Jeroen van de Kooy: pigeon racing at the highest level

Jeroen van de Kooy, 46, lives with his partner Marieke in picturesque Roelofarendsveen in the province of South Holland. His career as a specialist in the fine metal industry, where he focuses on turning and milling, contrasts sharply with his great passion: pigeon racing. The middle one of triplets, Jeroen was infected with the pigeon virus in 1993 by his brother. Since then, he has not broken away from the sport and plays together with his brother, although each at his own address. 

A Strong Basis in Pigeon Racing 
Jeroen plays his races in the samenspel Midden Holland West (MHW), part of Division 5. MHW consists of seven associations, with about a hundred active pigeon fanciers who compete during the first flights of the season. The experience and knowledge Jeroen has accumulated in recent years has helped him to excel in both regional and national competitions. 

A Golden Pairing with Ad Schaerlaeckens 
In 2011, Jeroen was fortunate to obtain six eggs from legendary pigeon fancier Ad Schaerlaeckens. This turned out to be a golden move. Especially the hen NL11-1735220 proved to be a real topper. 

Her offspring is still flying on the lofts of Jeroen, who further enriched his breeding with pigeons from other top fanciers such as Willem de Bruijn, Ton Wolvers, and Henk & Lucie Scheffel. In the past, Jeroen also achieved great success with pigeons from Demely-Liliane, his uncle Wim, with a cock from Antoon van de Burg and Jeroen Kok. These additions have only strengthened the quality of his pigeon stock. 

The Best Performance of 2024 

• Pont-St-Max (350 km, 9,097 pigeons, northeast wind, 318 entrants): 1st, 3rd, 11th - 45 along, 32 prizes (1st,2nd,6th,22nd,30th against 2,830 pigeons) 
• Melun (420 km, 6,529 pigeons, va wind, 289 entrants): 4th, 6th, 21st, 23rd, 27th, 29th - 40 along, 32 prize (1st,2nd,5th,6th,7th,8th against 1,901 pigeons) 
• Fontenay (480 km, 4,907 pigeons, western wind, 246 entrants): 2nd, 6th, 31st - 32 along, 27 prize (1st,2nd,7th,12th,14th against 1,496 pigeons) 
• Pontoise (390 km, 3,446 pigeons, southwest wind, 210 entrants): 1st, 5th, 18th, 39th, 40th - 25 along, 21 prize (1st,4th,9th,14th,15th against 1,200 pigeons) 
• Issoudun (615 km, 298 pigeons, northeast wind, 38 competitors): 1st, 4th, 14th, 26th - 5 along, 4 prize (11th,23rd,47th against 1,450 pigeons) 
• Arras (266 km, 1,326 pigeons, va wind, 79 competitors): 1st, 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 16th - 22 along, 21 prize 

Championships and Titles in 2024 

Kring Midden Holland West: 

• 1st Middle Distance Undesignated 
• 1st Long distance undesignated 
• 1st Youngsters undesignated 
• 1st General Undesignated 
• 1st Designated General 

Semi Provincial (Rayon Midden Division 5, 23 associations): 

• 1st Middle Distance Undesignated (255 participants). 
• 2nd Long Distance Undesignated (154 competitors) 
• 3rd Youngsters Middle Distance (163 competitors) 

National Championships (Grandmaster System): 

• 5th Hok Champion Middle Distance 
• 2nd Best Fancier Undesignated 
• 4th Designated Champion 

 An Unforgettable Achievement: Vierzon 2007 
Looking back on his career, there is one achievement that will always remain in Jeroen's memory: the day long distance race from Vierzon in 2007. With only two pigeons at the start, he achieved 1st and 2nd place out of 692 pigeons in the circle, and even 7th and 9th place provincially, with a total of 3,894 pigeons. This was a confirmation of his strategy and the strength of his pigeons. 

 Jeroen, from the whole Herbots team, congratulations ! We are looking forward to your performances in the upcoming season 2025.