Canadian Cowboy Country Apr/May 2020

Competitor with his hooded Golden eagle riding in the grand entry

PHOTO COURTESY NOMADIC TRAILS/TULGA

Mongolia

Wild Horses & Soaring Eagles

By ANNE STEVICK

Mongolia is a unique area of unsurpassed geographical and human diversity, with alpine, forest, desert, steppe and lake lands populated by over 20 ethnic groups.

Horses are deeply embedded within Mongolia’s culture and are an indication of a man’s wealth. The pace of life is governed by the speed of the horse, and horses are woven into Mongolian song, verse and history. Even the morin khuur — their national musical instrument — is called a “horsehead fiddle.”

Rural nomadic children are taught to ride before they can walk, and a young person’s prowess is measured by his skill as a horseman. The life of a nomad is basically unchanged since the days of the Golden Horde when Ghengis Khan’s “devil horsemen” created the largest empire the world has ever known. Even in present-day western Mongolia, near the Kazakhstan border, mounted horsemen use Golden eagles to hunt for foxes whose pelts are a significant form of income.

That is why my husband Quentin and I wanted to travel to Mongolia — their nomadic culture is based on livestock grazing and their traditions on horseback in the Altai Mountains. We had seen the documentary film, The Eagle Huntress, at the Fox Theatre in Pincher Creek in 2016 and vowed to someday go see the Altai Eagle Festival in person.

The 17th Annual Altai Eagle Festival was at the very end of our two-week trip and was an absolute highlight. After a three-hour flight from Mongolia’s capital city of Ulaanbaatar (or UB as it’s known), we arrived in Bayan Ulgii (or Ulgii town), the epi-centre of two annual Eagle Festivals. With fewer than 100 eagle hunters left in western Mongolia and bordering Kazakhstan, these festivals are keeping an ancient tradition alive.

Held in a beautiful natural rock amphitheatre not far from a lake, some of the highlights of the events in the two-day festival were the parade of 60 participants, including 10 mounted eagle hunters with their eagles seated on their arms. The eagles were each hooded with “jesses” affixed (thin leather ankle tether straps), followed by 50 more hunters wearing traditional fox fur and leather coats and hats, high leather boots — each with their Golden eagle perched on their arm.

The Golden eagle is one of the biggest and fastest birds of prey in North America, weighing 2.5–7 kg/8–15 lbs and diving at speeds of over 240 kph/150 mph. It is also the world’s most common official national animal and is an emblem for Albania, Germany, Austria, Mexico and Kazakhstan.

PHOTO COURTESY ALTAIHUNTERS / CC BY-SA (HTTPS://CREATIVECOMMONS.ORG/LICENSES/BY-SA/3.0); BY ANNE STEVICK

After the opening ceremony, which included speeches and honouring the dignitaries such as the Eagle Huntress herself, Aisholpan. (She rose to fame as the subject of the internationallyreleased documentary, The Eagle Huntress, following her attempt to become the first female eagle hunter to compete in the eagle festival at Ulgii. Now 16, Aisholpan is studying to become a medical doctor.)

After the introductions, the first event began — the Eagle Call. This event tests a hunter’s ability to “call” their eagle to their horse from a distance.

Each eagle hunter’s assistant climbed way up into the cliffs with the hunter’s eagle on his arm. In turn, each hunter would enter a designated “ring of rocks” and proceed to call to his eagle. The assistant released the eagle, and the one to land on his handler’s arm in the fastest time was the winner.

There were a few eagles that took advantage of their freedom to soar off course and land up in the crags. All eagles were eventually retrieved, but not all expediently. These eagles are all females (the females do all the hunting in nature) and have been trained since birth to live and hunt with their owners. The eagles are massive and majestic — and both the eagle and the handler “talk” to each other with near-constant little chirps.

Another event was “Tiyn Teru” where riders compete to pick up flags or flowers from the ground. (It’s similar to trick riding.) Only 10 horses were present, so all the contestants rode these 10 head. The horses are ponies, about 12-13 hands tall but tough as nails. Most are not shod, and they fly up the mountain valleys with no problem, carrying full-grown, 6-foot tall men.

Mounted Archery is self explanatory. From horseback, the riders shoot targets that are mostly big balls on the ground. This sport featured new contestants in different garb. Archery is one of the three national sports of Mongolia; the other two are horse racing and wrestling.

Then we saw BushKashi or Buzkashi, a popular event of tug-ofwar played on horseback with a headless goat carcass; this event is common throughout Central Asia.

Kyz Kvar or Kyz kuu is a race between a man and a woman on horseback, also known as “kiss-chase.” Both on horseback, a man chases a woman and attempts to kiss her before the finish line. If he is unsuccessful, the woman then chases him back towards the start line, and if he’s in range, she whips him, and that constitutes a victory for her. The history behind this competition reflects the culture. Mongolian girls are shy and chaste, so when a young suitor steals a kiss from a girl, she is mortified and chases him on horseback. Only two teams competed; we think the first couple was married because she seemed to really enjoy beating on the man.

Competitors dressed in full regalia riding to the start line of Kyz Kvar

PHOTO COURTESY NOMADIC TRAILS/TULGA

The second day of the Altai Eagle Festival didn’t go as planned. As our guide explained, “In Mongolia there are two times: before noon and afternoon.”

Eventually, things got underway, and the first event was another test of a hunter’s ability to communicate with his eagle. The hunter would drag a fox skin behind his horse, and his eagle must attack it.

This event featured the top 16 placing eagles from the eagle call event on the first day. The assistant again carried the eagle high up the mountain and released when the eagle hunter called from below. In this event, the eagles were very focused, and every eagle soared down and attacked the fox pelt.

The rest of the day was intense competition deciding the champions of Kyz Kvar, Tiyn Teru (using the same 10 horses) and BushKashi, definitely the highlight of the day. These finalists were serious; after all, this was for the title of Champion Goat Puller for the next 365 days. No prize money, just prestige.

At all times during the Festival, the eagle hunters were willing to pose with their eagles singly or in groups of six to ten, or on horseback for the barrage of photographer’s present. There were no hands out for money because understandably, they were all very proud of their ancient culture and Kazakh heritage. c

Competitors and their hooded Golden eagles loping across the Steppes

PHOTOS COURTESY NOMADIC TRAILS/TULGA; BY ANNE STEVICK

Przewalski’s Horse

PHOTOS COURTESY NOMADIC TRAILS/TULGA; BY ANNE STEVICK

Equus przewalskii or Equus ferus przewalskii is a rare and endangered horse native to the steppes of central Asia. Also called the Mongolian wild horse, or Takhi, the horse is named after the Russian geographer and explorer, Nikołaj Przewalski.

We viewed the “Przewalski’s Horse” (Takhi) in Hustai National Park, a Biosphere Reserve located a couple of hours out of UB. We were able to view the small herd of over 20 head of Takhi horses from about 50 meters/150 feet). They are wild, stunning and fully protected. The Park is not fenced, but because of the horses’ natural selection, they do not wander too far from their birthplace.

The breed was almost lost. By the end of the 1950s, only 12 horses were left in the world. Through careful selection to avoid inbreeding, zoos from around the globe saved this horse from extinction and are being reintroduced to the wild.

In 2005, the status of the Takhi horse was changed from “extinct in the wild” to “endangered”.

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