Globe-trotting with my husband since May 2011. Visit our HOME PAGE for our travel route!

2011-07-19

Naadam Festival Day 2

On Day 2, we went to see the horse race in Khui Doloon Khutag, just outside of Ulaanbaatar. Stuart, an Australian guy we met at the guest house, offered us a ride with him and his guide. We were lucky we didn't have to bother with public transportation but Stuart's driver was a crazy driver! He was driving into on-coming traffic and through the grasslands. It was quite a ride!

Mongolian horse race takes place on open grasslands with no set tracks. The horses are aged 2-5 and the jockeys, believe it or not, are children aged 5-12. Seeing these young boys race their horses through the grasslands was incredible.





The locals believe that putting the racehorse's sweat on your forehead brings good luck, so they chase after the horses.

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