TDN Weekend December 2016 Issue 9
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1021151
no potential stepping stone to victory is left unturned, no matter how apparently crooked that path may be. It is little wonder then that the jockeys are referred to by the Sienese as the 'ten assassins.' These are the men, and very occasionally women, who hold much more than reins and whips in their hands. How- ever duplicitous their motives, it would be uncharitable not to believe that the Palio jockeys are fully deserving of a hefty wad of what could reasonably be described as danger money. Not only is navigating the tight turns and undulations of the Piazza del Campo while galloping bareback on a horse haz- ardous in the extreme, but then there's the unpredictable aftermath for all but the winning rider. The returning hero is hoisted high, draped in the colourful flag of the winning contrada, and transport- ed on a sea of shoulders to the cathedral to be feted and blessed. Meanwhile any of the nine losers run the risk of being dragged from their horse and beaten as frenzied members of the crowd pour onto the course as soon as the cannon booms in time to the winner crossing the line. In a bid to ensure that jockeys are not susceptible to corruption from rival con- trade in the days running up to the race, they are in effect held hostage within the district for which they will ride, with no access to a phone. They appear as the build-up gathers momentum, riding in the 'prove,' or trials, staged in the days be- fore the Palio.