Dead Goat Polo owes as much to wrestling as to polo.
“We use a dead goat,” said Scott A. Zimmerman, a team co-captain.
The men on their backs seemed possessed by an angry spirit, roaring and screeching, their arms and whips flailing manically.Before the rider could reach halfway to the goal, a horseback fight broke out, both men wrestling with their arms and torsos, seemingly oblivious that they were each perched atop 1200 pounds of fast-moving muscle.My eyes were transfixed to the scene, certain that one man must fall and be horrifically trampled. Horseback fights break out: not only the goat is at risk of being trampled.Unlike in regular polo, there is no change of horses during the game: even the walking wounded stay until the final whistle. For example, riders in the former Soviet Union often wear salvaged Soviet tank helmets for protection.
I’ll summarize the rules as no knives, no guns, no swearing, the last of which came as a particular surprise.
The goat, now trailing guts and stinking, is barely in a state to be thrown.The teams leave the field bloodied and bedraggled.
Clothes are torn, everything is streaked with sweat, and several of the horses are limping after one collision too many.Still, everyone is in high spirits and, as a show of appreciation, we pass round vodka and The goat, now well-tenderized, quickly disappears from view. Life at high-altitude has made the men hard but still, adrenalin is no compensation for extreme fatigue. Dead Goat Polo may not be the most charming name for a sport, but it certainly does what it says on the tin.Raiding and kidnapping the neighboring village may no longer be as acceptable as it once was (though bride-napping remains in vogue), but in its place, the Kyrgyz have a surrogate pastime that offers the same outlet for aggression and a similar showcase for horsemanship.Each weekend in summer, and on a number of special occasions, too, mounted armies up to 200 men strong go head to head in hundreds of valleys across Their battlegrounds of choice are long, flat pitches alongside the rivers, armor ranges from rugby skull caps to leather coats, weapons include whips and fists, and the stakes are high: clan pride and the carcass of a dismembered goat both hang in the balance.
Even with the head removed, the carcass weighed in excess of 60lbs.His breakaway from the pack was shortlived. The boots usually have high heels … Still, everyone is in high spirits and we pass round vodka to numb bruises. The riders seem possessed by demons, roaring and screeching, their arms and whips flailing manically. Tajikistan’s national sport buz kashi is a popular and brutal game, famously known as dead goat polo.Dead goat polo may not be the most charming name for a sport, but it does what it says on the tin.
I stamp my feet and wait.As they draw closer the thud, thud, thud of hooves bounces off the slope that serves as a stand for spectators, and you can hear the continual panting and hissing of men and beasts.Kyrgyzstan’s horsemen claim originally to have come from Siberia, and the blood of Genghis Khan’s marauding hoards runs thick in their veins.Seventy years of Soviet rule and forced urbanization were not enough to stamp out an almost reverential relationship between man and horse, and the standing of a man is still largely dependent on his ability to ride.The game begins when the referee, a fairly recent addition to Dead Goat Polo, rides to the center of the field. Instead of Eagles Mere, We found a comfy, big house in Westport Mass for our family vacation After our trip to Newport, Sofie and I drove up and then down again to the coastal town of Westport Mass to … Vermont: Arts, Biking, and More in the Green Mountain StateHanoi Vietnam: Visiting the Old Quarter, Dining with Locals
The horses race neck and neck across the field, veins pulsing and sweat pouring from their bodies.
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