Final du Trophy des Raseteurs

My interest was aroused when I found out that teasing the bulls (see our first post) is actually a tradition in this area and there is a formal organization and competition. These guys are called "raseteurs" and compete in a series of these events to acumulate points for a final trophy. The French Championship was being held in a nearby town so I drove down to check it out for myself.

There is always the band to support all the pomp and ceremony.

The horn has sounded and all the Raseteurs enter the ring with the intent to get close enough to the bull to remove little "tie wraps" that are tied to the base of the bulls horns. Whoever gets the most within a set time, wins. The technique is easy to follow here. The guys are all built like hocky sticks and extremely agile. They run past in front of the bull and as the bull tries to gore him, they twist around (while running full out) and try to pluck the tie wrap off the horn using a little steel comb.

Every once in a while the bull will get a chance to rub a raseteur into the ground but, like rodeo clowns, the rest of the guys jump in and distract the bull long enough for the "rubbie" to get to safety. You can see more video at www.ffcc.info  Enjoy.