Bernard Reyntjens (Rumbeke) wins 1st Provincial Agen West Flanders against 1,786 yearlings

Rumbeke - In an exciting national competition, Bernard Reyntjens won the 1st Provincial Agen West Flanders with his pigeon BE23-3005274, a mealy hen. She managed to stand out against as many as 1,786 yearlings. This remarkable success is a crowning achievement for Bernard Reyntjens, who started pigeon racing only nine years ago, without any experience.

Self-taught

"I actually only started playing with pigeons some nine years back with 0.0 experience. So a complete layman in pigeon racing," Bernard says. As an autodidact, he has mastered the tricks of the trade and his palmares are growing steadily. With performances such as the 12th Nat. Bourges in 2021, 4th Nat. Agen in 2022, 8th Nat. Argenton in 2022, 2nd Nat. Argenton in 2023 and 48th Nat. Tulle in 2023, he has already made quite a name for himself.

Together with his best pigeon friend Bart Vuylsteke, with whom he does co-breeding and who also races strongly himself, Reyntjens has further developed his passion. "I started out with some little lofts I hammered together myself and this is actually how it has remained. What goes well you shouldn't change much," he says of his simple but effective approach to pigeon care.

Bernards philosophy

Reyntjens believes in the power of good health and minimal medication. "In terms of care, we obviously try to keep the athletes as healthy as possible and each does that in their own way. Medication as little as possible but if they are sick we go to the vet," he explains.

His philosophy on pigeon racing is simple but powerful: "Actually, there are no pigeons for speed or pigeons for the long distance. I am of the opinion that there are only good and bad pigeons. "Bernard therefore told that he was not really surprised with the performance of his winning pigeon.

BE23-3005274

The winning mealy hen, BE23-3005274, proved to be a champion last weekend. Besides the 1st Provincial Agen against 1,786 yearlings, she also achieved the following rankings:
8th I.Nat. Agen against 6,721 hens
9th Nat. Agen against 7,396 yearlings (23rd against 13,831 old and yearlings combined
9th I.Nat. Agen against 9,418 yearlings

By the way, the mother of this pigeon achieved successes herself on the national flight from Argenton in 2022:
11th Nat. Argenton against 12,938 pigeons and 2weeks later the 45th Nat. Argenton against 18,763, a real top hen.

Origin of the Colony

The origin of his successful strain of pigeons is a special story. Reyntjens got his first pigeons from an old farmer who bred pigeons to eat, but among these pigeons was a super pair called "Fijne Molenaar" and "Blauwke OVL". These pigeons are now the common thread of his successful stock of first prize racers, both short and long distance. A striking example of their quality: "One pigeon flew 1st prize locally at Arras and the following week 2nd prize locally at Cahors," Reyntjens proudly tells us.

With this impressive victory in the 1st Provincial Agen West Flanders, Bernard Reyntjens continues to reinforce his place at the top of pigeon racing, with passion and belief in the quality of his pigeons.Bernard, from the entire Herbots team, heartfelt congratulations!

Maarten Herbots