Outer View of Old Bird Race Loft

HansFamilyLoft.com is a father-son partnership consisting of Jon Hans and Matt Hans.  HansFamilyLoft.com is one of America's most successful racing and breeding lofts.  HansFamilyLoft.com is home to several National Ace Pigeons, Champion Birds, and Foundation Breeders.  What sets are loft apart from most of the other sales lofts is that we breed and race all of our own champions.  We have continually produced Champions each and every year with each and every generation of our performance racing pigeon family.  Our knowledge and proven experience in not only breeding winners, but more importantly in producing foundation-breeders of winners can help you attain your goal of reaching the top of the race sheet.  "Champions Breed Champions" and our family of pigeon's has proven this statement true time and time again.  The best and most reliable way to breed championship performance pigeons is to breed from Direct-Children of Foundation Breeders who have proven the ability to breed Winners.   

Our Story:

Jon Hans flew pigeons as a teenager, and many years later rejoined the sport in 1996, with son Matt becoming involved the following year in 1997.  Success was immediate in 1996 as we won the first race we flew, placing 1st, 2nd , and 3rd, winning by a substantial margin.  However, the rest of the season was relatively unsuccessful as we had no experience in handling/training and we did not yet have our current family of birds.  After our first season, we were dedicated to become better handlers and we also wanted to obtain the best performance racing pigeons we could find. 

In early 1997, we met Mel Miroth and obtained several breeders from him over the next few years.  Mel is a California State Show Judge and the best selector of pigeons I had ever seen.  Mel had developed a “Wildthing” Van Loon Line and a Merckx and Red Fox Janssen Line (via Frank Kwoka and Ray Roemmich) that were dominating the competition wherever they went.  As a result of Mel being a Show Judge and such a quality selector of pigeons, there were no better handling pigeons in the nation, as they were loaded with muscle and vitality, and they possess absolutely perfect show quality conformation.  As a result this family excels in the Pigeon Shows almost as well as they excel in Winning Races and Breeding Winners.  This is a very modern line of pigeons with a lot of speed, intelligence, toughness, and breakaway ability that have allowed many to attain great success.  Of course winning race results was what we were really after, and Mel's pigeons were exactly what we needed.

Since 1997, HansFamilyLoft.com has maintained, further developed, and perfected this family of birds to continually improve and produce dominant race results each and every year.  We have blended all three lines into one super family of performance champions.  As a result nearly all of our pigeons are related to one another and practically all of our breeding pairs are inbred to some extent.  We have found a formula for breeding success that allows us to inbreed to an extent where all of our pairings produce both excellent racers and foundation breeders.  The key is having three lines/families within one greater family so that the family will never become too inbred.
 

Our Results:

We have won 1st Place in almost half (49%) of the Club Races we have flown since the 1997 Young Bird Season.  In Total, we have won over (85) X 1st Place at the Club Level in just 11 1/2 Seasons.  Several of our 1st Place Club Wins have also been 1st Place Concourse and Combine Wins.  It should be noted that we have have won 1st Place Overall Champion Loft in (9) of the seasons that we have flown, including 7 out of 8 Years in the Young Bird Series.

In Addition to the Multiple 1st Place Wins, Diplomas, and Champion Loft Awards, we have also won several Average Speed and Champion Bird Awards.  Perhaps most important, we have won close to 40 National and North American Ace Pigeon Awards!

The California State Hall of Fame Awards were recently announced and our "Hang 261" was awarded 1st Place Overall California State Hall of Fame Young Bird 2004 (#1 Young Bird in all of California).  This means that HansFamilyLoft.com has now bred the #1 Overall Young Bird in all of California for the years 2003 and 2004!  Considering there are well over 1000 Lofts in California, to accomplish this feat in back-to-back years is incredible and a testament to the quality of our pigeons.

The 2003 Young Bird Season was by far our best and most dominant season ever, Winning 1st Place in 11 of the16 Club Races and also dominating the Concourse and Combine with 5 Overall Combine Wins vs. 45-60+ Lofts Per Race.  We had several large Drops (15-25 birds) in almost all of the races.  I believe a big reason that we have such large drops of pigeons winning together is the uniform quality of our birds and the fact that nearly every bird on our team is closely related to one another.  We Won 1st Place Overall Champion Loft, Average Speed, and Champion Bird in the Club/Concourse for the 2003 YB Season.  We also won Several Additional North American Ace Pigeon and CA State Hall of Fame Awards!  Our "Cobra" (AU-03-HANG 11 BB C) won 1st Place Overall CA State Hall of Fame YB 2003 and he was the #1 Young Bird in all of California for 2003.  This is really impressive as there are about 1000 Lofts in the state of California.
 

2004 was again another fantastic year, as we won a total of (14) X 1st Place at the Club Level, (6) X 1st Place at the Concourse Level, and (4) X 1st Place at the Combine Level.  We won 1st Place Overall Champion Loft and Champion Bird in the Club for the 2004 Old Bird Series.  We won 1st Place Overall Champion Loft, Average Speed, and Champion Bird in the 2004 Young Bird Series.  We won 2nd Place Overall Concourse and 4th Place Overall Combine Champion Loft in the 2004 Old Bird Series, despite flying a small-team of nothing but Yearlings.  In the 2004 Young Bird Series we won 2nd Place Overall Combine Champion Loft and 1st Place Overall Concourse and Combine Champion Young Bird. 

In 1999, we had an absolutely phenomenal year, winning 1st Place in (21) of (30) Races Flown.  The year 1999 produced Star Racers and Breeders like “Chyna” and “Shania”.  (See more of our 1999 Results in the Race Results Section).

The year 2000 was especially outstanding at the National Level, as we won (17) National American Ace Pigeon Awards, as well as 2 National American Champion Loft Awards from both the Thoroughbred and Digest Racing Pigeon Magazines.  Thoroughbred Magazine proclaims their National American Ace Pigeon Awards are: “the toughest to win in North America”, and HansFamilyLoft.com won more Thoroughbred American Ace Pigeon Awards than any other loft in all of North America for the year 2000.  I believe this is an amazing accomplishment considering there are 20,000 eligible lofts in North America, and we fly against maybe the best competition and the toughest race course in the country!

I encourage visitors to study all of the Results in our "Race Results and National Awards" section of the website.

Our Competition:
HansFamilyLoft.com competes in the Camellia City Racing Pigeon Combine which is one of the toughest and most competitive Combine's in the country.  What makes our Combine unique is not only the quality of the competitor's that it hosts, but also the extreme toughness of our Course.  We have over 110 members (50-65 actively fly each season).  I would estimate that we have close to 20 flyers that have won national awards over the past decade, we have two VegasRace.com 1st Place-Winning Breeders in our ranks (one in our club), and we have several nationally recognized breeders and state judges in our combine. The fact that so many fanciers in our combine have excelled in the one loft and national futurity races is a testament to the quality of the pigeons in this area.

Perhaps of most importance, we fly the toughest and most grueling race-course in the country!  I believe this is the main reason that fanciers and pigeons from our Combine succeed in all parts of the country, as the race course is so very tough that it forces the competitors to adapt and breed superior quality pigeons. Our race schedule is situated along Highway 80 in the baron deserts and mountains of Nevada, and the birds must climb the massive High Sierra Mountains into California.  The birds are released into the deserts of Nevada where heat is usually extremely high, and then they must fly west usually through large mountain ranges, salt marshes, and military testing grounds.  Safe water is very scarce in this environment, and the birds experience headwinds along much of the course during most races.  Once the birds have flown most of the race in Nevada, they are tired, at a low altitude, and they must climb some of the most impressive mountain ranges in America.

California’s High Sierra Mountains are very dense, and range from 7,000 to 12,000 feet high, and they almost always have gusty winds and many hawks/falcons.  Finally, after going through hell each week, the birds reach their destination among the foothills of the Sacramento Valley.  The biggest obstacle our club faces is that we are south (highway 50) of all the other clubs in the combine (we fly a northeast course), and it is impossible for us to train our birds on the line of flight.  California’s largest body of water, the massive Lake Tahoe is directly in the path of our club’s birds making a direct path even more difficult for the birds.

It was once thought impossible for anybody in this club to consistently win combine races (if any at all). Basically, our birds must breakaway early and fly an indirect line (taking more time) climbing the highest mountain ranges (10,000+ feet) around Lake Tahoe, and somehow make it home early enough to win, when 85% of the combine’s competition is in a direct line of flight with Highway 80 and the race course, their birds do not have to worry about Lake Tahoe, and the course was specifically designed for the majority who live on the line of flight.  It is still nearly impossible to win a Combine Race from the 115 Mile Station, But once we get to the next race of 175 Miles generally the birds have decent enough conditions to break apart much more and for birds to break out front.

HansFamilyLoft.com pigeons have proven the ability to breakaway from the pack and win.  As an example in 2003, we Won 1st Place through 21st Place (21 Bird Drop) @ 255 Miles, the Key Note here is that We Won the Club by 30 Minutes, the Concourse by 26 Minutes, and the Combine by 7 Minutes, and this was a Fast 1500 YPM Race!  Not too many lofts in the world have ever done this.  Many people believe that pigeons cannot “get out front” and breakaway from the pack on short races, the above is just one example of proof that they do, and in this case 21 closely related pigeons all did it together.  This example is just one of several races where multiple HansFamilyLoft.com pigeons have broken away from the pack for substantial winning margins.

Another key attribute and trait of our pigeons is durability and consistency.  I expect our pigeons to fly practically each and every week of the racing season.  As a result of the grueling race course, and the demands I place on the birds, we have developed a pigeon line with great recovery ability and toughness that can race each and every week, regardless of the conditions.  In Order to Win National Ace Pigeon Awards and Champion Bird Awards, you must have pigeons that can race every week, regardless of how tough the race before was.  I have often read that good birds need rest in order to perform at the top, this is definitely untrue.  Most good pigeons require very little rest, as they will actually get stronger and even more consistent as a season goes on.  This is what we have bred our birds to do, fly each and every week regardless of the distance flown the week before. 

No matter who wins our weekly races in the club or combine, the winner has definitely earned it through hard work and good pigeons.  Against this competition you will not win races by seconds in trapping wars, as the birds are usually a little spread out.  You must have pigeons that are fast, tough, smart, and they must possess the ability to fly alone in order to win.   HansFamilyLoft.com pigeons have proven the above statements to be true, and they have proven that when you breed from only Proven Racing Champions and Foundation Breeders, you will produce Champions each and every year.

Our Philosophy:

2002 marked our first venture into public sales, and our goals are simple: provide our customers with the best pigeons and support that they will find anywhere in North America.  In any field of sales the major factor in determining your success is to provide service and products that exceed the expectations of your customers.  In pigeon sales our job is relatively simple, provide our customers with the absolute best quality racing pigeons and advice possible.  Most of the pigeons that we sell go to repeat customers, and we have several customers around the country experiencing success with these pigeons.  I have found that once a customer handles and buys just one pigeon from us, they will more than likely be coming back for more, and that is the ultimate proof of customer satisfaction.

HansFamilyLoft.com believes the most important part in maintaining a superior family or families of racing pigeons is the ability to consistently breed champions from generation to generation, as a result our family of pigeons has become even stronger in performance with each generation.  We breed strictly for winning race results and quite frankly, winning race results speak for themselves.  We have proven each and every year that we know how to breed 1st Place Winners and Champions, and the key to our success has been producing Winners and Champions that in turn reproduce their own Winners and Champions!

HansFamilyLoft.com pigeons have proven themselves among the elite winning racing pigeons in North America by winning an impressive collection of National Ace Pigeon Awards, in addition to countless wins against possibly the best competition in North America, flying the toughest race course in America. Please visit the Race Results Pages, and you will see that very few lofts in this country can match our proven winning performance records. Our birds have consistently excelled wherever they go, at all distances, under all conditions, and in all aspects of the sport!  Due to our Race Course and Tough Competition, in order to win, it is extremely important to have a family of birds that can breakaway from the main pack and win minutes ahead.

At HansFamilyLoft.com we only sell pigeons from Proven Breeders of 1st Place Winners and National Ace Pigeons.  When you buy a pigeon from HansFamilyLoft.com you are not buying a bloodline, You are Purchasing a Direct-Son, Daughter, Brother, or Sister of Proven Champions and Proven Breeders of 1st Place Winners.  As a result of this standard and policy, success is inevitable for most customers who purchase pigeons from our loft.

We take pride in our race results, and our main goal at the start of the season has been and always will be to win and dominate every race on the schedule.  Obviously, this is a virtually impossible goal for any pigeon flyer to achieve against good competition, but to realize the maximum amount of success; you must always set your goals to the highest possible level, and constantly look for improvement.  Winning races and breeding champions will always be our top priority, and I fell that our customers believe the same.
 

The true measure of success as a breeder is the Race Results that his or her pigeons produce (for their own loft and other lofts), and there is simply no substitute for Winning Race Results.  If you are interested in purchasing pigeons from our loft, I encourage you to study our website and compare the results produced by our Breeding Cocks and Hens to that of others. 

Remember, at HansFamilyLoft.com we do not buy champions.  All of our Champions and National Ace Pigeons were bred here at HansFamilyLoft.com  This is the ultimate proof as to the quality of our birds, the fact that we can continually maintain a family of Champions and Foundation Breeders.  If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call or email.

Thank You and We Look Forward to Hearing from You,

- Matt Hans -
 

HansFamilyLoft.com

- Breeder of Champion National Ace Pigeons -