"Celine"
B23-5050345
1st National Bourges 5,261 old birds

Distance: 495km
Velocity: 1,474.55 m/m

What a truly special feeling or incredible thrill it must be for an enthusiast to achieve a national victory with one of their best pigeons. And then there's still a distinction to be made between good pigeons and super pigeons. Real champions that don't compete just once, not twice, but even three times for a national win. Such a pigeon is “Celine” (B23-5050345) from Stephan and Sabrina Brugmans from Halen. “It’s exactly 10 years ago that we won the national Bourges race with young birds,” says Stephan. “That was with our ‘Valère’, who later became a true foundation breeder.” Stephan doesn’t want to suggest anything directly, but if we can read his thoughts just a little, it’s clear he hopes that “Celine” will become the new breeding phenomenon.

“Celine”

“Celine”... the result when beauty and top performance come together. Before her national Bourges victory, she already won:
1st Provincial Bourges '25 against 1,079 pigeons – 2nd National against 8,132 pigeons
1st Provincial Vierzon '24 against 750 pigeons – 2nd National against 5,780 pigeons
10th Provincial Gien '25 against 7,344 pigeons

…only to now place the proverbial cherry on top of an already rich cake with 1st National Bourges '25 against 5,261 old birds.

Stephan: “And to think we almost never spoke of ‘Celine’ again. After winning 2nd National Vierzon in 2024, she was sent to Argenton the following week. We stared at the sky for hours, but there was no sign of ‘Celine’. We gave up hope and feared the worst. Then came a phone call from a ‘non-pigeon fancier’ who had found a pigeon in her horse stable. Once we heard the ring number, we knew it was ‘Celine’. A meeting was arranged at a motorway parking lot, and just like that, ‘Celine’ was back in her familiar loft. She recovered very well, and look—this season she rewards us with a 1st and 2nd national prize.”

Strong 2025 Season

The name Brugmans has become a staple at the top of the results. This year alone, they’ve already achieved 5 provincial and 2 zonal victories, all reported on the Herbots website. You can easily find these articles in the “News” section of our site, and this winter there will certainly be a comprehensive article about this champion colony, detailing both their care and their top pigeons. Something to look forward to!

And yet… even here we hear about the loss of pigeons that previously performed very well. It's striking how many fanciers are experiencing this. With young birds too, it's a weekly wait-and-see to find out whether all of them made it back home safely.

Speaking of young birds… “Celine’s” performance slightly overshadowed that of young bird “B25-5014468”. But with an average speed of 1,478.73 m/min, this young talent still won 3rd National against 21,502 young pigeons — and was registered 59 seconds faster than “Celine”. Just enough bragging rights to tell his loftmates in the evening that he beat the “star” of the loft!

We wish Sabrina and Stephan lots of success in the coming weeks.

Stefan Mertens

Stefan Mertens