The wild and wooly world of goat grabbing

The wild and wooly world of goat grabbing

Horsemen fight for a goat during a goat grabbing competition at the Naadam festival in Jinghe county of Bortala Mongol autonomous prefecture, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Sept 21, 2011. The Naadam festival, which runs from Sept 19-21, was held for the first time in Jinghe and attracted more than 500 competitors taking part in 13 sports and 50 events. Goat grabbing, or kok-boru, is a traditional Central Asian team sport played by herdsmen from the Kazak, Uzbek, Uygur and Mongolian ethnic groups. Competitors try to grab the carcass of a headless white goat or calf, usually below two years old, from the ground while riding on a horseback and pitch it across a goal line or into a target circle.

Horsemen compete during a goat grabbing competition at the Naadam festival in Jinghe county of Bortala Mongol autonomous prefecture, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Sept 21, 2011.

Horsemen compete during a goat grabbing competition at the Naadam festival in Jinghe county of Bortala Mongol autonomous prefecture, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Sept 21, 2011.

A competitor holds a goat during the competition at the Naadam festival in Jinghe county of Bortala Mongol autonomous prefecture, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Sept 21, 2011.

Horsemen compete during a goat grabbing competition at the Naadam festival in Jinghe county of Bortala Mongol autonomous prefecture, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Sept 21, 2011.

(china daily)