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Twelve years old, lost two weeks
The Bolting Horse
The horse bolted through a forested mountain area, and after the tree knocked him off, the boy followed it deeper into the woods and became lost. He was gone for two weeks. In summer the nights on a mountain can still be quite cold.
Surviving the Nights
He slept in the daytime when it was warm and walked at night when it was cold. He sang loudly all night long to keep the wolves away. He knew what to eat, and when he found moving water he followed it downstream. He lived.
The Other Boy
Two weeks earlier, at another family's camp, an eleven-year-old fell from his horse and could not remount. He hobbled home holding the reins while no one went to him, and his mother turned her back when he came into the ger. Only his little brother went out to help him.
How do Naadam child jockeys race?
Naadam horse races are cross-country runs, not tracks, and the distance depends on the age of the horses. Courses commonly run from about fifteen to thirty kilometers. The riders are mostly children between about five and thirteen. They ride without saddles, which keeps the weight down.
How old is the Naadam festival?
Naadam grew from early Mongol gatherings that combined sport with military and religious ceremony. It features three contests: wrestling, archery, and horse racing. The national festival is now held from July 11 to 13 each year. The date marks the anniversary of the 1921 revolution.
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