A Day at the Races

Picture yourself on a strong, sturdy horse, ready to race. Other kids on horses crowd around. A rope stretched across the starting line drops, and you’re off! Hooves pound like thunder, and a dust cloud rises. You race for miles over short Mongolian grass. If you and your horse are the first to cross the finish line, you’ll earn the title of tumny ekh, or “leader of ten thousand.” You will have won Mongolia’s Naadam Festival.

The Mongolian people have a bond with horses that goes back thousands of years. Mongolia is a country between Russia and China. It’s twice as big as Texas. Much of Mongolia is grassland with few trees, called the steppe.

Horses arrived in Mongolia long ago, crossing over on a land bridge from North America. People learned to use horses for travel, hunting, and herding. In the 1200s, fierce warriors on horses helped a ruler named Genghis Khan found an empire. It’s believed that Genghis Khan started the Naadam Festival.

Khan wanted his fighters to be strong, fast, and able to fight from the saddle. Legends say that he chose his warriors by having competitions of wrestling, archery, and horse racing. Later, these contests became part of a public festival, called Naadam. That was over 800 years ago. The festival is still held today.

The Naadam Festival takes place all over Mongolia in mid-July. Many towns hold their own races. The largest gathering, National Naadam, is held in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. As many as 180,000 horses race there. There are also wrestling and archery contests, but horses are the stars.

A horse can go faster with a lighter rider, so almost all the riders are kids between the ages of 5 and 13. Riders and horses begin training two or three months before the festival. Training begins with the horses running a little over half of a mile, or 1 km. They gradually run for longer and longer until it’s time for Naadam.

There are six categories of races, based on the horses’ ages. Two-year-old horses run the shortest distance, 6 to 7.5 miles (10-12 km). Seven-year-old horses race for an amazing 15.5 to 16 miles (25-16 km)! In comparison, the longest horse race in America is only a mile and a half. The races are long and straight to test the horses’ strength and stamina.

Riders sing songs to praise and encourage their horses as they head to the starting line. Many of the kids ride bareback, without a saddle. Once the race starts, trainers often drive cars alongside the racers, shouting instructions and cheering them on. Race fans gather at the finish line many miles away. They can’t wait to see which horse will win.

The winning horse in each age group is given a medal. Its rider earns the title of “leader of ten thousand,” the name Genghis Khan gave to his commanders. There are prizes for the winning trainers, too. But Mongolians believe it’s important to encourage the horses, so the youngest losing horse is also given a prize.

After the prizes are awarded, race fans rush forward to touch the sweat and dirt on the winning horses. They are sure it will bring them good luck in the next year.