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We have some friends here in Yunquera they are English and have owned a house in the village for about 7 years. Until this spring the house was used for holidays etc but they have moved here permanently. The move came about when their granddaughter (who lives with them) finished school at GCSe level in the UK. She has moved with them and will attend Spanish high school in September.
Sunday saw the first of the "big" fiestas of the year in Yunquera, Romeria de Porticate. One of the showpiece events of the feria is the Cintas de Caballos. Many of the young (and not so young) men of the village compete, at full gallop, on horseback to pluck coloured ribbons from a wire strung above their heads. With each round the wire is move progressively higher until all the ribbons have been collected. The winner is the one with most ribbons.
It is by no means common for each competitor to collect a ribbon, of the 30+ riders competing yesterday only 5 or six collected a ribbon and the winner only managed three.
Our friends granddaughter, Harriet, is an accomplished horsewoman, a polo player in the UK. Yesterday she competed in the the cintas for the first time, riding a borrowed horse that she hadn't seen until a couple of hours before the competition. I have never seen a female compete in the contest before and there were a number of shocked locals too, one being moved to comment that if Harriet gained a ribbon he was giving up.
Harriet obliged gaining one ribbon towards the end of the contest when the wire was at its highest. By doing so she finished 5th or 6th in the contest beating more than 20 local riders.
This series is of Harriet at the moment of "grabbing" the ribbon which is done by spearing a 2cm diameter plastic ring with a pencil like palita whilst riding at full gallop.
There is also video which can be seen at:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xDJK7mV5Pw"]Romeria de Porticate - Yunquera 2010 - YouTube[/ame]
Sunday saw the first of the "big" fiestas of the year in Yunquera, Romeria de Porticate. One of the showpiece events of the feria is the Cintas de Caballos. Many of the young (and not so young) men of the village compete, at full gallop, on horseback to pluck coloured ribbons from a wire strung above their heads. With each round the wire is move progressively higher until all the ribbons have been collected. The winner is the one with most ribbons.
It is by no means common for each competitor to collect a ribbon, of the 30+ riders competing yesterday only 5 or six collected a ribbon and the winner only managed three.
Our friends granddaughter, Harriet, is an accomplished horsewoman, a polo player in the UK. Yesterday she competed in the the cintas for the first time, riding a borrowed horse that she hadn't seen until a couple of hours before the competition. I have never seen a female compete in the contest before and there were a number of shocked locals too, one being moved to comment that if Harriet gained a ribbon he was giving up.
Harriet obliged gaining one ribbon towards the end of the contest when the wire was at its highest. By doing so she finished 5th or 6th in the contest beating more than 20 local riders.
This series is of Harriet at the moment of "grabbing" the ribbon which is done by spearing a 2cm diameter plastic ring with a pencil like palita whilst riding at full gallop.
There is also video which can be seen at:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xDJK7mV5Pw"]Romeria de Porticate - Yunquera 2010 - YouTube[/ame]
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