Finally! The Donkey Races of Alba are upon us! It has been a day of festivities, starting with a parade through town. Medieval denizens of every sort marched through Central Alba’s cobblestone streets. With the exception of lowly serfs and convicted criminals chained up in wooden carts, everyone was in a festive mood.
The Donkey Palio d’Alba
The Donkey Palio d’Alba, (Alba Donkey Races), is Alba’s answer to the palio of it’s more well-known neighbor, Asti. (You can read the back-story here). The Palio d’Asti might be more exciting – I don’t know that for certain – but the Donkey Palio d’Alba is bound to be a lot more fun.
After pre-race plays and pageantry from the Middle Ages, an army of workers moved hay bales into place to form a racetrack. Then, without further ado, and with a great cheer from the crowd, a group of donkeys and their riders entered the arena.
Maybe you’ve seen a horse race or two, like the Kentucky Derby, where horses and riders parade calmly by with great dignity and grace. Well, this wasn’t like that.
This was an agitated mass of humans, donkeys, and dust. We could see bodies pushing and pulling, arms flailing, and donkey ears flopping as the group moved slowly toward the starting line.
Somehow, race officials managed to sort everything out. Most donkeys and their riders were near the starting line, pointing more or less in the right direction. Close enough. Before things got out of hand, someone fired the starting gun and the race was on!
And They’re Off!
The crowd of donkeys and riders started down the track and headed into the first turn in a cloud of dust. Then onto the backstretch. There’s something comical about seeing someone ride a donkey fast. The rider bounces up and down as if in a cartoon. It’s even funnier when a bunch of ‘em are bouncing along.
Apparently I wasn’t the only one who thought the sight of the riders bouncing along was funny, because everyone in the stands was laughing. Groups shouted out encouragement to their favorite riders. The announcer called the race in high-speed Italian over a ragged PA system. No one was sitting down. What a scene. Mamma mia!
The leaders made their way through the clubhouse turn, where we were sitting. This was the first time we saw the donkeys up close. They were big! Maybe some kind of specially-bred Italian racing donkey, eh? Or not. Anyway, they were a lot bigger than any donkey I’d ever seen.
By the time they passed by us, the crowd of racers was already starting spread out. Most of them were going along pretty well, but two in particular were pulling way out in front of the rest of the pack. They were really moving!
But at the back end of the pack, it was a different story. Serious donkey trouble was brewing. Apparently not all of the donkeys were as excited about the race as us spectators.
Donkey Trouble
Before we knew it, the two speed-demon donkeys were coming around again, riders atop, bouncing up and down. These two donkeys actually seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Five more laps to go. After this race, another group would compete. Then the top finishers from each group would face off in the grand finale. I don’t know – how much donkey-race excitement can a person take in one day?
By the time three laps had been completed, chaos had ensued at the clubhouse turn. It was getting rough out there. Donkeys bumped into each other, maybe on purpose. Some of them were getting upset. More than one donkey tried to take a bite out of another one. Yikes!
The two speed-demons donkeys kept going around the track at a brisk pace. They lapped slower donkeys like they were standing still. In fact, by this time, quite a few WERE standing still. Or worse.
One rider who was right in front of us was having a terrible time. His donkey was DONE with this race, and that was that. The poor guy had to get off the donkey and try to pull him, but that donkey wasn’t going anywhere. Someone from the sidelines came to give him a hand. Nothing doing. That donkey would… not… budge. All of this was to the great delight of the crowd, of course.
Attending an Italian donkey race was never on my bucket list, but that’s only because I didn’t know what I had been missing. I can report now, without hesitation, that there is nothing on earth quite like the Donkey Palio d’Alba.
To be continued…
my first time as well – it was a pure joy