The Cellar - May 12th, 2019 : Exuberance

This picture caught my eye because of it’s unmitigated exuberance, it’s a picture of happy.
The people are having a ball, the Golden Eagles are like a kid with his arm out the car window, even the horses are smiling.
The Golden Eagle Festival will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year.

http://cellar.org/img/eagles.jpg

Quote:

The Eagle Festival is held during the first weekend in October, run by the Mongolian Eagle Hunter's Association. Dark, rocky mountainous terrain forms the backdrop to the festivities, which incorporate an opening ceremony, parade, cultural exhibitions, demonstrations and handcrafts in the centre of the town of Ölgii, followed by sporting activities and competitions 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) outside of town towards the mountains. Dressed in full eagle hunting regalia and mounted on groomed decorated horses, the entrants compete for the awards of Best Turned Out Eagle and Owner; Best Eagle at Hunting Prey and Best Eagle at Locating Its Owner from a Distance. Other sporting activities include horse racing, archery and the highly entertaining Bushkashi - goatskin tug of war on horseback.

You have to keep in mind Golden Eagles are carnivores with daggers on their feet and face.
I saw pictures of an eight year old girl taken down by a Golden and it wasn't pretty.

http://cellar.org/img/eagle2.jpg

It looks to me like in this case the girl and the eagle were on the ground when the eagle decided
he wanted to perch on her arm or shoulder.
Not aggression, just a misunderstanding.
Later he tells his buddies how he was mounting this hot redhead when three thugs pulled him off.

link

In case you want to go.