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Combat de reines

Contests in the Valais and the Aosta Valley in which Hérens cows push each other to decide a queen.

A tile drawn for this page, not a picture of Combat de reines.

Also: Kuhkampf, Ringkuhkampf, bataille de reines

Hérens cows, a sturdy black or dark red breed of the Swiss Valais, naturally settle their order in the herd by locking horns and pushing. Farmers have turned this into the combat de reines, the fight of queens. Cows are matched by weight in classes and led into an arena, where pairs push head to head until one turns away; they are not goaded, and serious injuries are rare. The winner of each class is a queen, and the overall winner the reine des reines. The national final is held at Aproz in spring, and the neighbouring Aosta Valley in Italy holds its own bataille de reines.

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