Kyrgyzstan: Festival Celebrates the Kyrgyz Horse, Marks Revival

In the game of "kyz kumai," a man chases a woman on horseback and attempts to steal a high-speed kiss. (Photo: David Trilling)

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Photos: Kyrgyz Music and Horse Races Highlight Festival

After decades of cross-breeding with stronger and larger Russian and European horses, the distinctive Kyrgyz breed, which is smaller and more agile than other equine types, appeared headed toward extinction. But the Kyrgyz horse has made a comeback in recent years, thanks in part to the efforts of Jacqueline Ripart, founder of Kyrgyz Ate (Kyrgyz Horse), a French-Kyrgyz non-profit dedicated to saving the animal.

The Kyrgyz horse is smaller and more agile than other breeds, very adept at operating at high altitudes. Ripart said that stabilizing the breed's numbers required diligence. "Some shepherds in the high altitudes still had this type of horse that is stronger, more economical, that can fight wolves," said Ripart, who helps identify and breed horses with features described by zoologists over one hundred years ago.

Working in conjunction with Kyrgyz Ate, a community high in the Tian Shan Mountains featured the horse in a recent festival designed to demonstrate the abilities of the breed in its native conditions.

The small village of Korgundu Bulak is ideally situated for testing the Kyrgyz breed, according to Turumbek Baiturov, head of the village council. We "are located at the altitude of 2400 meters above the sea level. Therefore, it's a great place to check and see the horse's endurance," he said, noting some of the animals came from lower-lying regions.

Named Ate Chabysh -- after the long-distances horse races -- the festival featured a series of contests, some up to 25 kilometers in length, through the rugged terrain of the neighboring hills and mountains.

While the racers and their steeds were making their way through distant passes, others demonstrated local games. In one, "kiss the girl" -- kyz kumai -- a male rider chases a female on a faster horse and tries to steal a high-speed kiss. If the girl outraces her suitor, she gets to chase after and whip him.

Another game, kok boru, much like buzkashi as played elsewhere in Central Asia, is thought to be the prototype of polo. It is much rougher, however, as players from several teams wrestle for the headless body of a calf or goat weighing up to 60 kilograms.

Spectators and participants enjoyed demonstrations intended to affirm Kyrgyz culture and national identity. Bards sang verses from Manas, an epic poem featuring the exploits of a wandering hero and his Kyrgyz descendants. Musicians performed on native instruments. Villagers erected a "yurt village" to allow visitors -- city-folk and foreigners alike -- to relax over a bowl of laghman noodle soup in the warm, felt huts. A hunter with a golden eagle demonstrated how quickly his bird could put an end to a small rabbit.

Kyrgyzstan is no stranger to tourism, and several organizations from Bishkek contributed to ensure visitors could stay with local families. But some local tourists were visiting the rural parts of their own country for the first time.

The Taalim Fund, a student-exchange program designed to promote understanding among urban and rural students, brought grade-school students from Bishkek for the weekend. "It is a great event and I think it will influence the 20 children [we brought] in a positive, good way. It is a great cultural experience for them," said Dinara Alymova, executive director of the fund.

Organizers hope the festival will increase knowledge about the horse and promote selective breeding. But for Ripart, the motivation to save the horse is more complex.

"We have to fight to keep diversity and the richness of the world," she argued. "Kyrgyzstan is an ancestral horse culture. This is a very old type of horse. There are only about five million Kyrgyz people, very few, but they have a rich horse culture. This is preserving not only the horse, but also a universal patrimony."