Eric Vansteenbrugge (Kruisem) has got the fastest pigeon on the provincial opening race out of Orléans (East-Flanders)

Can we compare this race with the classic opener within cycling namely ‘Omloop Het Nieuwsblad’? Everybody have had preparing races and this start of the season was one with some obstacles, and the fanciers from the middle distance and long distance races got their first chance to test their pigeons.
Every province has its own race organized above 300km and for the province East-Flanders this is Orléans.
It promised to be a spicy race. The weather predictions were good, nevertheless it would be a vicious north-eastern wind with temperatures just above 10° Celsius. Many pigeons didn’t have enough training in their wings, didn’t have enough kilometres yet nor confidence and then some give up or stay behind. These opening races are always two-sides, but are very loved as a first test for the rest of the season.

The “Blauwe 362” is fastest of the entire platoon.
Eric Vansteenbrugge out of Kruisem is with his 67 years a true hobby pigeon fancier, but one that has it all in place. Eric lives together with his charming wife Annie back in Kruisem since 2010. Eric is born and raised on this soil but moved to Meulebeke after his marriage. He raced very strong over there on the shorter middle distance. He then build, beginning of the years 2000, a nice new house at his parental court. After they moved from Meulebeke to Kruisem he started racing pigeons again in 2012.

The lofts are built as ‘a loft in a loft’ in a big building that did duty in the past as a storage room for milk products who his father stocked as a conveyer for the dairy farms. The lofts are very tidy, well taken care off, very nice technically set up by Eric himself and nicely integrated within the flower garden.

The colony is a hobby colony with 10 couples breeding pigeons, 18 widow pigeons (8 old an 10 year birds) and about 58 youngsters. Both Eric as Annie make use of the nicely constructed building, Eric as a pigeon fancier, Annie paints, models and makes ceramic artefacts. Both practise this with a lot of fire and so they both have their hobby to talk about.
Eric races his cocks according the classic widowhood game. The pigeons were all coupled very early and the eggs of the best breeding couples were placed under the yearling birds.
Before the season the racing pigeons weren’t re-coupled again and were trained on the widow hood. The results were very promising and pointed out towards a super condition. This ascending curve found its coronation on the provincial race out of Orléans.
It was the ‘Blauwe 362’ who took care of this provincial victory. This 2016 cock was the fastest against 3,826 old birds and the 2,721 year birds with an average speed of 1,189.0661 m/minute. A race of 350km against this speed points out to the spicy nature of this opening classic.

It isn’t out of the blue that this cock won, he already showed in the past which top results he could set:

2016

21.05 ARRAS 6th against 211b
12.06 CLERMONT 5 against 133b - 4 against 103b
19.06 CLERMONT 65 against 279b - 57 against 251b
26.06 CLERMONT 21 against 254b
16.07 BLOIS 50 against 434b - 508 against 3800b
23.07 FONTENAY 52 against 1019b
30.07 FONTENAY 85 against 417b - 46 against 270b
06.08 CLERMONT 147 against 484b - 93 against 351b
13.08 ORLEANS 147 against 484b - 532 against 6309b
20.08 FONTENAY 33 against 221b - 21 against 178b
03.09 CLERMONT 68 against 220b - 114 against 289b

2017
08.04 ARRAS 10 against 153b - 10 against 151b
22.04 CLERMONT 3 against 126b - 3 against 126b
29.04 CLERMONT 16 against 181b - 16 against 181b
13.05 FONTENAY 102 against 689b - 73 against 460b - 45 against 488b -27 against 278b
20.05 FONTENAY 3 against 186b - 4 against 212b - 12 against 265b - 9 against 267b
27.05 ORLEANS 26 against 458b - 99 against 4813b - 25 against 355b- 101 against 3367b
04.06 FONTENAY 13 against 103b - 3 against 64b
10.06 FONTENAY 2 against 180b - 1 against 128b
17.06 FONTENAY 51 against 138b

2018
07.04 ARRAS 2 against 176b - 1 against 131b
21.04 CLERMONT 43 against 275b - 19 against 226b
05.05 FONTENAY 6 against 433b - 3 against 339b
12.05 FONTENAY 58 against 224b - 19 against 158b
19.05 FONTENAY 38 against 170b - 10 against 122b
02.06 CHATEAUROUX 13 against 426b - OVV 212 against 4283b

2019
20.04 CLERMONT 68 against 727b
27.04 CLERMONT 5 against 168b
05.05 CLERMONT 33 against 212b
12.05 ORLEANS 1 against 338 - OVV 1 against 3826b

Brother of this provincial winner (BE16-4100365) is even better and has a palmaris that looks even more beautiful:

2016
21.05 ARRAS 57 against 211
27.05 ARRAS 68 against 233 - 61 against 201
12.06 CLERMONT 25 against 133 -18 against 103
19.06 CLERMONT 103 against 279 - 92 against 251
02.07 FONTENAY 55 against 254
09.07 FONTENAY 113 against 367
16.07 FONTENAY 3 against 130 -3 against 90
23.07 FONTENAY 22 against 1019
30.07 FONTENAY 37 against 417 - 25 against 270
06.08 CLERMONT 70 against 484 - 41 against 351
13.08 ORLEANS 152 against 484 - 1117 van 6309
20.08 FONTENAY 23 against 221 - 14 against 178
03.09 CLERMONT 26 against 220 - 5 against 289

2017
15.04 CLERMONT 14 against 154 - 14 against 156
22.04 CLERMONT 10 against 126 - 10 against 126
13.05 FONTENAY 81 against 689 - 60 against 460
23 against 488 -19 against 278
20.05 FONTENAY 8 against 186 - 9 against 212
22 against 265 - 18 against 267
27.05 ORLEANS 9 against 458 - 24 against 4813 11 against 355 - 29 against 3367
04.06 FONTENAY 2 against 103 - 1 against 64
10.06 FONTENAY 29 against 180 - 16 against 128
17.06 FONTENAY 17 against 138 - 5 against 65

2018
07.04 ARRAS 50 against 176 - 31 against 131
14.04 CLERMONT 35 against 132
21.04 CLERMONT 3 against 275 - 1 against 226
05.05 FONTENAY 34 against 433 - 16 against 339
12.05 FONTENAY 53 against 158
19.05 FONTENAY 13 against 170 - 4 against 122
26.06 ORLEANS 63 against 338 - 270 against 791

2019
20.04 CLERMONT 24 against 727
27.04 CLERMONT 17 against 168
05.05 CLERMONT 7 against 212
12.05 ORLEANS 13 against 338 - OVV 44 against 3826

Thank you Omer !
You learn it somewhere and everybody has in its hobby (and especially within pigeon sport) someone who is being looked up to and where the finest details are learned from. In Eric’s case this is Omer Stichelbaut out of Kruisem. Omer is 85 years old and stopped racing pigeons himself by now. Omer has been a top racer for decades in the past during on the middle distance and long distance races.
A real nice fancier that takes care of pigeons close to nature is his own nature.
His knowledge and pigeons are at the base of Eric’s hobby. Eric tells us that he learned about everything from Omer. Next to that about 75% of his breeding loft exists out of pigeons from Omer and with these pigeons he races weekly head of the race. A big thank you for this victory is for Omer.
The other pigeons on this loft are from late Georges De Smet from Meulebeke who was a strong short and middle distance racer.

Simplicity in care, hard at selection.
The approach is accurate, well cared for, well thought out and well organized. The lofts are organized really practical but without a lot of fuzz. Keeping them healthy, trying to bring in the good shape and let the basket make the rest of the selection is how they work here.
The widow cocks train twice a day but without any encouragement. They get to see their hen for a while before basketing but that’s it. A smart pigeon knows fast enough what the motivation is. They are being fed rather light and this with a mixture of a few (cheaper) mixtures that are being combined. The last 2 to 3 meal (according the predicted weather) they are being fed more heavy. Nature and pigeon will also take care of this in a natural way to find in the feeding trunk what they need.
Eric is an adept of tea for his pigeons. Weekly they get a few days tea to drink. According to Eric this purifies them and makes them ‘light and flexible’.
The vet is being consulted once a year before the coupling end of November. Their own observation and by analysing the racing results makes Eric to interfere where necessary against the basic ills. The pigeons do get at basketing and homecoming the famous yellow drops and / or the drops from Natural.
During our visit the youngsters were basketed about 5 times for a training race and are about ready for the races out of France. During the season they will be raced on widowhood and are currently being darkened with as goal to make them get experience on the nationals for young birds. Also no spectacular interferences as acting normal is already crazy enough.
No more fuzz then necessary is what they say over here…and this with result! The proof that a real passionate hobby fancier can also get a top victory….and possible Annie will make a nice moulding as an ode to this provincial winner !

Congratulations and all the success from the Herbots-team !

Geert Dhaenens