Dirk Martens (Deinze) wins 1st and 2nd Prov. Narbonne East Flanders for yearlings

Deinze - Dirk Martens has once again shown his class in pigeon racing this season. Earlier this year he already took the provincial victory on the international flight from Pau, which for many would already be the highlight of the season. But Dirk impressed again by taking the first and second provincial prize on the international flight from Narbonne against 1,346 yearlings. In addition, his pigeons classified 6th and 8th nationally against 5,553 yearlings.

Dirk talks enthusiastically about his recent success: "After the provincial win from Pau this year, I was able to secure another provincial palm on Narbonne yearlings, and this time a double one! Having already won provincial three times in '22 and '23 (Agen '22, Perpignan '22, Sint-Vincent '23), I didn't think I would manage this in my further career. To win provincial, your pigeon has to put in a top performance, but you also have to be a bit lucky with location and wind."

Pegasa

The hen that ensured this victory listens to the name "Pegasa". "She is a granddaughter of both foundation mothers, "Gina" and "SuperSonja". "Gina", meanwhile, is mother of two provincial winners and grandmother of five provincial winners! What makes it even more special is that on Narbonne, "Gina" is grandmother of both the first and second provincial on her own loft, and also grandmother of the first and second provincial on Marseille, this time on Maarten De Boe's loft," Dirk proudly says.

"SuperSonja" has also proved her breeding qualities, in addition to her outstanding racing career. "She is grandmother of the 2023 national ace heavy long distance pigeon, "Little Sonja", at Maarten De Boe, who also won first zonal twice. Direct children of "SuperSonja" also perform excellently, including a 16th national Marseille and earlier a 6th national Agen '22, and a 66th national Pau '24."

About "Pegasa", Dirk says: "She was weaned in March 2023 and bred from two yearlings. As a youngster she flew up to 300km. Earlier this year she was basketed on a small youngster for Agen and achieved a prize by ten there. After Agen, she was able to build a new nest and was then basketed at 14 days' incubation for Narbonne with the known result."

Trans 536

The second provincial winner, "Trans 536", is a cock bred from a cock from Jeroen and Stijn Rans (inbred "Frans", 1st national Perpignan), paired with an inbred hen from "Gina". Dirk explains: "He was a summer youngster, weaned in June 2023, and as a youngster could only be trained up and fly Arras twice (110 km). That did not prevent him from performing excellently this year with a prize by twenty on Agen and an 8th national on Narbonne. He was also basketed at the end of breeding."

Dirk concludes, "The team for Narbonne consisted largely of the pigeons that had performed excellently on Agen. They were basketed on a small youngster on Agen and on 14 days' incubation on Narbonne. In between they were not reared, nor did they participate in short races. They trained daily for an hour at home with the skydancer and flags. After Agen, they were individually given a pill against tricho and coccidiosis. No antibiotics were given, and they were given Wonderpigeon in their drinks daily."

National Results Racing Team  

Agen old, 6,435 pigeons: 
182, 196, 303, 319, 347, 387, 870 (7 of 14, of which 6 per ten)
Agen yearlings, 7,396 pigeons: 
128, 140, 161, 170, 264, 267, 272, 275, 307, 550, 716 (20 of 37, of which 11 per ten)

Narbonne old, 4,983 pigeons: 
43, 112, 177, 261, 306, 450, 902, 972, 1,005 (9 of 12, of which 6 per dozen)
Narbonne yearlings, 5,553 pigeons:
6, 8, 62, 127, 163, 172, 277, 280, 289, 295, 352, 522, 814, 1,162 (14 of 24, of which 12 per dozen)

The performance of Dirk Martens and his flight team is truly impressive and shows a keen eye for quality. With these new victories Dirk has not only put his name, but also the name of his pigeons firmly on the map of pigeon racing again.

On behalf of the entire Herbots team we would like to congratulate Dirk with these exceptional performances.

Maarten Herbots