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The annual Rapa das Bestas festival in Spain is not
for the faint-hearted, as it pits man against horse in an incredible
wrestling match.
The 400-year old tradition of Rapa das Bestas, which translates as
‘cropping the beasts’, sees locals attempt to wrestle wild horses to the
ground, before cropping their manes.
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The horses come from the mountains of Galicia, in the northwestern
region of Spain, and are rounded up so that the locals can clip their
manes and tails and brand the foals.
The most famous event is the three-day festival held in the village of
San Lorenzo de Sabucedo, where the use of nothing but hands, no tools or
ropes, is permitted.
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The festival has been condemned by animal rights groups, but locals have
defended the festival saying it provides an opportunity to see to the
needs of animals that are ill or infected by parasites.
It takes three men (known as ‘aloitadores’) to manage each horse: One
who gets on the horse's back; another who takes hold of the neck; and a
third to take the tail.
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They then wrestle the horse to the floor in order to shear its hair to
stop it from overheating during the hotter months or brand it if it is a
younger horse that has not previously been tagged.
The festival begins on the first Saturday in July, and starts with an
early morning mass, prior to the herders heading off at 7am, and goes on
into the Monday.
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Both locals and tourists are permitted to go in search of the horses and
bring them down to the village, although only locals are allowed to be
aloitadores.
On the final day the horses are herded back into the mountains, where
they are allowed to roam freely for the rest of the year. |