BOOZ KASHI

So this last Sunday, I have the privilege of attending my first ever Booz Kashi event here in C. Asia. I've heard a lot of hype over it the last few weeks and I finally understand why.

The Objective: While riding a horse, getting beat & whipped mercilessly by other riders, take the dead goat carcass and place it in the big tire in the middle of a field.

Why: Prizes range from Televisions, to Persian or Turkish rugs, to cash rewards.

Now this game goes back for centuries, so I got to experience some history while dodging horses running full speed in every direction (including mine). I'll let the videos and pictures tell the rest of the story:

While trying to capture the intensity and thrill of this C. Asian sport on camera, I was nearly trampled by horses a few times as the videos will show. I was fortunate. However, this man was not:

But please don't worry about him...he turned out to be just fine. Tim & I got our picture with him since he was such a trooper:

Here is where the riders are supposed to place the dead goat to get the prize...inside this tractor tire:

If the goat is dropped before the tire, the riders fight over it and it has to be taken outside the field of play before being brought back in for another try. Here is a tug-of-war that doesn't work out so well for one of these 2 guys:

Before the afternoon fun was over, Miles, my team leader, talked some of the leaders of the village into letting me ride one of the horses:

Hugh...I hope you would be proud: I didn't get thrown off the horse.