Yang Aarden’s racing pigeon master Yang Aarden

In the north of the city of Breed in the Netherlands, there is a village of Oosterhout, which is famous for its production of a variety of pots and jars crafts. On November 6, 1893, the first child, Yang Atten, was born to the Martin Ruth Atten family in this village.

At that time, Yang Ateng's father made a living as a warehouse keeper, but the meager salary was not enough to cover the family's expenses. His wife Lucia had to work in the "Sch?nmaker" hotel owned by her father to support the family. In the following years, for this Aten family, the burden of raising six children fell entirely on Lucia's shoulders. Clearly these children did not grow up in a wealthy environment. But Yang Ateng's childhood was happy, and he has always been a humorous child.

In the Abbe region of Oosterhout, Jan Aten completed primary school at the Abbey of St. Paulus. The monastery is very close to Ateng's home. A monk named Prussia raised many animals, which attracted little Ateng. He often ran to the monks to play before and after class. During most of his childhood, animals such as pheasants, ringdoves, chicks, peacocks, rabbits, pigeons, and squirrels were little Ateng's best playmates. Among many animals, Yang Ateng has a special liking for beautiful pigeons. He spent several hours every day at the dovecot in the monastery, interacting with the pigeons. A few weeks later he became the manager of the loft. Yang Ateng was fascinated by pigeons every day, and his parents helped him build a pigeonhouse in the backyard.

This pigeonhouse is neither big nor luxurious. Because they lack funds, they only use an old box, cut a hole in the front as a door, and then nail it to the house.

Little Ateng was very happy. From now on, Yang Ateng had his own pigeon loft, and his indissoluble bond with pigeons began. If students study diligently, they will receive a green greeting card from Brother Prussia as recognition and encouragement. Every student is trying his best to get more green cards. Six green cards can be exchanged for one red card. Almost all students receive no more than six red cards in a school year. Little Ateng quickly got six red cards. Six red cards are exchanged for one book, which is the highest reward for diligent students. Although little Ateng likes reading, he has other goals in mind. He exchanged the six red cards he had accumulated for the monk's pair of pigeons. From then on, a new pigeon fan appeared. This child was the manager of the pigeon lofts of the Prussians at that time, and later became the most famous pigeon breeding expert in the Netherlands. From boy to young man Yang Ateng is an excellent student. After graduating from primary school, he completed his studies at Breed's secondary school with A grades. The principal, Mr. Ken Jeters, had several serious talks with Yang Aten's parents, hoping that they would allow Yang Aten to attend high school. But at that time, due to family difficulties, Yang Ateng had to give up his studies and find a job. The income he earns is very important to the family. His mother was in poor health and could no longer work in the fields for long periods of time. To make matters worse, his father passed away at the age of 49, and the burden of family life fell entirely on the shoulders of the eldest son, Yang Ateng. In Yang Ateng's life, this difficult period made him the most proud.

Despite his difficult life, he still loves raising pigeons. At the age of 18 he became a member of the pigeon club "Slewennig" in Ooster. And he soon bred very good short and medium rangers. Initially, his pigeons from the Prussian monks and their descendants were not successful, and their descendants never came back after their first release. They all suffer from color blindness, broad tails, and feathered feet. Fortunately, Jan Atten met Gerard Omens from Breed, and their pigeon racing career began. From his predecessors in Omens he learned the secrets of how to stimulate pigeons, and Jan Aarden was completely attracted to racing pigeons ever since. Jan Aarden and his short and middle distance racing pigeons. What was the highlight of Jan Aarden's youth? Undoubtedly, he transformed from a master of short and medium distance pigeon racing into a generation of long-distance pigeon racing master. Everyone knows that Jan Atten is a master of long-distance racing pigeons, but few people know that in his youth, Jan Atten rose to fame by flying short and medium distances.

In 1921, Yang Ateng married Jaanti Ackermans, the daughter of a famous local painter, in Osterhout. and moved to Greenberg, a village between Breed and Osterhout. When he first arrived, he was busy making a living and adapting to the new environment, and had no time to raise pigeons.

Influenced by his father, his 10-year-old son Anton, his daughter Lucia and his eldest son Tiny all fell in love with pigeons. Locally, Ateng Yang has become a well-deserved champion. He had the undisputed advantage in the short and medium distance racing pigeons and he repeatedly beat the pigeons of the Ommens brothers with his own pigeons. When he first arrived in Greenberg, he struggled to adapt the pigeons he had bred with great success in Oosterhout to the new environment. Finally, he found a feasible method: he gave the pigeons two days to adapt to the new loft, and then released them. He will not bring back any pigeons that fly back to his old loft. Later, after World War II, he did so four times.

In February 1920, Yang Ateng's family moved to Sternenberg. He found a job in a sugar factory and was quickly promoted to manager of the financial department. At that time, no resident in Sterniberg could have imagined that this new resident would make the village famous all over the world. However, at that time, Yang Ateng made a helpless choice for work: when he moved, his pigeons did not move with him, and he sold them to others at a very cheap price. The time spent living in Molleweg was short-lived. In the winter of 1924, Yang Ateng bought a nice residence in Gruntweg. Just a few weeks after they moved into their new home, their fourth child was born. The youngest girl in the Ateng family was named Ritja, nicknamed "Mimi." She had great musical talent and became a famous opera singer when she grew up. During this period, Yang Ateng never had time to raise pigeons. Jan Aarden and his long-distance racing pigeons There is a Des Hotel in front of Jan Aarden's house. The owner of the hotel is Henry Ray, the cousin of Jan Aarden's father.

In 1934, the hotel manager obtained two pigeons from Sternenberg. These two pigeons were of great significance to Jan Aarden and became the basis for his breeding of long distance racing pigeons before World War II. The "Rey cock" (cock) and his companion "Old Rey hen" (female) come from the cock Ost-Roe of Bogenhout, and the hen comes from the long distance racing pigeon expert Jan Schout of Rotterdam. . Jan Aarden was an expert in short and medium distance racing pigeons, but this soon changed due to the influence of his younger son Anton. Anton, a young pigeon fancier, came into contact with a businessman, William, and discovered that this gentleman owned pigeons that performed very well in long distance races. He obtained a pair of pigeons from that gentleman and bred the famous Rooie pigeons. In those days, this pigeon was a famous racing pigeon in Rome, winning three times in the all-night long distance race. Anton raised these young pigeons in the hen pigeon loft behind the yard. Due to another move, Jan Aarden postponed the plan to build a new pigeon loft.

In 1931, he contracted the Dex Hotel, which he renovated and turned into a café. At the same time, he purchased several houses in Cord, one of which became his new residence. After this stage, Yang Ateng did not stop for a moment and devoted himself wholeheartedly to the pigeons. He purchased a four-meter dovecote and placed it near the entrance of the hotel. At that time, this pigeon loft was very luxurious. In 1933, a pair of pigeons obtained from William produced the first satisfactory litter. After being fed for a period of time in the mother pigeon loft and forced to be housed in the old pigeon loft for 6 months, the pigeons were moved to the new pigeon loft. Anton, 15, is responsible for looking after the pigeons. At first Attenborough wanted his son to win sprint races, but was unsuccessful. After Anton tried to find a way to participate in the race from Saint-Bastian, Jan Aarden changed his mind and became a long distance pigeon fancier together with his son. Jan Atten visited many top pigeon breeders to obtain good breeds. Henry Ray, a distant relative of Jan Aarden, was a connoisseur of long distance pigeon racing. The successful businessman owns a luxurious pigeon loft and is already several times winner of the pigeon race "Een Groote Haagsche Bond". For several years, the Belgian long distance racing pigeon expert Julius Roquette has participated in a racing pigeon race titled Ost-Roe. In these races he presented his most famous hen line, the Good Blues. He purchased this pigeon breed from Flor Renali, who lived in the same city as him.

This pigeon breed excels in sprint racing and is almost unrivaled in the Antwerp Federation. The bloodline of this hen raised by Flor Renali stems from his own "De Herlt" line of cocks and the hens raised by his neighbor Jan Bregmans.

Good Gray became the dam of Blawwe Ost-Roe. The male pigeon became the breeding sire of Jan Aarden's pigeon breed before World War II. This pigeon family also formed the basis of today's Dutch long distance racing pigeons. The sire of the Jan Aarden pigeon breed is "Ouden Vassart", a pigeon purchased by Henry Ray at Pavel's auction in Ghent in 1919. This cock originated from the pigeon loft of Vassat, the champion of Fleurus, Belgium, and is a branch of the master pigeon loft of Karel Wegge. Henry Ray cross-bred this cock with Leix pigeons from Amsterdam to produce the "Oude Vassart" pigeon line. This pigeon breed is the best within a radius of 500 kilometers. Jan Aarden's best long distance racing bird Rey came from a cross-breed with Schouten x Ostt-Roe. His best endurance racing bird, Henry Rey, came from the loft of Rotterdam winner and long distance racing pigeon breeder Jan Schout. The hens he purchased from Schout were the best pigeons available in the early years of World War II. This pigeon won the 14th National St. Vincent and the 18th National Dax at the age of nine. The "grey hen" pigeons raised by Schout come from two pigeons of Mr. Ramones of Berghout, mainly from the old Weiqi and Gits pigeon lines.