Watch: Fast and Furriest — Women race cows in the Swiss Alps

Dubai: — It’s not your usual Alpine race. To the sound of clanging cowbells, thundering hooves, and delighted cheers, nine cows — each ridden by a female jockey — charged across the green slopes of Flumserberg for Switzerland’s annual Cow Grand Prix.

The quirky event, held more than 1,300 metres above sea level near the scenic Walensee lake, is open exclusively to women riders. It began in 2006 as part of Flumserberg’s autumn festivities and now attracts up to 5,000 spectators each year.

The “fast and furriest” contestants compete over two grass laps marked with hay bales, with the winner earning a 40-kilogram bag of feed, a giant Alpine cowbell, and plenty of bragging rights. Riders say it’s far trickier than horse racing — unpredictable, bumpy, and entirely at the mercy of the cows’ moods.

This year’s champion, Viola, stormed ahead in the final stretch to defend her title, with her rider Lea Werner celebrating to the crowd’s applause. Organisers say the event began when local women secretly trained after men dismissed the idea — a decision that’s now the pride of the mountains.

Video and inputs from AFP