Kokhpar - Goat carcass Polo on the Steppe!

On Tuesday, August 22, we went back out to the ethno village to the hippodrome and bought tickets to watch Kokhpar.  As part of the Expo, Kazakhstan was hosting one of the first international tournaments of this ancient game that pits two teams on horses against each other.  The goal is to rush out and grab a goat carcass and to drop it into a goal.  Variations of the game are played throughout the region - including in Turkey, Mongolia, and China - but there hasn't been a real international competition until recently when the countries that have a strong tradition have begun codifying rules and making a tournament.

For the expo more than 10 teams participated - including a team from the US made up of cowboys form the US.  Two of them had come last summer to play in an inaugural international tournament in Kyrgyzstan.  The rest of the team hadn't played.  They had been involved in Rodeos, but not Kokhpar and had only spent about three days learning the game and getting used to the horses.

The game started as all things in Kazakhstan - nearly an hour late.  The people didn't even show up to start selling tickets until the time the game was supposed to start.  When we got to the stand, the cleaning crew was still sweeping dust off the seats.  The field was being plowed and wetted, and nothing was ready.  The US team was waiting for the Mongolian team to show up.

We waited too.  When the game started we really didn't know what it was about, but we figured out the goal quite quickly.  The US team was not very good, but they tried hard.  The goat was made out of rubber and weighed nearly 40 pounds, so it is quite a task to reach down and pull it up to carry to the goal.

The US lost quite badly - even with the Mongolians not really trying that hard.  We stayed and watched the first half o the next game which was Turkey and Uzbekistan.  Both of those teams were competitive and it was interesting to watch.  A few people came from the embassy and another small group of Americans from the university - but there weren't a lot of people there to watch Kokphar "early" in the morning on a Tuesday.

At halftime we left.  We rode back to the university on the bus and stopped for ice cream at McDonald's as a reward.  We'd opened up new horizons once again!

Waiting for the tickets to go on sale.

Looking at the ethno village from our vantage point in the stands.

In the shade waiting for Kokhpar to begin.

Wetting down the soil.

The US team.

Enjoying the show.

Both teams lined up ready to begin.

Taking their places.

Action!

Reaching for the goat.

Racing once the goat had been obtained.

Shaking hands at the end of the game.