Hornussen - old custom, modern sport

For two years I accompanied the Hornusser men and women in practicing their sport. I met down-to-earth, uncomplicated people. On the one hand, Hornussen is an individual sport – when teeing off, on the other hand it is a team sport – when it comes down to it (taking down the nousse from the air), where you can only be successful as a well-rehearsed team. At the Federal Hornusser Festival there is a bat king every 3 years.

Photographing this sport challenged me a lot. A tee shot, for example, begins with absolute calm and concentration. Then the stick with the Träf is accelerated to up to 300 km/h with an extremely fast rotation. In the best case, the Nouss then flies up to 300 meters. Without continuous shooting I'm always too late or too early. At the back of the Ries (the playing field) the Nouss still lands at about 160 km/h and I have to be careful not to be shot down by the Nouss or killed by a falling shingle.