Kyrgyzstan Horse Games:
An Introductory Guide
You know what I could legitimately do three times a week in Central Asia and never get bored with it?
Sit around and watch horse games.
By the time I FINALLY made it to the Bishkek Hippodrome on Victory Day, we’d missed all but the tail end of the day’s game of Kok Boru.
No matter, though, as there was still quite a crowd around to celebrate the Chuy Valley team’s victory.
In fact, as the two teams of horsemen lined up for the awards ceremony I was conveniently ON the field, and snuck in with the cordon of police to get a closer look.
After the medal ceremony both teams dispersed to the locker rooms to celebrate or commiserate as was appropriate to their conditions.
A walk through the area yielded a chat with some of the horse handlers and even a bit of family fun from the winning team.
And really, what better way to celebrate Victory Day than with a victory for the local team?
