It seems one has to go to small French rings to see good bulls these days. Frères Gallon produced a cohesive string of interesting animals for today’s corrida. Not all of them were ideal for toreo – the third, fourth and sixth animals needed a lot of coaxing in order to charge to the muleta, making the toreros work hard – but they all held the public’s interest and looked the part, and it was no surprise when one of the Gallon family was invited to share the exit on shoulders with Clemente and Jesús Enrique Colombo.

The polemic came with the sixth bull, an impressive-looking jabonero, which was given some fine cape and then some excellent linked muletazos in between the repositioning and toques to try to get it to charge. Yon Lamothe killed with an estocada en el alto and a descabello and clearly thought he had done enough to accompany his companions on shoulders at the corrida’s end. But the president and a great many of the spectators thought otherwise. The young matador stood in the ring making complaining gestures at the president when that second handkerchief failed to appear, then grabbed the ear he had been awarded from the alguacilillo, shook it at the president and threw it angrily on the sand at the foot of the barrera. The applause turned to booing, booing that accompanied the petulant youngster as he toured, and then left, the ring.

Part of Lamothe’s frustration may have been because the other matadors were both awarded two ears for performances that ended in bajonazos. Indeed, this was another afternoon when I was out of step with a festive public, although not unpleasantly so this time. In addition to the ear given to Lamothe, I would have awarded just one more oreja from Clemente’s opening bull.

This animal set the scene for a string of stocky Gallon bulls, but fell leaving the picador so Clemente, who had opened with some nice verónicas and a media, opted against a quite. The faena lived up to my expectations of this artista with short linked series, the naturales being particularly outstanding. Clemente dispensed with the sword for a closing sequence of cambios de mano, then delivered a media estocada, which, despite being en el alto, probably cost him that ear. A minority petition was followed by palmas.

His second animal was beautiful, dark brown in colour, and was given some great verónicas before and after a light pic. The bull proved reluctant to charge in the faena, Clemente having to work hard to bring it forward, but achieving some wonderful naturales con temple. The bajonazo spoilt things for me, but it proved very effective, the bull falling almost immediately, and the crowd petitioned for an ear and the president gave two!

Jesús Enrique Colombo is still the arrogant, crowd-milking torero he always has been, but his knowledge of toreo has improved markedly along the way, and he produced two pleasing and varied lidias today. He met his first bull with capotazos from on his knees, then got up for a verónica and an insolent larga, given as he walked away from the animal. He took the bull to the horse with a revolera and serpentina and then reproduced the latter again after a brief quite of zapopinas. His banderillas – one pair al cuarteo, and pair al violín fast followed by a third pair – maintained the crowd’s excitement. The Venezuelan’s faena had a bit of everything – quick passes: slow passes; serious stuff and showy stuff; muletazos from on his knees and others standing. He was caught and rolled whilst performing bernadinas, but recovered to continue from where he’d left off. There was a lot of walking around the bull after the estocada, trying to entice it to fall, the crowd’s enthusiasm waning, and then three attempts to descabellar put paid to the two ears that had once seemed likely. Colombo took a vuelta, while calls for the bull (which had only taken one vara, but had been excellent in the faena) to be given one too went unheeded.

Colombo’s two ears finally came at the end of the lidia of the fifth bull – another act of generosity on the president’s part as it had taken the matador two attempts to kill the animal (although, admittedly, Jesus Enrique had entered the second time without a muleta). After setting up the bull nicely some distance from the picador, Colombo performed a quite of fine chicuelinas and a larga, while the faena was a decent one, albeit with rather rapid passes.

Yon Lamothe’s opening faena was the antithesis of the one that preceded it, muy templada, the tall matador doing well to bring forward a reluctant bull (which had gone to the picador three times, but only received one puyazo). A transverse estocada that came out the bull’s side, pinchazo, estocada caida and an aviso brought things to a rewardless end.

Lamothe presumably went off in a huff after the corrida finished, but it was nice to see both Clemente and Colombo standing by their vans and patiently giving anyone who wanted their photograph taken with them the opportunity to do so.