Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, hosted the opening ceremonies of the World Nomad Games on Tuesday, a dramatic celebration of ancient Central Asian sports featuring a display of hundreds of horses, traditional Steppe costumes, and an American team ready to compete on the other side of the planet.
\n\nThe World Nomad Games, conceived in Kazakhstan and debuting 12 years ago, is primarily a sporting contest meant to feature the traditional cultures of the Turkic peoples of Central Asia. This year, teams representing over 100 countries will compete in 43 sports ranging from tug of war, bird of prey hunting, archery, and a variety of equestrian games. Most sports have some link to ancient games played in Central Asia for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Among them are “breaking the vertebral bone,” in which competitors seek to most definitively destroy a vertebral cattle bone; Kush Saluu, in which competitors choose to hunt with either a golden eagle, falcon, hawk, or Kyrgyz sighthound; and a variety of ancient traditional board games.
\n\nThe American team marched in the opening ceremonies on Tuesday, waving the American flag, wearing cowboy hats, and sharing the heartland spirit of the country. America is competing in the sports of horse…
Original source: https://www.breitbart.com/sports/
