Mommen Luc and Stef (Sint-Lambrechts-Herk) win 1st, 6th, 7th and 10th Prov. Agen Yearlings in Limburg

Sint-Lambrechts-Herk - Stef and Luc Mommen achieved another impressive performance in pigeon racing. During the Provincial flight of Agen for yearlings in Limburg, they achieved 1st, 6th, 7th and 10th place, among numerous other top placings. An impressive performance that shows that their systematic approach and care for the pigeons is paying off.

BE23-5009487 Atalanta

The winning hen, now renamed 'Atalanta', is a late hen with a fine pedigree. She is out of a cross of their 1st Provincial winner of Narbonne 2021 (5th National against 5,972d) with a hen from the Winkens-Rothenburg auction purchased at Herbots. This hen has already proven herself with, among others, a 3rd and 9th National at Agen and strong performances at Narbonne and Bergerac.

Atalanta's story is particularly inspiring and the reason she bears this name. Despite a serious injury and some obstacles as a young pigeon, she still managed to prove herself with this top national performance while most of the early birds were in the west and centre of Belgium, a testimony to her strong character and exceptional intelligence, just like her parents.

'Atalanta' also showed herself at national level as 15th out of 7,396 yearlings (42nd out of 13,831 old and yearling birds combined)

Clever Fathers

Stef Mommen says: "The father of 'Atalanta' was obtained as an egg via Jos Thoné, flew as a late youngster in 2021 no further than Vervins (155km) and then, as a yearling, had already flown more than 3000km before taking part in Agen. It wasn't even the intention to play this pigeon at Agen, I originally wanted to play 1 hen for our very first heavy long distance flight ever, but my father then chose 2 more (including the father of 'Atalanta') because he had no confidence in this hen. He was then once again right because these 2 "additions" both made prize on Agen and after this also on Narbonne.  In 2022 the father of 'Atalanta' presented himself on every flight and flew among others a 1st Argenton against 409b and again by a dozen on Agen before being a week behind on the disaster flight from Narbonne. After this, my father and I decided to rename this pigeon to 'De Narbonne' and put it on the breeding loft because a pigeon that can cope with all this as a yearling, flying provincially 21 minutes off and like on the disaster flight from Narbonne confirmed on character keep looking for its home, that can't be an ordinary pigeon."

Results Agen

Stef and Luc are especially proud of the performance of their entire team, and if you look at the results below you can't help but agree with them.
Agen yearlings provincial: 1-6-7-10-16-23-35-39-64-65-70-71-100-122-127-128-136-138-141-142-155-156-161-162-166-175-177-183 (28/54)
Agen yearlings national: 15-173-190-218-358-426-490-503-728-729-774-783-1101-1456-1507-1528-1705-1727-1768-1775 (20/54)
Agen Old Provincial: 6-69 (2/2)
Agen Old National: 64-898 (2/2)
Agen Old Zonal: 20-342 (2/2)

The pigeon that won the 6th provincial Agen (64th Nat. against 6,435 old pigeons) is also a son of 'De Narbonne', which makes 2 children of this pigeon as the first 2 clocked pigeons at the Mommen home. Stef added: "My father told me after the race that he was happy that 'De Narbonne' is in the breeding loft, as he was hesitant to continue playing it after the disaster flight to Narbonne."

Pedigree BE22-5004437, 6th Prov. Agen (64th Nat. against 6,435 old birds)

Thanks to Wim Gielen

The pigeon that won 6th place provincially among the yearlings was bred out of a cock that Stef had on loan from Wim Gielen at the time. "I bought my first long distance pigeons from Wim at the time and I got to lend this pigeon because Wim and I had a good contact and he wanted to help me as a young beginning pigeon fancier. By the way, the 10th Provincial among the yearlings is also out of 2 Wim Gielen pigeons.

Pedigrees 6th, 7th and 10th Prov. yearlings

Approach and Game System

As far as supplements are concerned, they use Fernand Mariën recovery powder and condition powder, Beyers food and Aidi candy seeds. Stef emphasises that their pigeons never receive antibiotics, only the obligatory vaccinations and a smallpox treatment with the brush. Luc and Stef regularly visit Dr Mariën for check-ups, but they have never had to intervene. "This natural, hard system ensures that the pigeons stay strong and healthy, once they have proved after 3 years that they can cope with this approach, it seems to me to be a very suitable system for the heavy distance, but also for determining the breeding value of your proven racers afterwards", says Stef. What's more, Luc and Stef swear by a simple approach. Good pigeons, good care and a good loft, that's all.

The results of recent years confirm the effectiveness of their approach. In the heavy long distance, they have already achieved several provincial victories since 2021, including a first provincial and a Euregio in Agen in 2022. This year, another impressive performance in provincial and national flights.

Ode to Luc

"I only became interested in pigeon racing in 2020, but I'm lucky enough to play with my father who has a lot of experience," Stef begins, "Even though he only started playing with pigeons again in 2018 after a 20-year break due to his profession as a self-employed carpenter, my father can prepare the pigeons for specific races like no one else and he's a specialist in the widow's game. So the success of Mommen pigeons is not just down to their strong genes, but also to the care and training they receive. Luc Mommen plays a crucial role in the daily care and training of the pigeons.

The Future

Stef and Luc are looking to the future with confidence, hoping to devote themselves entirely to long-distance heavy flying. "It's wonderful to see our hard work pay off, especially when you're only trying to do a few races a year. These results give us courage for the years to come," concludes Stef with pride.

With a clear vision and a proven approach over the last few years, Luc and Stef Mommen remain a source of inspiration for both novice and experienced pigeon fanciers. Their success at Sint-Lambrechts-Herk is a wonderful example of what is possible with dedication and passion for pigeon racing.

Luc & Stef, the whole Herbots team congratulates you on this success!

Maarten Herbots