Take paws: UNO Documentary on Animal Activist Horse Races

What: Animal Activist Horse Races

Film By: UNO Student

Editor’s Note: NolaVie partners with students of UNO professor László Zsolt Fülöp, pairing them with artists, non-profits, environmental groups, and cultural entities to facilitate a live curriculum that results in a short documentary. UNO student discusses the history of horse racing in New Orleans and how this has transformed into human racing! Local New Orleanians dress up in horse costumes and race each other while getting into the spirit of racing. This event occurs annually and is a classic!

|Read the full transcript of the interview below|

What is a horse? They are kinda bug-like if you think about it in the abdomen.  

Did they evolve from seahorses? Well, in New Orleans on Thanksgiving, people go to the racetracks; it’s a tradition for the Thanksgiving Classic. Equestrian enthusiasts of all kinds gather. 

These are very large beasts. They let humans ride on top of them. They don’t need to be around anymore; our machines have 70 times the horsepower. We don’t need horses for this tradition anymore. You could ride a man or a woman! The score or value is totally arbitrary. 

In Easton Park in MidCity on Thanksgiving the 4th Annual Human Horse Races will take place on November 23rd, 2023