Van Waeyenberghe Jeroen wins World Best Pigeon Marathon 2024

Hemeleveerdegem. Sub-borough of Lierde covers an area of 2.80Km2 and has barely 397 inhabitants.It is located on the northern side of the Flemish Ardennes and worth seeing is the Saint John Baptist church. Today we are guests of Ronny and Carine, parents of 33-year-old Jeroen Van Waeyenberghe. Ever since he was six, father Ronny and grandfather André, a passionate fancier, passed on the pigeon bug. Ronny and his wife Carine kept the doors of the pigeon loft ‘recht voor allen’ in Deftinge open from 2000 to 2009. And it was also there that little Jeroen already helped tackle and basket the pigeons. It was also in Deftinge that he played together with father Ronny but Jeroen had his own little box, under the approving eye of father Ronny. It was rather the speed races that were played there.

LITTLE BOYS GROW UP!
Jeroen, crazy about pigeons, after his studies at the school of horticulture in Oudenaarde, was put to work as a pigeon keeper with Marc De Cock in Temse and later with Dirk Deroose. Two top lofts that taught Jeroen a lot. Jeroen currently works for the technical department in Herzele, which is a lot closer to home. After leaving the pigeon loft, they moved to Hemelveerdegem where they initially still raced speed (Noyon).

2015 !
Via Willy Van Damme, Jeroen met the world-famous Joost De Smeyter and one thing led to another . The speed from now on would not be called long distance but heavy long distance , and with Joost it clicked immediately and the train was off. The base of the present loft counts for 95% the strain of Joost , the rest listens to names like Wouters Ronny and Domien from Zelem. One from Daniél Van Herzele which was bought as a voucher and was a great success. Finally Noél - Willox from Baasrode are doing great on the lofts in Hemelveerdegem !

THE COLONY !
It has about 85 widowers and about 75 hens. Outside the racing season the pigeons live in the run, which saves a lot of time for cleaning. When Jeroen goes to work, four other hands take care of the pigeons, those of mother Carine and father Ronny. ‘Without my parents I would unfortunately not be able to manage’ says Jeroen. Carine helps clean the lofts in the morning with her husband Ronny. She is also often behind the wheel for training the pigeons . With the cocks we play widowhood and with the hens we play the nest game. If possible and if the planning is right, the hens are basketed on small youngsters.

HENS !
When the hens arrive on the nest and in preparation for long distance races, they are taken away every day until Quievrain (45 KM) . First they are released per basket, the second day per 5 and the last time one by one. In preparation they all fly 3 x Noyon , then it's on to Orleans Vierzon and Bourges . The yearlings fly Agen and Narbonne .

WIDOWERS!
These are prepared in groups according to which flight will be flown . The favourite flight is of course Barcelona . In the beginning they are fed Black Label Gerry Plus by Versele. Towards the end of the week, let's say the last six feeds, it gets heavier with Champion-Black Label . The last two days before basketing, Long Distance plus fly mix nr 3 from AIDI and extra Energie from Versele will be added ! Widowers are played with partners who stay at home , and on the nest box of the hens only the hens go into the basket .They are bathed every week outside the season as well as during the season !

YOUNG PIGEONS !
Like most long-distance racers, the youngsters are of minor importance. At Hemelveerdegem we try to give the youngsters as much as possible a place on the races and if possible to let them fly at least one national race. With a view to the future as yearlings, youngsters are not separated and are basketed this way. About 200 youngsters are weaned for our own use.

THE MEDICAL PICTURE !
Jeroen makes no secret of it and says he is short on time , apart from the obligatory inoculations the man in white (Wim Boddaert) is visited every three weeks. ‘The long distance season is actually short and you can't afford any missteps then’ , says our host. ‘The days they are in the basket are often enough to come home with an infection.’ Young pigeons receive two injections against Paramixo/Rota and one against smallpox . Furthermore, the youngsters are given as little medication as possible and they also enjoy a weekly bath. When asking Jeroen what his best moment was , ‘winning Barcelona local in 2015 and the Long Distance Barcelona/Perpignan with first signed , these were won with De Smeyter-Restiaan and Eeckhout Yvan-Spileers Mario . And of course World Best Pigeon 2024 Super Marathon ‘. When asked the opposite question what his lesser moment was . ‘The lamentable lag of good pigeons on the races , and the jealousy of some fanciers’ !

SUPPLEMENTS!
Pigeons coming home from far distances enjoy a solid mixture and recovery of Belgavet . As additional products there are these of Belgavet and Aidi . For basketing it is Prepare (Belgavet) plus Chelats (Aidi) plus Pro Bacterial (Aidi). To bring the pigeons to a forme there is Health Elixir (Aidi) plus Aidi Condition plus minerals on the menu.

STRONG  !

In 2023 was er ook al sterk spel met de
2° World Best Pigeon super marathon
11° Nationale asduif kbdb
13° Nationale asduif kbdb
8° Nationaal Kampioen 1+2 Zware Fond
10° Europese asduif duivinnen (2 prijzen)
3° Prov asduif jaarse zware fond
4° Prov asduif oude zware fond
3° Prov Kampioen 1+2
8° Nationaal Narbonne
18° Nationaal Agen
21° Nationaal Pau
67°+100° Ntionaal St Vincent

IN 2024 !

1° World Best Pigeon super marathon
78°.128°.144° Nationaal op Pau
26° Nationaal Barcelona
58° Nationaal Dax
63°.81°.93° Nationaal met 3 eerstgetekende Perpignan
11° Nationale asduif zware fond .
1° Koning zware fond Ninove
2° Kampioen zware fond Ninove
3° Kampioen oude Ninove
2° Kampioen jaarse Ninove
1° Asduif oude Ninove
Winnaar Memorial Van Sande Camiel

FCD !
5° Algemeen Kampioen fond/zware fond
6° Algemene Koning fond/zware fond
3° Kampioen meest pr, zware fond oude en jaarse

FVOV !
2° Nat ploegkoers Gent samen met De Smeyter-Restiaan

TO CONCLUDE!

A young fancier full of ambition and talent to play with pigeons and already winner of the World Best Pigeon Marathon at the age of 33. A trophy to be proud of but he realises that he could only win it with the help of his mother and father who support him in everything. Jeroen also wanted to thank Joost (Smeyter-Restiaan) again for the advice and support he received from him. It only remains for me to say thanks for the welcome , the coffee and the coffee cake and on to the next Barcelona.
Congratulations from the whole Herbots team.

Rudy Fosselle