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(Photo: Office of the Croatian President/Dario Andrišek)
ZAGREB, 26 August (Hina) – Erik Žagrić and his horse Zvjezdan are the winners of this year’s 49th Prstenac Race, which took place on Sunday in the Istrian municipality of Barban, and the patron of the event, President Zoran Milanović, presented the winner with a transfer gift, a shield and a dagger.
Žagrić also received a reward of 5,000 euros, which was presented to him by the District Mayor of Istria, Boris Miletić.
(Photo: Office of the Croatian President/Dario Andrišek)
The Prstenac race is a horse race in which participants must complete a 150-meter course in three races and hit an iron ring, called a prstenac, with a spear.
(Photo: Office of the Croatian President/Dario Andrišek)
“Here we do not celebrate great victories, of which there have been many, nor do we commemorate or mourn defeats. We celebrate a way of life and a joy that is linked to many periods and details of Croatian history: from these traditional costumes to the history of this region, which is a mixture of the ancient population of Istria, the Slavic inhabitants of Istria and settlers from the areas of Dalmatia and the Makarska coast.
(Photo: Office of the Croatian President/Dario Andrišek)
(Photo: Office of the Croatian President/Dario Andrišek)
All this together has created a people that has withstood all challenges and threats over the past centuries,” said the President of the Republic, Zoran Milanović, in Barban.
(Photo: Office of the Croatian President/Dario Andrišek)
(Photo: Office of the Croatian President/Dario Andrišek)
This year the traditional race took place for the 49th time. It is always held on the penultimate weekend in August and was revived in 1976 after a 280-year break.
(Photo: Office of the Croatian President/Dario Andrišek)
(Photo: Office of the Croatian President/Dario Andrišek)
