This is the second time that we have been to the lofts of Maurice Mattheeuws and have been pleased on both occasion's with what we have seen. There was no change in the lofts showing that both Maurice and the pigeons are content with their surroundings. The trip was made easier on this occasion because we were accompanied by Hans Verschereun who speaks good English, mind you Maurice is doing a good job with the language barrier.

Over the years this has probably been one of the best lofts on the continent for something like the last three decades and even today still wins consistently in this hot bed of fanciers. Maurice still wins in the region of 30 x 1sts per season which is seldom seen by the Belgium lofts. This is probably because the majority of every day winning fanciers are not well publicised to the British fancy press. Mind you it took some time to get the information out of this top notch fancier who is without doubt one of the best known Belgium fanciers in the world. The number of fanciers who have visited these lofts are countless because no matter who visits the continent for pigeon purposes they will at some time look in on the Mattheews loft in Brugge. Maurice and his charming wife Astrid are fully have been in contact with the British scene for that long they are now pretty well conversant with the English language which made it quite an easy visit and we were able to get in to a good conversation. This occasion was different from the first because we got to see the best of the birds to find out what good quality they are. What was noticeable was the fact that these birds are far from tame and that is how Maurice likes it. What about the man himself who was born in Knesselare East Flanders which is situated some 20km from the wonderful city of Brugge in 1936.

Like so many of the modern day thinkers in the sport Maurice did not come from a family of pigeon fanciers so had no top reputations to keep up with even so his oldest brother did race a team of birds, how successful l never found out. It was not until1964 that Maurice got to grips with a team of pigeons of his own after he tied the knot and took his good lady under his wings and now some 30yrs later is one of the masters of the continent. In his younger day Maurice loved to see pigeons flying around but the problem was always the time and the place but the marriage soon sorted that one out and a loft was set up. The first birds were from his uncle R Mattheeuws who raced the Coby Verrstrate and Marcel Desmet pigeons and with his future in the sport to consider his future Maurice built a new pen and started to breed the birds himself. Also brought in to strengthen the team are the Pierre Ameye of Deerlijk, Placide Buysse from Brugge. There are also the famous Desmet-Matthys of Nokere the Janssens of Arendonk and Verbrugghen of Leuven. Maurice was a schoolteacher teaching physical education that always kept him in touch with the sport in general. Because the fitness side, he took interest in the horses, athletics etc and therefore new just what it took to get into competitive fitness for any kind of sport a point that has helped him to the top of pigeon racing. Because of his own knowledge on fitness he was at an advantage as a pigeon fancier because he really did not have anyone to help him in the sport this can always be a benefit because you were never brought up on the old past methods that are not up to the modern day methods of pigeon racing techniques .

On the basis that Maurice did not really have any one in the pigeon world to relate to with winning ways his own physical education studies that have seen him through to the top were of great value. It was certainly noticeable in the early days especially to his fellow competitors that this new fancier to the fold was one to keep an eye on because even with those first birds from his uncle, Maurice was on a winning trail Even as the new starter racing on the natural system these pigeons still performed well but as Maurice admits he did not treat them for any of the regular ailments of pigeons and his results did suffer. As most fanciers will recognise that is the common problem with the new starter who does not recognise when all is not well but it certainly doesn't take the future winners long to sort out their problems and more importantly remedy them. At this early stage there was another problem, he had not got the lofts that were required to race both old and young birds so the racing did actually suffer to a lesser degree. Also there was no aviary for a good team of stock, in fact no real loft space for anything that was of benefit to the race team, not enough room for the pigeons is always a killer to a racing team in this game no matter what continent you live on . As with all fanciers this type of problem is soon overcome with new lofts being erected or the old one being modernised to suit the needs of the individual fancier.

Nineteen seventy (1970) was the year that Maurice went big time and made the decision to erect a new loft so that he could go into racing at the highest level and know that he could compete against and be in the position to beat the best. The new loft was built with the birds health in mind to allow adequate flow of fresh air, also very important for the widowhood fancier the sunlight to keep the loft temperature at a more realistic level for the system. Every a great deal of thought went into the loft so that there would be no need for continual change which would only upset the pigeons which is why the end product has lasted so long. The size of the loft was made to accommodate the widowhood cocks and the hens that were necessary to keep them in the right frame of mind. The team for the sprint to middle distance events were also considered and what many do not consider a team for the very early races in March and April which is one for the everyday fancier to think about. There are not many lofts that have a section to accommodate the early races a few may be but not many. It is those beginning of the season races when the winds are in the east that many of the future prospects are ruined which l can tell you from experience.

At this stage let's take a few tips from Maurice on what we should be doing with the birds all the year round because you have to do everything in the sport to fight time and never be late about the most important rules

A: The Moult what to do - what they need, tea seeds and vitamins.
B Rest which time they need a depurative mixture.
C: We must cure any sickness as good health is important.
D: In the breeding season they need plenty of vitamins which is very important for both stock and widowhood pigeons
E: Rest for the widowhood cocks again depurative and tea.
F: For the widowhood cocks re-pair them at the beginning of April. Training before the hens lay their eggs with tosses at ten twenty and forty miles. They should only be sitting on the eggs for a few days and then on to the widowhood system.

Simple rules for every one to follow setting the dates to suit your racing needs. Maurice has one benefit from many fanciers which is that he does not house the stock birds at the same address that he houses the race team this is a team that we have yet to see. The 20prs of stock are looked after by a very good friend that allows Maurice more time to concentrate in the race team. I must add that there are also 5prs at stock for testing purposes and it is a fact that Maurice is always looking for improvements. These extra pairs for testing are not considered to be a major part of his team until their offspring have been proven in the race team and only then will they be considered as future prospects. Maurice does have a good strong team of birds but when he makes those introductions he brings them from the strong teams that are winning exceptionally well. If they don't work they soon go Maurice has found it hard to introduce birds that have performed better than his own family. To get full use of any such introductions there is a separate loft which has enabled Maurice to have the proper facilities to find what he is looking for. From Maurices point of view there are only a few lofts that have raced consistently for the last ten years to stay at the top, these are the good fanciers with the good birds.

There are two teams of widowhood cocks making a total of 48 that along with the stock rear between 80 & 90 youngsters to be tested. In 1999 the racers were started on the first Sunday in April and raced right through. All birds are paired by the beginning of December because Maurice predominantly race the pigeons on the widowhood system but does admit that if the time has been right to dabble in the few on the natural system as he also does with the youngsters a few pet theories are. Never be late with anything whether it is racing, paring, resting, and breeding training. Keep your birds in your own hands do not allow anyone else to look after them. Keep your birds in good health Motivate your birds and never feed your birds too much or too less and not too strong. These little bits have paid great dividends flying in his two middle distance clubs where in the last 21yrs he has been elected champion 19 times and twice r/u which is why he always tries to look for better pigeons and try to improve his own. Also in the well known pigeon company of Aartrijke they are familiar with the capabilities of the Mattheeuws pigeons and in the Bernegem Championships he regularly achieves top marks. Maurice is a fancier who tries hard every year to breed a stronger type of pigeon by crossing the families and training them hard which is probably why he has stayed at the top for so long. I read a small piece on Maurice that went something like this---- Maurice Mattheeuws possesses one of the strongest speed-middle distance pigeon lofts in the world. Throughout the years he has developed his own breed of pigeons that have proven themselves as winners all over the world. The Mattheeuws pigeons gain first prizes easily and have an exceptional breeding quality. The Mattheeuws pigeons are a combination of several famous families.

As mentioned above. Champion pigeon fanciers come and go, what happened to Maurice who is still here and still a Champion all these years later and judging by the following performances from 1999 who is going to argue. 27 x 1sts. General Champion of the Brugge Federation Middle Distance, 1st Old Birds, 1st Yearlings, 1st Youngsters. West Flanders 7,500 members General Champion 1998 & 1999, 1st Ace Bird Yearlings Middle & Long Distance, 4th 8th & 11th Ace Bird. Both East & West Flanders (25,000 members) General Champion, Ace Bird Yearlings. 5th Old Birds 7th Youngsters. Union Gistel long distance. 1st Ace Bird Yearlings. 1st Ace Bird Old Birds. There was an addition from Maurice regarding the point made that in 1973 he bred together with Frans Van Wildemeersch some pigeons that went on to win the Eerngemse Championship, now Brugse Championship in the East & West Flanders and Nationals. The Mattheeuws family are well known in the UK and have many friends and it was on this visit that I found out they are very good friends with one of the UK's best known couples Eddie & Julie Froggatt of Abbotts Bromley. Thank you to Maurice and Astrid for their hospitality and next time we are in Belgium we shall call in again to see these most popular pigeon fanciers.