Hok Van Den Bruel

This is a story about our new friends from Belgium – Hok Van den Bruel. The family members of the partnership are Kurt, Nancy, Robin & Jolien. This is their story of how it all started.

Where should we begin?
We have to go back to the 1990s, when my father first came into contact with pigeon racing through his father-in-law, known by everyone as “the FA of Itegem”. From that moment on, his interest in the sport grew stronger and stronger. Together they often visited and observed the pigeons of one of Belgium’s true master fanciers, none other than Jef Houben.

Over the years, Kurt and Nancy became close friends with the Houben family. Kurt and the FA eventually decided to build a new loft at my father’s new home and race together as a partnership. In the photographs, you can see this then brand-new loft, which is still being raced from today. With the valuable advice and several pigeons obtained from Jef Houben, they achieved many top prizes in sprint racing throughout the 1990s.

Then, in 1993, a first child arrived. Coincidentally, around that same time, a pigeon named “Robin” was flying at the Houben loft. You can probably guess what name this little boy received…

Let’s just say that I have been surrounded by pigeons from a very young age. I was always crawling around the lofts and was probably infected with the pigeon racing virus early on.

At the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s, my father temporarily stopped racing pigeons. By then, a younger sister had arrived and I had started cycling competitively. There simply wasn’t enough time for both sports and family life, so my father put his hobby aside and spent his weekends driving me to cycling races. My father himself was a talented former cyclist, and as they say, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

When I eventually realized that I wasn’t going to make a living from cycling and started paying a little more attention to girls, plans were already being made with a friend to return to pigeon racing. Around 2015, my father started racing pigeons again.

After a few years there were some setbacks, including a frightening moment when my mother almost suffered a heart attack. My father once again considered giving up the sport. But that was without reckoning with Jelle Roziers.

My sister and I encouraged him to continue. I told him:

“Dad, the way you can read and understand a pigeon is something I’ve rarely seen. Keep going with the pigeons. And when I’m settled in Ramsel and you win a National race, I’ll start racing pigeons too.”

The year 2022 became a year we will never forget.

At my home, several youngsters were already growing up. They came from eggs gifted by Jelle Roziers and from birds I had collected here and there in preparation for my first breeding season that winter.

Then, during the summer, our “Jolle” landed on the trap and won 1st National Argenton against more than 28,000 pigeons.

Boom!

At that point, there was no turning back for me.

What followed was almost beyond imagination. Our “Morris” continued his incredible form and climbed to the very top of the Ace Pigeon rankings that same year. He became 1st National Ace Pigeon Young Birds with, as far as I know, the lowest coefficient achieved over four races during the last ten years. I have not been able to find a better performance by any other young pigeon.

And then came Van den Bruel Junior…

How was I ever supposed to live up to those achievements?

Doing better would be difficult, so I simply decided to give it my best shot. With coach Jelle Roziers and my father supporting me, I figured I should at least be able to win a prize now and then.

Fortunately, things worked out rather well.

I will never forget my first season in 2023. During only my second National race, “De Fijne” returned home and won 9th National Bourges. That was the starting signal for our loft in Ramsel.

Today, my father and I race separately under the name “Hok Van den Bruel” from two different locations: Itegem and Ramsel.

Although we each have our own ideas and opinions about pigeon racing, we continue helping each other in our own ways. He is the boss of his loft, and I am the boss of mine.

Our feeding and training systems are broadly similar. We both follow the advice and feeding methods of Jelle Roziers, based on the AIDI system, although we each add our own personal touch.

Training is also done separately. Because of my work and limited time, I have to manage things differently than my father.

Most importantly, we enjoy it.

I am grateful to pigeon racing because it has only strengthened the bond between my father and me.

For me, Saturdays are often the perfect opportunity to put work aside for a few hours and spend time observing and caring for the pigeons. It is truly a family activity, and that is perhaps the most beautiful aspect of all.

Even when things don’t go as planned, whether for a day or an entire season, pigeon racing remains a sport.

Sometimes you win.
Sometimes you lose.

And that’s exactly what makes it so special.

Thank you to Robin – and Thomas as the reporter – we look forward to follow the family this season – and look forward to a super auction this coming winter.

To prepare yourself for the auction, you can see some of the best breeders and racers, at Hok Van Den Bruel below: