Skill, strength, dexterity, courage, endurance have always been the Central Asian horseman's major assets and these very elements are much admired and applauded in the traditional riding games, during which the spectators become as excited as the riders themselves. Here the facts.

Tyin Emenei
pick the coin from the ground
Facing a straight racing course of 100m, the riders are flank to flank on the starting line. About half way down the track, 50-60 meters from the start position, on a clean and even place, marked with light sand or sawdust there lies the "tiyin" - a coin. The aim of each contestant is to be the first one to pick up that coin. The rules: no less than gallop to get to the coin mark, no halting and no slowing down at the moment the coin is picked up, on penalty of disqualification. Minimum time limit is also set. Who falls from his horse is to mount immediately and finish the race to the arrival line or else he'll be disqualified from the next round. Total number of rounds: 3 Winner is the one with the maximum number of coin pick-ups.

Kyz - Kuumai
chasing the kiss
A girl on horseback gets a head-start, her cavalier, literally, chases after her, catches up with her, rides along her side, tries to steal a kiss from her, while remaining firmly in the saddle and making sure, the girls stays in hers. A kiss is the reward a whip lash from the girl, sarcastic remarks and hollering laughter from the audience his downfall, in case he doesn't succeed. Usually played during weekends.

At - Chabysh
long-distance horse racing
This is the most ancient and today the most wide-spread game. Who's the fastest rider? Whose horse shows most endurance? Only the strongest need sign up. Both horse and rider were prepared by the Sayapker, the trainer, and judged fit by the Synchy, a member of the the evaluation committee, judging aspects such as the horse's percentage of fat in relation to its weight, muscle mass, the state of the blood vessels, breathing and gait. The classic circuit is a distance of 52km, nowadays a race may be laid out over 100km. Minimum age of the rideris13andthatofthehorse3yearsold.lf today these races are part of horse shows, they used to be part of ritual ceremonies throughout the year. The winner would be a warded with live-stock and valuables.

Odarysh
fight of two horsemen
What sounds simple two riders dragging or pushing each other off their respective horses has tightly observed rules. Competitors are categorized by weight and age. Both players are given 10 minutes maximum for the one and only round. The playfield is 40m2. Whoever is able to topple over his opponent including the horse, getting the horse to touch the ground with any part of the body other than the hooves has won. Where as players are allowed to pull on hands or clothing or to push the adversary's horse, it is strictly forbidden to kick either horse or rider, to grab the latter by the neck, the hair, the face or by the horses harness, to twist fingers, to Iift the entire saddle off from under the rider or to use any devices.

Ulak - Tartysh
race of the horsemen for the severed sheep
Loosely resembles classing English polo, which incidentally, comes out of the classic Central Asian horse game... with teams of 4 players and a playing ground of roughly 200 x 150m. The gates in other words the goal on each side or the field are marked with flags. The center of the field is marked with a circle of 6m diameter into which not a ball but a sheep carcass is placed. The aim is to throw carcass into the goal. This game originated from a time when herdsmen raced prowling wolves, preventing these from attacking the heard by tearing into them with sticks (the mallet of polo players), triumphantly throwing the dead wolf from one to the other. Those were rough days, full of hardship and danger. With hardly any wolves around, it's all play now.