ASTANA – The annual festival of national sports Uly Dala Oiyndary (Great Steppe Games) took place at the Almaty Hippodrome on Aug. 4 ahead of the upcoming fifth World Nomad Games, reported the Directorate for the Preparation and Holding of the World Nomad Games.
Photo credit: Directorate for the Preparation and Holding of the World Nomad Games/Telegram
The event brought together the strongest and most skillful horseback riders from all over the country. More than 700 participants competed in such sports as kokpar, baige, audaryspak (horseback wrestling), tenge ilu, zhamby atu, asyk atu, togyzkumalak, and Kazakh kuresi.
“Our goal is to popularize national sports and promote their development. About 2,000 people have come so far,” said festival organizer Bauyrzhan Talgatuly.
Photo credit: Directorate for the Preparation and Holding of the World Nomad Games/Telegram
The festival offered significant prizes. For example, the alaman baige and kunan baige race winners received 3,000,000 tenge (US$6,375) and 2,000,000 tenge (US$4,250), respectively.
Alongside competitions, attendees could explore a craft fair and watch additional tournaments in arm wrestling, weightlifting, togyzkumalak, and asyk atu. Over 170 people participated in the arm wrestling competition, while 40 competed in weightlifting. Visitors also admired hunting birds and hunting dogs.
Aruzhan Miravildayeva, who set a Kazakhstan record in November 2023 by hitting three targets from a distance of 100 meters in just 12 seconds while shooting from a bow on a running camel, demonstrated her archery skills once again, reported Kazinform.
“If you compare archery from a horse and from a camel, the only difference is speed. On a horse, it is faster, on a camel, it is slower. In general, when shooting from a bow, the correct positioning of the hands is important. You also need to learn how to quickly place and shoot the arrow. Because we shoot not by sight, but by hand positioning,” she shared.
Photo credit: Directorate for the Preparation and Holding of the World Nomad Games/Telegram
Diana Sultangaziyeva, who began her journey in equestrian sports at the age of 20, also took part in the festival.
“To engage in equestrian sports, you need to own a horse, subordinate it to your will. If a person is weak, the horse senses this and does not obey,” she noted.
Daulet Darkenbaiuly, director of the Usta Darkembai museum of arts and crafts in the Akshi village in the Almaty Region and a master of applied arts, arrived with his two students to showcase their works.
“There is a workshop at the museum, where we are engaged in all types of Kazakh applied art. Thanks to this, we have visited foreign exhibitions. I can say that Kazakh applied art is highly valued there due to its use of many materials such as wood, iron, leather, stone, wool, horn, and bone. Since there is a lot of gold, silver and other minerals in the Kazakh land, our people have well-developed jewelry and blacksmithing arts,” he said.
