Kok-Boru: Goat Polo, the Contest of Kyrgyzstan's Strongest

Long ago, the nomadic tribes gave birth to a historic sport called "Kok Boru." It is a contest in which players ride horses and compete to grab a goat and throw it into the opposing side's circle as many times as possible... But how did this sport come about? Why would people suddenly want to grab a goat and throw it into a circle to compete?

Kok Boru is the national sport of Kyrgyzstan. It originates from the way of life of nomadic peoples, who live on the grasslands and keep moving their homes with the weather and the seasons. People in these tribes commonly make a living herding animals and hunting, and even little children have to learn to ride horses and hunt from a young age.

This way of life meant hunting all sorts of animals, including wolves that disturbed daily life in their villages. In the past, if a man could hunt a wolf and throw the dead wolf into the elder's yurt without being stopped, he would be hugely respected and instantly become a celebrity. Sometimes during a hunt, the young men would also ride back and forth fighting over the wolf's carcass, having fun together on the way back to the village.

Later this grew into a properly organized competition tradition, with contests to grab a goat or sheep carcass and throw it into a circle to score points (the switch to goat and sheep carcasses is probably because they were easier to find than wolves).

The sport is called "Kok Boru," meaning "gray wolf." The main aim of the game is to train the tribe's children to be stronger, better hunters, and brave enough to face anything. Let's take a quick look at how it is played.

The match is split into 2 teams of 12 players each, with 12 horses. It is divided into 3 periods of 20 minutes each, and each period sends only 4 players per team onto the field at a time.

During the match, both sides compete to throw the goat carcass into the opponent's circle, but getting just one throw is not as easy as it sounds. Competitors need riding skills to break through the enemy's encirclement, as opponents try to block and shove them while they reach for the goat. And the goat is not easy to pick up, because it weighs 32-35 kilograms. If the field is muddy, the referee may allow a lighter goat of 27-30 kilograms...

For anyone afraid of gruesome images of a goat carcass, don't worry. The organizers remove the goat's legs and head and sew up the openings so that blood does not splatter. Nowadays some areas even use wrapped cloth, footballs or animal hides in place of a goat.

Today Kok Boru matches are regulated and held under the rules of the Kyrgyzstan Kok Boru Federation, with the aim of preserving a competition culture with deep roots in the nomadic peoples and keeping alive the strong horse-riding culture of the Kyrgyz. Kok Boru is a sport that trains strength, hunting techniques and riding skills for younger generations. Many people may see goats being thrown around, but in fact the Kyrgyz have great respect for these animals. They see that they have taken the animals' lives, so they honor them by making something of it, such as the sport of Kok Boru, to give more value to the lives of the animals that were taken.