Traditional Bull Race of Bengal, India

An Indian jockey and his bulls participate in the ‘Moichara’, a traditional century-old cattle race festival, at Herovanga village, Parganas district, West Bengal, India, 10 August 2026. The traditional bull race in muddy rice fields was organized by farmers to prepare the fields ahead of harvest season, and to celebrate the two-day bull racing festival. Bull owners train their bulls for a couple of months before the race. The jockeys ride on a pair of bulls, holding on to their tails, along 100 meters of a muddy, soaked track in rice fields while balancing barefoot on a wooden plank. Thousands of villagers gathered during the race.