Still, he admits that he\u2019s not good at everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still am just terrible at caber and the sheaf.\u201d<\/p>\n
The caber toss, perhaps the best known Highland event, involves a competitor hoisting a long log, resembling a telephone pole, vertically and then running forward and tossing it in an attempt to flip it end over end. Easier said than done\u2014or practiced.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s not like you can just walk into the forest and cut down a tree to train in Southern California,\u201d Dunbar said.<\/p>\n He takes the competition very seriously and says he really fell in love with the environment surrounding the games.\u00a0The Highland Games are Scottish heavy athletics, games that were traditionally\u00a0held in Scotland as a way of testing strength, skill and the technique of ancient Scottish warriors.<\/p>\n Most of what is known to have become emblematic of Scotland, such as bagpipes, the kilt and the heavy athletic events come straight from the Highland Games. And the Queen Mary\u2019s ScotsFestival and International Highland Games is everything Scottish, from whiskey tasting to competitive bagpiping.<\/p>\n Throughout the weekend there will be tons of traditional Scottish dishes sold by vendors, border collies will show off their sheep herding abilities and even the wee laddies and lassies will get a chance to participate in a wee version of the Highland Games.<\/p>\n (If you\u2019re wondering why the Queen Mary hosts the ScotsFestival, it’s because the ship’s heritage traces back to Clydebank, Scotland in 1930, where its construction first began.)<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s cool to have that many people in that kind of environment where <\/span>there’s loud music and so much going on around the field surrounding you,\u201d Dunbar said. \u201cThere’s really no other sporting event like it. These festivals are like a circus, and people, when they are at the circus, want to see the circus animals. We are the circus animals.”<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dunbar-look.jpg\")