EQUESTRIAN GAMES
he Turkomen were a Turkish nomadic group that lived on the grasslands of Anatolia, parts of Syria, Iraq, and Iran, moving from pasture to pasture with their livestock of goats, sheep, cattle, and horses. A popular game called , ‘goat pulling’, , ‘goat dragging’, or , which means ‘grey wolf’, was a favourite sport for the Turkish nomads. The primary objective of the game was to pick up a dead, decapitated, dehoofed goat from the ground, while on horseback, and carry the carcass to a given point. Other riders used any means necessary, such as punching, pulling, pushing, or use of the horse whip to take the carcass away from the rider who had it. Many players experienced severe bruises and battered bodies from the violence within the fray. The game was played on a clear field and the riders were divided into groups, ranging from a few riders to a dozen per side, or in
