Goose-riding netmaker passes on craft
Goose-riding might not be a subtle activity, but the nets used to hang the goose have long been delicately handcrafted by one man in the polder region
Knitting “the gallows”
Basically, goose-riding consists of riding a horse at full speed under a goose and tugging at its neck until its head comes off. The first rider who comes away with the head in his hands is the winner.
It’s less gruesome than it sounds: The geese are already dead when they are hung from the goose-riding net and bear a veterinary certificate as proof.
Sponsors and members of the public donate money to “the gallows”. The several thousands of euros in proceeds pay for the winner’s celebration. The 11 participating villages, including Hoevenen, Berendrecht and Ekeren, hold their own competitions, with the winner, or “king”, inviting his fellow riders to a feast.
The five-week competition concludes with the Keizerrijden (Emperors’ Ride), with kings from the respective villages competing for the ultimate title of Emperor in the home village of the 2014 Emperor. This year that’s Stabroek.
Although goose-riding is a male-dominated activity, there is also a women’s competition in May (see sidebar). The proceeds from the women’s competition go to charity.
Goose-riding can seem a bit barbaric; there’s nothing fancy about tearing the head off an animal. But however strong a goose’s neck may be, each one packed in a solid net. Leo Van Bouwel is a goose-riding veteran, and the polder’s nettenbreier (net knitter). He is responsible for the nets from which the geese dangle.
Van Bouwel (pictured) is a member of the Koninklijke Gansrijdersmaatschappij Hoevenen. He joined the association more than half a century ago to become a king back in 1968.
“I have been knitting nets since I was 12 years old; we used to catch birds in the polders,” remembers Van Bouwel. “In 1983, I was asked by our goose-riding association to manufacture the nets to hold the geese. Each association used to have its own netmaker; many have passed away or stopped, and I was left as sole provider for all 11 goose-riding events.”
The blote nek
According to Van Bouwel, the origin of reinforcing the goose’s neck with a net dates back from the early days of goose-riding. “Goose-riding is folklore and is meant to boost community life, so it should take a few hours,” he explains. “The net allows the organisers to stretch the game out. They cut the net away during the goose-riding until, finally, riders pass under the blote nek, the goose’s bare neck. That’s when crowds gather near ‘the gallows’ to witness the winner’s pull.”
The kind of cord we need has disappeared from the market
Van Bouwel, now 66, is making sure that young people are instructed in the craft of netmaking. He’s currently teaching a group of six youngsters the finer points of the craft. “Some of them now manufacturing their own nets, like the association in Zandvliet. But most of the associations bring their nets to me.”
As does the Polder Union, goose-riding’s umbrella organisation. The Polder Union tests all the nets before the Keizerrijden takes place.
Just as artisan netmakers are becoming rare, so are the materials. “Each net requires triple-thread bricklayer’s cord of 1.5 millimetres thick. That has disappeared from the market, and the nylon alternative doesn’t work,” says Van Bouwel. “We’re constantly on the look-out for it, like in the fishing industry or in specialised shops in the Netherlands. When we find suitable cord, its ruggedness is thoroughly tested; each cord should withstand a pulling power of 30 to 40 kilograms and the whole net 1,000 kilograms.”
Netmaking is done by hand, of course, and it takes about six hours to knit a net from scratch. For Leo, it’s an evening job; he puts in about 30 minutes every night. “I sit in my chair, and my hands and the spool almost do the work automatically”.
Most of the associations, he explains, use the same net every year, and he repairs them. “Some of them are more than 20 years old. They bring me the nets, and I replace the part at the front, where the goose’s neck has been.”
photo by Marc Maes
Goose-riding calendar
8 March Berendrecht Oude Gans
15 March Hoevenen and Lillo Ware Gans
22 March Stabroek Keizerschap (the final)
9 May Berendrecht Vrije Gans (women’s competition)
