Tradition
Trka na prstenac
Sixteen riders gallop down a course in Barban trying to spear a small ring with a lance, a contest first recorded in 1696. It's held on the fourth weekend of August.
- When
- August 2027 (exact dates not announced)
- Where
- Barban, Istria
- Official site
- trkanaprstenac.hr
Dates checked 1 November 2026. Confirm with the organiser before you book.
Barban is a small Istrian town that fills up for one weekend of August for a horseback contest with a very long memory. The earliest record of it dates from 1696, when the Venetian Loredan family, who then held Barban, staged it to draw people to their fairs. Today sixteen riders compete, and each one charges at speed with a lance and tries to strike the small ring at the centre of the target.
The weekend is more than the race. In 2026 the flag was raised after a parade on the Friday evening, and Saturday brought a children's version on bicycles, the Robotrka, and the qualifying contest known as Trka za viticu. The main event followed on Sunday at five in the afternoon, after a morning mass for the riders and a brass band concert, and the night ended with fireworks.
If you miss the race, a visitor centre in the old loggia on the town square explains the tradition. Croatia's culture ministry added it to the national intangible heritage list in 2016. The 2027 programme isn't out yet.