Surinx-Pletsers (Nieuwerkerken): 1st Nat. La Châtre 15,447 yearbirds- fastest of 25,747b.

“This is something I have been striving for all my life… after finishing 2nd National three times and 3rd National three times, it is finally bingo,” begins Hilaire Surinx, who forms a partnership with his wife Nadia Pletsers. “At the moment, it is incredibly busy, but I think that in a few days I will fully realize what my little blue hen has achieved.” Her arrival was a real nail-biter. “I had seen that Herbots Brothers had already clocked a pigeon and I thought to myself: if I want to beat Herbots, it cannot take much longer. Then suddenly a blue hen appeared heading for the landing board. However, she was accompanied by a stray pigeon, causing her to lose several precious seconds. Those seconds turned out to be extremely important because my hen recorded a speed of 1468.61 m/min, while the hen of Herbots Brothers was clocked at 1468.01 m/min.”

Three Groups of Hens

Hilaire and Nadia thoroughly enjoy being active at the marking station. Sprint, middle-distance and long-distance races… and anyone wishing to compete in the full programme needs a larger racing team. On the one hand, there is a group of 28 cocks raced on traditional widowhood. On the other hand, there is a team of 60 racing hens paired with 23 stay-at-home cocks. Hilaire was quick to point out that the hens are not raced against one another. In other words, one hen being allowed with the cock while another can only watch is not how they operate. The hens are divided into three groups, each with its own preparation for the racing season. The older hens participated in winter breeding, a second group was allowed to sit on eggs for several days, and the third group spent only about three days with their cocks. When asked which preparation the national winner had received, Hilaire answered: “The third group.” And how do you manage things during the weekend when the hens return home? “Well, the first hens to arrive are always allowed to join their cock. Once the cock is occupied, the next hen has to wait and may join him a little later. Those that arrive much too late are only allowed to cuddle their cock the following day. They first need some time to recover.” Hilaire is full of praise for the Röhnfried supplementary products range. BT-Amin together with 10 cc of Avidress is added to the drinking water almost daily (except on the day of return). From a medical perspective, Hilaire visits Raf Herbots every five weeks and follows his advice to the letter.

“Miss La Châtre”

Now we come to the winning hen. As a youngster, she did not have much racing experience, which is why Hilaire kept her on the sprint races organised both during the week and at weekends. Her racing record includes 11 prizes, five of which were achieved in the top 10%.

Some of her best results include:
From Momignies: 2nd/224 birds – 5th/186 birds – 8th/203 birds
From Chimay: 3rd/2,814 birds and 8th/197 birds

Her first national experience came in the Argenton race, where she failed to perform. However, she more than made up for it by winning 1st National and becoming the fastest pigeon of the entire La Châtre convoy, competing against 25,747 pigeons.

Finally, Hilaire and Nadia would like to thank the countless people who congratulated them through messages and phone calls. It was truly overwhelming.

Hilaire and Nadia also greatly value the strong friendships they share with Ronny Menten (with whom they are in contact almost daily) and Gino Clicque. These friendships mean a great deal to them.