Embrace

Imagine eight riders racing at full tilt around a 32 kg goat carcass, each striving to yank it away before driving it into a goal. This spectacular scene isn’t taken from a film but from kok-boru, a traditional horseback sport particularly popular in Central Asia. During the World Nomad Games, held in Kyrgyzstan, an American team made up largely of ranchers and rodeo enthusiasts regularly tests itself against the region’s top players. And while U.S. cowboys have yet to win a match, they have become local stars.

A Kok-Boru Game Resembles a Giant Rodeo

Kok-boru is played on horseback, with two teams of eight players. Their objective is to retrieve a goat carcass from the ground and carry it to the taikazan, a large circular goal. The players must contend with their opponents, but also with the power and motion of the horses, which makes the clashes especially physically demanding.

The practice is ancient. It is said to have been played in the past with a dead wolf, killed after attacking livestock. Over time, the game has become a central element of the culture of the nomadic peoples of Central Asia. UNESCO even listed it on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

“It is one of the most important elements of our culture, especially our traditional culture, because our ancestors have practiced this game for many centuries”, explains Kyrgyz volunteer Jantai Saparbekov to CNN Travel.

Kok-boru remains today a highly demanding sport. In Kyrgyzstan, some players make it their profession and participate in national championships. The World Nomad Games, meanwhile, bring together cultures and traditions of the nomadic peoples: horse archery, equestrian wrestling or tug-of-war games. More than 600 cultural events are thus organized during the week.

In 2026, around 3,000 athletes from 112 countries participated. The events are set amid the mountainous landscapes of Kyrchyn Gorge, where sports venues sit alongside yurts, food stalls and cultural performances.

Why do American cowboys come to Kyrgyzstan?

The American kok-boru team, on the other hand, sprang from a surprising meeting of two equestrian cultures. Its members are mostly from the American West, working on ranches or in the rodeo world. Some are also practitioners of combat sports. Their captain, Ladd Howell, is a cattle rancher and knows Russian well, a language he learned during a religious mission in Russia in his youth.

The Americans have been taking part in the World Nomad Games since 2014. For this edition, 52 American athletes traveled, including the nine players on the kok-boru team. Their journey is far from that of a favorites’ squad: they are the only ones funding their own participation and do not have enough American horses trained to meet the demands of the game.

” We are at a disadvantage every time. We are the big outsiders, but that’s a bit the principle of sport. For us, to keep coming back and improving, we earn that respect, even if we don’t win “, says player Nick Willert in CNN Travel.

Those risks are, indeed, very real. Nick Willert, aged 50, had to withdraw from the tournament after being trampled by his own horse during a horse-wrestling event. Their former Kyrgyz coach, Mirlan Srazhdinov, died in 2025 after being fatally struck in the head by a horse during a match.

Despite these dangers and their repeated defeats, the American cowboys keep returning. Their presence has become a symbol of the meeting between two equestrian traditions. In Kyrgyzstan, the horse represents freedom and holds a central place in nomadic heritage. “A horse is freedom. A horse is the road. A horse is the wings of the nomad”, sums up Urmat Asanbaev, head of the Kyrgyz State Agency for Physical Culture and Sports, to CNN Travel.

The Americans share a similar view of their own equestrian culture, which they feel is under threat in the American West. And their cowboy hats have become their best calling card. “We simply want people to know that, when the Games are over, that the culture in the United States is amazing and authentic. After meeting us here with our cowboy hats, we want them to remember: ‘Hey, the cowboys are good guys’ “, says Ladd Howell.

For Kyrgyz spectators, the American team is now almost as popular as the local champions. An unexpected way for kok-boru to gain visibility beyond Central Asia, while the cowboys seem to have found a new playing field.