With a score of nine points, Ivo Zorica is the winner of the 308th Sinjska Alka lancing tournament, held in that town in the hinterland of the coastal city of Split on Sunday.

Competing in this year’s tournament were 17 horsemen, including four debutants, and attending were, among others, Hungarian President Katlin Novák, Croatian President Zoran Milanovic, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic.

The Sinjska Alka is a chivalric tournament that takes place annually since 1715, in the town of Sinj, in the Cetinska krajina region. During the contest, knights ride horses at full gallop along a main street, aiming lances at an iron ring hanging on a rope.

The name of the tournament derives from this alka or ring, a word whose Turkish origin reflects the historical co-existence and cultural exchange between two different civilizations. The tournament rules, codified in a 1833 statute, promote ethics and fair play, and stress the importance of participation in community life.

Participants must be members of local families of Sinj and the Cetinska krajina region. The event was Inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.

The final of this three-day competition is held on the first weekend in August.