When planning this summer’s trip, I swithered for a while as to whether to add a visit to Orthez to my week’s stay at Santander. Logistics would mean I’d be unable to attend the morning novillada at the French town, but the pull of the afternoon corrida, with its promise of bulls from Veiga Teixeira and Dolores Aguirre, was strong. In the end I decided to go ahead, hire a car for 24 hours and make the trip into France after all. The corrida turned out to be a memorable one, worth every euro it cost me to attend it.

Orthez’s annual day of bulls is frequently held in baking hot conditions: today was warm but cloudy, with the occasional heavy shower, although fortunately the corrida only saw one brief rainfall during the lidia of the first bull. The plaza was over three-quarters full.

*Luis Gerpe in a verónica to the opening bull*

The first bull, from Dolores Aguirre, set the tone for the rest of the corrida, being impressively large and huge-horned (unfortunately, weights are not shown at the plaza). As did Luis Gerpe, the first of three toreros determined to do their very best with whatever came out of the toriles. The toledano gave the animal some fine verónicas before allowing it the three puyazos that Orthez spectators expect. The bull charged in well each time, but left of its own accord. In the next tercio, one of Gerpe’s peones placed a superb pair of banderillas at great personal risk. The faena was a good one, carried out mainly on the right hand. There was a desarme at one point, Gerpe resuming with a new muleta whilst part of the old one was carried on one of the bull’s horns, and even managing circulares. Three swordthrusts were needed to down the animal - a metisaca, pinchazo and an estocada recibiendo - and Luis received silence while the bull was dragged out to applause.

*Juan de Castilla in a bernadina to his Veiga Teixeira bull (top), killed with a fine estocada*

Juan de Castilla drew the first of today’s Veiga Teixeira bulls, giving it some initial verónicas but limiting its time with the picador to two varas (pitos). The Colombian was supremely confident in the faena, meeting his opponent from on his knees for a cambio de espalda and derechazos, then standing up to produce excellent series on each hand, closed with curving pases de pecho. He ended with a sequence of bernadinas before going over the bull’s impressive horns for a fine estocada to win an ear. The bull was taken out to applause.

*Francisco Montero rematando his Portuguese opponent*

I hadn’t been looking forward to seeing the third matador on the cartel, Francisco Montero returning to the scene of his alternativa, my having memories of an over-emotional novillero who frequently ended up in tears as his attempts to succeed came to naught. But I was pleasantly surprised by his performances this afternoon. With his first bull, another solid and large-horned animal from Veiga Teixeira, once off his knees from giving opening lances, Francisco produced rapid capework with a variety of passes reminiscent of the Mexican El Pana, and showing his capea roots. He organised the suertes de las varas magnificently, positioning the bull further away from the horse for each of its three encounters, picador Titi Agudo applying the puya firmly but lightly each time and earning an ovation at the tercio’s end. Come the faena, we had a calmer Montero, beginning sensibly with doblones, then standing still and bringing off some tidy derechazos and naturales before ending with manoletinas sin ayuda. The low sword probably lost the chiclanero the bull’s ear, the matador hearing an aviso and both he and the bull receiving palmas.

*Luis Gerpe with his Dolores Aguirre bull, which caught him later in the faena*

Luis Gerpe gave his Vega Teixeira bull some templadas verónicas and delantales before taking it with walking chicuelinas to the horse. However, the bull merely trotted in to the picador for two varas, and then proved weak in the faena, there being little transmission despite some good muletazos from Gerpe. Luis was caught and tossed in a derechazo (a later visit to the infirmary revealed bruising to a knee and the lower back) but returned, limping, to finish the faena and kill with a pinchazo, estocada and descabello, receiving an aviso just as the latter took effect. The bull departed to a division of opinions while Gerpe received an ovation and took saludos.

*Trincherilla from Juan de Castilla to a dolores that shows no sign of lowering its head, nor of following the cloth*

Juan de Castilla’s dolores was a tall bull with large horns. He failed to engage it with the capote and again changed the tercio after just two varas, the second puyazo not worthy of the name. Juan then embarked on a brave faena, bringing off passes while keeping clear of those horns! The animal was a tricky beast, turning quickly after right-handed passes and keeping its head high when muletazos were given with the left hand. Its head was still high when it was lined up for the kill, its relatively short matador delivering two pinchazos and a pragmatic bajonazo. The bull nevertheless received applause en arrastre while Juan de Castilla’s decision to take a vuelta was initially whistled.

The derribo obtained by the sixth bull, which then rolled the horse across the ring. Gabin Rehabi (awarded the prize for the day’s best picador) is shown below just about staying on the substitute horse on the fourth vara - and continuing to pic well.

The final bull of the day, ‘Yegüizo’ from Dolores Aguirre, was given straightforward verónicas by Francisco Montero before being lined up for its first vara, which turned into a massive derribo, the bull charging in strongly and overturning picador Gabin Rehabi and his horse, then attacking the latter strongly and rolling it across the ring before order could be restored. Three more varas ensued, the last two with the bull positioned at the far barrera, ‘Yegüizo’ charging in strongly each time and Rehabi (who was almost unseated by the force of the fourth encounter) piccing well and receiving a standing ovation as he left the plaza.

With ‘Yegüizo’ waiting for him, its mouth still closed, Francisco Montero dedicated the faena firstly to the public and secondly to Rehabi. Beginning with series of derechazos, the faena revealed the bull’s nobleza and continued strong charge, Montero bringing off decent passes with the left hand too. The chiclanero ended with pases ayudados, nearly being caught in the process, a pinchazo and an estocada caída, citing for the latter while down on one knee. ‘Yegüizo’ was deservedly given a vuelta en arrastre and Montero (who also received an aviso) one of its ears, the matador calling out his picadores, Agudo and Rehabi, and the Dolores Aguirre mayoral to join him on his vuelta, and later - ever the showman - kneeling at the exit to the patio de cuadrillas, looking back at the ring and saying a quick prayer before departing the plaza.

The Orthez organisers are to be congratulated on providing an epic corrida, the ganaderías on their choices of bulls, and all three toreros for their valiant and determined performances in very challenging circumstances.

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