Cow fighting

Coming up in a few weeks is an event I heartily recommend.  We attended last year for the first time and it was a real treat.  Switzerland at its finest.  The event to which I refer is the annual cow fighting championship.   Before you get your knickers in a twist thinking that this is a form of bull fighting or, worse, a  bovine version of cock fighting, let me explain.   First off, the cows don’t get hurt.  It shouldn’t really be called fighting as it’s more like intimidation, a word not often used in conjunction with “cow”.  The championship weekend is the culmination of regional contests in canton Valais and takes place each year in May.   The winner is crowned the Reine de la Reine (Queen of the Queens) and receives a lovely cow bell and recognition that she’s one tough cow.  No monetary reward.  In a nod to a bygone era, it’s amateur athletics at its best with only pride at stake.  In each round, ten or twelve cows are released into a big ring where they proceed, on their own, to pair up and lock horns until one concedes and turns away.  Then each one looks around, pairs up with another and does it again.  Sometimes they don’t even lock up.  One simply stares the other into backing down.  Once a cow yields twice she’s eliminated.   Last year’s winner was Frégate, the defending champion and a true alpha cow.  Will she three-peat?   I can’t wait to see.  Mark your calendars.  May 1^st.  Aproz, Valais.  Be there.