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Extraordinary
strength is a top requirement in the bull competition on Guadeloupe’s
small sister island. Animals under 1400 pounds are light weights, the
heavies weigh in at up to a ton. Each team consists of a well broken in
pair: "One leftie and one right-sider, you can’t switch them,"
reveals Jovial.
"The
bulls are athletes and they have to be kept in shape," explains the
ox coach. "On Sundays, if there is no race, the club holds weight
and tempo training sessions." After all, the club’s honor is at
stake – and so is the prize money.
In
Marie Galante, with a population of 13,000, four clubs rival for the
championship in the extra-heavy-weight run. The bull races are a
permanent fixture in every community fair. The prize money is paid out
by the organizers. Jovial: "With 22 teams entered, 13 get a prize.
For the victors this is about 350 Euro, progressively less for the teams
placing later."
The
competition is only a hobby for the bulls. They earn their keep pulling
ploughs and carts during the sugar cane harvest. In Marie Galante to
this day they are often substituted for tractors… they have one sure
advantage over those – Jovial: "They serve up the best steaks in
the world…"
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