The unique Ninh Binh goat fighting festival.

On June 4th, at the Ninh Hai commune stadium in Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh province, the Provincial Farmers' Association organized the Ninh Binh Goat Fighting Festival 2024. This is a new activity, being held for the first time during Ninh Binh Tourism Week 2024.

The goat fighting festival is organized with the hope of creating a new, attractive tourism product, a unique cultural feature, and at the same time contributing to the preservation and development of the valuable genetic resources of the Ninh Binh goat breed.

Participate in the Goat Fighting Festival. Ninh Binh In 2024, 16 goat fighters from all 8 district and city Farmers' Associations in the province participated, competing in two weight categories: 40-47 kg and 48-55 kg. All the goat fighters were leading male goats carefully selected by their owners, possessing good health, at least 3 years old, with a balanced physique, and a clear lineage.

The Organizing Committee of the Ninh Binh Goat Fighting Festival 2024 presented commemorative flags to the participating units.

Before the competition begins, the referee will weigh the goats and draw lots to pair them up according to their weight categories. Each category will compete in a knockout round consisting of 4 matches, with the winner determined by points based on the fighting moves of the goat fighters. Each match lasts 15 minutes.

The attacking and defensive moves, such as horn clamping, horn breaking, leg locks, tiger pounces, and spear thrusts, performed by the goat fighters provide the audience with exciting, fierce, and visually stunning matches.

The goat fighting competition takes place over one day. At the end of the competition, the Organizing Committee awards first, second, and third prizes to each goat fighter in their respective weight categories.

According to the Organizing Committee, after the goat fight, all the fighting goats are taken back for continued nurturing, care, training, and breeding to create healthy, fast-growing, high-quality herds of goats.

According to Dinh Hong Thai, Chairman of the Ninh Binh Provincial Farmers' Association, the goat fighting festival is an activity within the Ninh Binh Tourism Week 2024 aimed at creating a new tourism product and contributing to affirming Ninh Binh's tourism brand as a unique, safe, friendly, high-quality, and attractive destination.

In particular, this is an opportunity to encourage farmers, cooperatives, and branches and groups involved in raising and processing products from Ninh Binh mountain goats to meet, interact, and exchange experiences in selecting goat breeds, caring for, training, and processing products from Ninh Binh goats; to encourage the movement of goat farming and processing; and to encourage farmers to be more conscious in caring for and protecting good goat breeds, in order to expand and promote local economic development.

The Organizing Committee of the Goat Fighting Festival hopes that in the future, there will be more new tourism products that reflect the unique identity of this millennium heritage land, such as goat fighting festivals, goat racing festivals, goat beauty contests, and more culinary products made from goat meat. This will contribute to spreading and affirming the Ninh Binh goat brand and delicious dishes made from goat meat to friends both domestically and internationally.

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