Horse Racing
( 2005-09-13 )

Horse racingis popular among the ethnic minorities, especially on festivals such as theNadam. It can be generally divided into two: walking race and galloping.

In walking horse racing, horses compete in speed, resistance, steadiness and beauty via running with alternating side steps (the front hoofs and hind hoofs move in turns). The horses for racing are generally older than five years and the riders are always adults. The race require a highly lofty horsemanship so that the rider is able to rein the horse to walk steadily, beautifully, and as fast as possible, without running.

Galloping mainly tests the horses' speed and resistance. Therefore, the winner is the first one who reaches the finish line. The stepping way of galloping is quite different from the pace in the walking race in that in the former, the four hoofs should run by each pair of hoofs hitting the ground at the same time, with the two pairs of hoofs hitting the ground in alternate turns.

Most of the riders are male, while at the same time, children around twelve or thirteen take a major part, for they generally have a nimble and light body. For the sake of lightening the load of the horse as well as the safety of the rider, galloping horses usually are not equipped with saddle or with only with a light and handy saddle. The riders usually wear magnificent colorful uniforms and a red ribbon tied around their head, as to show the riders' soldierly air and manner. The distance of the race usually covers twenty-five to thirty-five kilometers.

As galloping horse racing is more common and widespread than the walking race, more people take part in the game, from tens to hundreds.

As soon as the race starts, riders mount their horses as soon as possible and raise their whips to speed. Meanwhile, the audiences shout and jump for joy and encourage the riders. According to the Mongolian convention, horse praising should be done after the race is over. Horses placing in the race are all ranked in front of the platform by their finishing order and then are praised with words that are recited and sung by senior citizens of high prestige. Afterwards, they will spill kumiss or fresh milk on the horse that won the first place, bestowing blessing upon it.

Besides the traditional ways of horse racing, new types of horse racing have come forth in recent years, such as obstacle racing and figure racing, which greatly enrich and improve this sport.