Dr. John Lamberton and Jef Cuypers breed, train, and race champion homing pigeons in Tulsa, Oklahoma USA and Hakendover, Belgium. Through their relationships with champion fanciers in Belgium and Mike Ganus in the USA, many excellent prepotent breeders have been carefully selected to breed pigeons that race at the highest levels of competition. Dr. Lamberton races as LAMBERTON CUYPERS in Oklahoma. Jef Cuypers races as CUYPERS LAMBERTON in Belgium.

Dr. Lamberton began raising racing homers in 1961 at the age of 14. He discovered homing pigeons when he was invited home after school by Doug Wilson, a fellow junior high school student who had a small loft of homing pigeons in his backyard. Enamored by their peacefulness and gentleness, Dr. Lamberton fell in love with the pigeons he encountered and immediately decided to build a loft and obtain his own birds. After a short time raising common pigeons captured from a grain elevator, he purchased a pair of racing homers from local ace flier Keith Parrett that played the challenging north race course with prevailing headwinds. The Blue Cock and Silver Hen, primarily Bricoux and Wegge, were popular strains of the day that could negotiate the demanding north course down Interstate 44 from Chicago to Tulsa. In addition to these hard weather birds, Dr. Lamberton added other birds to the breeding loft from Louis Koenig, Old Dominion Loft, Richmond, Virginia. Mr. Koenig raised Wegges and Bricouxs which were prodigy of racing stock in England and Germany.

Dr. Lamberton discovered Mike Ganus, Ganus Family Loft, in the early 1980s and became very good friends. At the time, Mike was selling Janssens from Rene Truyen, a relatively unknown fancier in Belgium who just happened to perform personal tasks for the Janssen Brothers and was compensated for his efforts with pigeons rather than money. Although Rene was not a pigeon racer, he bred from the very best Janssen Brothers pigeons! There were many European fanciers who were amazed that the Truyen pigeons were popular in the U. S. since Truyen did not race and was not particularly respected as a pigeon fancier in Belgium. Mike bought a number of excellent breeders from Truyen including the "048" hen and sold her amazing offspring all over the U. S. However Mike Ganus has a unique personal characteristic of never being satisfied with the status quo. Consequently, Mike soon went to the Janssen Loft directly and began buying birds from the Brothers. Mike then sold his Truyen breeders to make room for the birds from the Janssen Brothers. Dr. Lamberton bought a number of foundation Truyen breeders including a Ganus-bred son and daughter of the "048" hen when she was mated to BELG 83 67000259, a fantastic blue cock bred by the Janssen Brothers and down from the Young Rocket, the Zitter, and the Oude Merck. The blood of these super Janssens still runs in the Lamberton racing pigeons today.

Dr. Lamberton traveled with Mike to Belgium and Holland on numerous occasions to meet the elite fanciers of the day.

During the next few years, Dr. Lamberton purchased many pigeons from Mike including Rene Truyen Janssens, Jos Van Limpt "De Klak" Janssens, and Janssens from the Janssen Brothers; and was the first fancier to introduce Ganus pigeons into the southwest USA. From his early beginning with Janssen pigeons, Mike Ganus has worked to become one of the best pigeon racing fanciers in the World!!! Mike Ganus remains a very close friend and revered consultant to Dr. Lamberton.

In 1986, Dr. Lamberton met Antoine & Maria Jacops on a trip to Belgium with Mike Ganus. This trip was filmed and is sold as the first video in the Ganus collection of top European fanciers. Dr. Lamberton and the Jacops family have remained close over the last 20 years in which the Jacops visited Tulsa, Oklahoma and Dr. Lamberton visited Vorselaar, Belgium. As such, the lofts in Tulsa and Hakendover house one of the finest collections of Antoine Jacop's pigeons in the world including brothers and sisters of Jacop's champions as well as breeders directly from Jacop's breeding loft. Antoine Jacops remains a revered consultant to Dr. Lamberton.

Since 1967, Jacops has been a excellent multi-distance flier with a super family of pigeons. In 1966, Jacops started with 50 young birds purchased from local fanciers. Jacops bought "only the best" At the end of his first season of racing, Jacops was left with 28 of the original 50 he had purchased. Because he only wanted the best, he kept one super racer, a white cock which he aptly named, the Witte. The Witte had been purchased from the loft of Emiel Verhaert, a very successful fancier. Antoine went to the loft of Warre De Schutter of Pulle to select a blue hen to mate with the Witte. The basis pair of the Oude Witte Verhaert and the Blauwe Witoog De Schutter would bring great fame and fortune to Antoine Jacops in the Belgian pigeon sport. This basis couple, the white cock and blue hen, gave many excellent racers. A super racer was the Gebroken Poot, 9 times first. The Gebroken Poot gave many excellent pigeons including the Cahors, the Vooruit, the 171, the 184, and many others. Jacop's basis breeders today include the "Diamond Couple" and their children - the most famous of which is the Super As. The Kleine Cahors is a grandson son of the Gebroken Poot. Below is an Antoine Jacop's breeding card which pictures the Diamond Couple and 3 of their winning prodigy including the Super Ace, the Diamond Ace, and the Witpen Ace.

Although these pigeons are excellent breeders and racers, Jacops strives to keep his family of pigeons 70% basic stock and 30% new strain. New blood is routinely introduced to the Jacops Loft to keep the hybrid vigor of the racers intact. In the 1980's, Antoine bought 3 cocks, Geschifte, Playboy, and the Wrong Willy, from Willy Van Berendonk which were grandchildren of Willy's foundation cock from Meuleman's Golden Couple, Belg 6793014 - 77. This cross worked incredibly well perhaps, in part, because both the Jacop's basic stock and the Van Berendonk/Meuleman cross both had the blood of the super pigeons from the great fancier, Rene Maas, in their pedigrees. The cross between the Jacops and Van Berendonk pigeons may have been as much a line breeding as it was an outcross! Jacops pigeons descend, in part, from the Maas pigeons raced during the 1930s and 40s. (Many famous European lofts owe much of their success to the pigeons of Maas including Vandenbosch, Meuleman, Van Riel, Fabry, Janssen Brothers and William Geerts to name a few). In the 1990's, Antoine bought a full sister to Roy Van Dyck's KANNIBAAL, perhaps the most famous pigeon world-wide over the last ten years. This hen is in most of Jacop's pigeons and has been a tremendous breeder. Antoine also exchanged super breeders with the great fancier Flor Engels. Engels birds are well crossed into most of Jacop's pigeons.

Dr. John Lamberton & Antoine Jacops - 1990

Jef Cuypers has a reputation both in Belgium and other European countries as a man of excellent character as well as a very good fancier. Jef learned to race pigeons with his father Gustaaf. After his father's passing, Jef assumed the primary responsibilities for the Cuypers loft. Gustaaf bred a very small colony of excellent middle distance pigeons that Jef has continued until the present. Jef went through school with Raf Herbots and has benefitted from Raf's tremendous knowledge about pigeons and pigeon health. Raf is one of the top pigeon veterinarians in Belgium. Jef is the webmaster for Michel Van Lint. Michel has mentored Jef also. Armstrong, a Cuypers pigeon down from his father's old breeding line, is Jef's best widowhood cock winning 7th National Argenton in 2004.

ARMSTRONG

7th National ARGENTON - 2004

Gustaaf & Jef Cuypers bloodlines

Jef Jef Cuypers in front of the breeding loft.

Together, Jef and John have built a remarkable loft of quality breeders from their friendships with top fanciers in the USA and Belgium. The same pigeons are bred and raced in the USA and Belgium. Excellent young bird prospects or proven breeders are for sale in Belgium and the USA and can be shipped worldwide subject to destination shipping restrictions. Excellent breeders come from many top fanciers including Mike Ganus Performance Breeders "Speed All Distance", Golden Mattens "Speed All Distance", Antoine Jacops "Speed All Distance", Michel Van Lint "Middle Distance", Gaby Vandenabeele "Speed All Distance", Willy Ceulemans "Hercules All Distance", Louis Van Hove "Hofkens Middle Distance", Denis Sapin "Soontjens All Distance", Norbert Sierens "Long Distance", Oliviers-Devos "Long Distance", Lambrecht-Lismont "Middle-Long Distance", Roger Florizoone ""Long Distance", Emile Fourmanior "Speed Middle Distance", Romain Loozen "All Distance", Danny Van Avondt "All Distance", Jeff Cuypers "Middle Distance", Achiel Vangilbergen "Middle-Long Distance", Roger Lautermans "Middle Distance", and Record Breeders "All Distance." Please browse the BREEDERS link for more specific information.

Dr. Lamberton and Jef Cuypers also purchased six of the best pigeons at the Final Complete Dispersal Auction of Roger Florizoone after his death. Florizoone pigeons are generally regarded as the best long distance racers in the World. Florizoone's best racer - the BARCELONA - won 1st National Barcelona Belgium 1995. Three Florizoone breeders are pictured below.

A new racing loft was built in 2005 to race the middle distance and long (fond) distance which appears below. Jef's original loft is now a breeding loft. Jef's father-in-law, Roger Lautermans, also races pigeons. He has a super breeding couple of grizzle pigeons that have bred an inordinate number of excellent racers. A super breeding cock and hen, full siblings bred from the hit pair of grizzles, appear in the picture and are now breeding in Oklahoma.

Jef Cuypers has been close friends with the Herbots family since he was a young child. Raf Herbots went through school with Jef. There are several excellent breeders from the Herbots breeding in Belgium and Oklahoma.

Jo Herbots holding famous racer and breeder, BRAD PITT - Dr. Lamberton - Jef Cuypers holding a newly purchased daughter of BRAD PITT.