidi.
Every two weeks, Gregory visits veterinarian Dr. Van Rompaey in Sint-Truiden. His advice is followed without question.

Gregory and Jan, congratulations from the entire Herbots team. We are already looking forward to our next visit!