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It's cow fighting season.

August 19th 2013

It's a long time between ski seasons, so the native Savoyards have come up with a few things to pass the time.

Where France, Switzerland and Italy meet - in this case the Petit St Bernard Pass, 20 minutes from Sainte Foy - they all share a very special animal, the Herens Cow and a very special sport.

Built more like a tank than any cow you'd find on the plains, the Herens is a breed bred to look after itself in the high mountains, like their lowland sisters they give milk, but they are more famous for their urge to lock horns and push any other cow into submission.They have a natural urge to dominate one another as the most dominant cow will lead the herd to the high pastures in spring. It's been a sport here for centuries.

The judges don't decide the winner here, the cows do.

But there's no animal cruelty here, half the cows who enter the ring seemed to give up before they started. With the othere half a couple of minutes of pushing and shoving and one would turn and wander back to it's paddock.

The really great thing about this ancient ritual is that in an otherwise barren landscape at 2180 meters, thousands turned out. There were bands and stalls and all manner of fayre from Italy and France. It was as though just for one day, borders and languages were forgotten.

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