BajaNomad

Horse Races on Dia del Padre in Asuncion

shari - 6-16-2008 at 10:16 AM

It was a memorable day on Father's Day here with both the mayoral race and horse races, both interesting in their own right. Big problems in the mayoral race as there were only enough ballots for half the people to vote which raises alot of questions about the election. Interestingly, the ruling party supporters all ran early to the polls to cast their vote before the ballots ran out...hmmm?? more on this later...bound to be some protest.
Now for the good stuff...our local horse club hosted an awesome race inviting horses from the area to participate. Horses came from neighbouring villages and many young horses raced for the first time which made it exciting to see new prospects. It also gave local kids a chance to jockey. There was alot of head shaking when a girl appeared...she gave it her best but lacked the meaness of the male jockeys...didn't whip her horse enough but it was cool to see her race. There were also some c-ck fights. Juan & I even won $10 on our favorite horse. This is the link for some photos of the race.... click on slideshow. thttp://picasaweb.google.com/sharibondy/AsuncionHorseRacesJune150808
This was the race we won on.

[Edited on 6-16-2008 by shari]

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photo finish

shari - 6-16-2008 at 10:18 AM

This was a really close race...the black horse won by a nose hair!

[Edited on 6-16-2008 by shari]

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Bajagypsy - 6-16-2008 at 10:25 AM

Goodness that looks like a lot of fun, wish we were there!

BajaGringo - 6-16-2008 at 10:31 AM

Great pictures Shari.

Maybe they should have determined the mayors race on horseback...



:biggrin:

shari - 6-16-2008 at 10:44 AM

This was one of the candidates who would have made a great mayor!(too bad he was PAN and only a 100 ballots were provided for his village of 400 voters) Pancho is a truly good sportsman...it was his horse who had the chica jockey...he wasn't in this to win but to give a chance to the girl who dreamed of jockeying one day. He, in his mexican honourable way took the election farce in stride, ni modo... and enjoyed the horse races.

[Edited on 6-16-2008 by shari]

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DianaT - 6-16-2008 at 10:58 AM

Who won the mayor's race in Bahia Asuncion?

shari - 6-16-2008 at 11:37 AM

depends who you ask...do you mean who the real winner was or who the radio says won...the official government winner is the ruling party's PRD candidate known as Pelo Chino from Pta.Prieta (although he did not win the majority of votes in Asuncion)...but it may be contested due to the large number of people who could not exercise their right to vote due to lack of ballots sent to the villages by the municiple government. This seems to have blemished the PRD's reputation here on the coast...lots of disillusions among the locals today...town is a frenzy of gossip, disheartened campaigners and hungover dads. Happy father's day John!

DianaT - 6-16-2008 at 11:58 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by shari
depends who you ask...do you mean who the real winner was or who the radio says won...the official government winner is the ruling party's PRD candidate known as Pelo Chino from Pta.Prieta (although he did not win the majority of votes in Asuncion)...but it may be contested due to the large number of people who could not exercise their right to vote due to lack of ballots sent to the villages by the municiple government. This seems to have blemished the PRD's reputation here on the coast...lots of disillusions among the locals today...town is a frenzy of gossip, disheartened campaigners and hungover dads. Happy father's day John!


Sounds a lot like the way elections are done in some of our states. :lol::lol:

Do hope it all settles down----horse race looked fun.

Iflyfish - 6-16-2008 at 12:24 PM

Florida and Ohio come to mind where the winning presidential candidate had his campaign manager in charge of the state elections.

Ni modo indeed!

Great racing pics, what thrill!

Iflyfish

redmesa - 6-16-2008 at 06:38 PM

Looks like another great time in the village. I would have to pass on the c-ck fight but what a thrill a horse race can be.
Is the mayor not changing? I wonder how the politics of the place will be affected?
Your patio is awesome. Where will the chickens scratch now?
Suzanna

Jumex - 6-16-2008 at 07:21 PM

Oh my gosh, they're so beautiful! I need to get my horse in shape like that... She wouldn't have a chance racing those desert ponies! I'd like to see her try! :tumble:

standingwave - 6-16-2008 at 09:20 PM

Great slideshow, Shari. I hope to see the races there someday. Looks like fun.

Santiago - 6-17-2008 at 07:01 AM

Shari: How are the horses paired in the races? How do you place bets - and how are winning's paid out? Are the bettors on the winning horse paid from the total amount bet on the losing horse? Who holds the money or is it just a verbal wager and everyone is on the honor system?

I think I'm confused on the mayor thing. Is a delegato and a mayor the same thing? The election you describe covers many villages - similar to our counties? Is the village political head elected by the village or appointed by the mayor?

Great photos.

Lauriboats - 6-17-2008 at 08:28 AM

Thanks Shari,
Looks like so much fun, maybe next year. Loved your photos.

shari - 6-17-2008 at 08:34 PM

the matching up of horses is kind of just an agreement between the owners that the two horses are a fair match. If you want to race your horse with another on...the owners get together and see if anyone is interested in betting...at this local race a $1,000 pesos has to be put up so all the amigos of the horse owners throw in $100 pesos till they get the grand...it can exceed that...one guy holds the cash...then the horses race and if you won you get 200 pesos back!! there is also betting amongst friends too...like I say...hey Jim...which horse do you like? And if I like the other one, we might bet each other. Sometimes they do things to fool you so they win more money like wrap a bandage around a horses leg so it looks like he has a problem so more people bet against him and he wins more $. It is soooo much fun for everyone and a great excuse to suck back alot of tecate! and wear all those cowboy duds.
Today there is a big protest and the PRI supporters have taken over the delegacion..more on this tomorrow...it will be interesting to see what happens.

jorgie - 6-18-2008 at 07:00 AM

did the mayoral candidates go bareback as well ???

shari - 6-18-2008 at 07:49 AM

as in the horse race, all 3 candidates were very well matched and any one of them would/will make a fine delegado. It's just too bad that the man who "won" will/might/did get in by a questionable election as he is a stand up/fair/honest guy who will be a great mayor. This affair tarnishes the reputation of PRD here on the mid coast and they will lose a lot of support over these antics and the new mayor will have a difficult time with his constituents. NObody likes a fixed horse race.

ELINVESTIG8R - 6-18-2008 at 07:52 AM

Hey Shari reminds me of my youth in Mexico. I love it.

shari - 6-18-2008 at 07:13 PM

well, the latest on the mayor pedo...problema...is that yesterday an official from the registrars office came and heard the complaints and took signatures of those who were unable to vote because of lack of ballots. The protest was huge....a lot of angry fed up people and they demanded a re-vote. The new mayor is supposed to take office on monday but the mob said if they didn't hear any news about another vote taking place they were gonna take over the delegacion and not let the new delegado take office...pretty radical for our quiet little paradise!
Of course I personally have no comment on the issue....just repeating the facts maam.