Trivia Thursday - Combat of Queens

In Valais, a canton of Switzerland, they have a tradition called Combat of Queens. No, this has nothing to do with man on man action, far from it. It's neither associated with bees. We are taking about a fight, where the heavy weight starts at 1,300 pounds. It looks like this:



This is no bullfight either. As the term queen suggests, it's about females - a cow fight. It is derived from the natural habit of cows to determine the leader of the herd. Any cow that backs down from a fight is eliminated until one cow is left standing in the ring.

Each year, the Valais hosts a series of cow fights known as Combats de reines ("Combat of queens"). The winner is called La Reine des Reines ("the queen of queens"). The cows come from the local Herens breed, named after the Val d'Hérens, a mountain valley.

If you want to see it with your own eyes, then you can go to Raron on September 24 or order the DVD of last years top fights.