Cow Contest

Yesterday a few of my teammates and I went to see a ‘cow contest.’ I was a little worried about what the cow contest would entail (I really didn't want to see the cows hurt each other or fight to the death or anything brutal like that...), but I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw! Basically, the cows are split up into groups based on weight. Then six cows enter ‘the ring’ led by serious-looking farmers. When it’s time to fight, the farmers release the cows. Then the cows kick up some dirt, do a lot of standing around, some run around the ring, some eat the grass, and occasionally two cows engage in a fight. The cows butt heads, lock horns, and push one another until one of the two cows retreat (it’s not unlike a boxing out drill we do in basketball…). Then they leave the ring and the next weight class of cows comes in.

me with my cow =)

There were a couple of things that I saw at the cow contest that I thought were really cool/ just observed. I haven’t bulleted in a while, so I think I’ll take that route today:

-       The cows had painted numbers on them.

-       My teammates and I all found cows with our respective jersey numbers, cheered for ‘our cows,’ and took pictures with them.

-       My cow was a fighter; she literally tried to fight every cow that came near her.

-       My cow made it to the finals!

-       Two cows refused to fight because they were from the same farm. They just stood looking at each other. I think this was my favorite part of the day.

-       Cows smell, poop on themselves, and attract flies.

-       There was a turkey at the cow contest.

-       Turkeys have really ugly heads; they creep me out.

-       Turkeys really do ‘gobble.’

-       Next to the turkey were chickens, rabbits, and donkeys.

-       I got to pet the donkey.

-       Like everywhere in Switzerland, people brought their dogs to the cow contest.

-       One husky took a lot of interest in the chickens. He just sat down by the chicken coop and watched them for half an hour.

-       The type of crowd at a contest is not unlike the crowd I once witnessed at a demolition derby.

-       They served cotton candy, but no popcorn.

-       The bells around the cows' necks were really loud.

-       One of the serious-looking farmers got tripped up by his cow; he fell in the dirt.

-       The cows were very vocal.

-       If I owned a farm, I would put a lot of friendly cows on it.

I think that is all.

Some side notes:

-       I forgot to mention that our season is over.

-       We won our last game!

-       I’m headed to Bretagne, France for a few days at the end of the week.

-       I’m home in nine days for the whole summer!!!