Accompanied by his mother Colette, the manadier defended the Camargue race.
On Sunday October 9, the bull Derrick was crowned Biòu d’Or 2022 in Nîmes by the Bullfighting Trophy commission Free lunch – Provence. Aged 10 this year, the cocardier offered the Nicollin manade his fourth Biòu d’or after those obtained by Virat (2002, 2004) and Landié (2019).
This Saturday, Olivier and Colette Nicollin organized a nice reception at Mas Saint-Gabriel, in Marsillargues, to greet the 14th Biòu d’or of the motto, 172 years old, and celebrate their cockadeer Derrick.
There, they notably welcomed the director of the Bullfighting Trophy Julie Zaoui, the president of the French Federation of the Camargue race Nicolas Triol or the mayor of Montpellier and president of the Metropolis.
“Our tradition is under attack, our freedom is under attack, our passion is under attack”
For the past few days, Michaël Delafosse (he has supported the Camargue race) has found himself at the center of heated debates between two of his elected animalists and ecologists, Eddine Ariztegui and Coralie Mantion, determined to reform the bouvine.
During his speech, Olivier Nicollin returned to this episode.
“Derrick is the 10th biòu titled in the motto for a 14th Biòu d’or, so the story continues. And if the story continues, it is because the tradition continues. The tradition, our tradition. Its importance, its respect, its continuity.”
But today he feels that “Our tradition is under attack, our freedom is under attack, our passion is under attack. The fronts are multiple. After the first salvoes launched on the bullfighting outfit, it is now the ferrades, bandido, abrivado who are in the sights”he said.
“The survival of our traditions depends only on us”
On the stage, with his mother Colette, Olivier Nicollin continued: “These people do not understand the essential thing: the love we have for our animals. The emotions they give us all season until the final consecration for one of them. What other animal race can see some of these congeners buried upright or statuefied? I think that is well worth a scuff and a fire brand.”
To conclude, Olivier Nicollin launched an appeal to the people of the bouvine: “The survival of our traditions and our common passion depends only on us. It depends on our ability to explain it, to teach it and to defend it. So let’s continue to transmit our aficion to our children with commitment and perseverance. Let’s preserve our “country” by explaining it to its newcomers.”
The man intends to defend daily “our tradition and our freedom so that here or in another herd we can celebrate our Biòu d’or for a long time.” All that remained then was to toast Derrick the cocardier.
