It's the start of a short but thrilling race.

In the Thai city of Chon Buri, buffaloes move like seasoned sprinters, in an annual contest of speed and awesome power.

It’s become one of Thailand’s most anticipated events, said to date back 150 years.

Spectators crowd in to watch the usually docile, sluggish animals transform into prime competitors, hoofing down a 100-metre track, their jockeys riding bareback, clinging on for dear life.

It can be a bruising experience but the cash prizes per ride make it worth the risks.

“The hardest thing is to get from the start to the finishing line and stay on its back. Some of them like to buck, some like to swerve, but we have to stay on. Win or lose, we have to get to the end,” says 35-year-old Tawee Chaimora, who’s been a buffalo jockey for the last seven years.

Water buffaloes are one of the icons of Thailand.

The trudging, dependable beast ploughing the rice fields became a feature of village life and a symbol of cultural endurance.

Chon Buri celebrates their place in Thai national life with a slow, stately parade around the streets before the races begin.

“We’ve used buffaloes to plough our fields and harvest rice for us to eat so we owe them. We have to cherish and conserve them because nowadays it’s all machines. We have to conserve Thai buffaloes as much as we can,” says the city mayor Ong-art Prasertjit.

The serious side is very much a part of the festival, but for the many spectators at trackside the main business of the day is more light-hearted: simply marveling at the spectacle of it all.

AP video by Jerry Harmer