From ladies loosing arrows at full gallop to grandmas rocking up to the venue on yaks, here are some of the women wowing the crowds at the third World Nomad Games in the Kyrchyn Gorge, Kyrgyzstan.
The Badass Women Of The Nomad Games
- By Amos Chapple
1
Turkey's Janset Genel in full flight during the mounted archery event, which the 18-year-old would go on to win.
2
Aida Akhmatova, from Kyrgyzstan, awaits her run in mounted archery. The contest stipulates that riders wear their nation's traditional dress, firing arrows from horseback at three targets along a 120-meter track.
![Texan Susannah Winfield comforts her horse before the event. Winfield told RFE/RL there was some head scratching among the U.S. contingent over what exactly America's traditional dress was: "I think a lot of [Kyrgyz] people thought we would compete in native American clothing, but we had to explain that we can't really do that, and we figured the cowboy look would be less controversial."](https://gdb.rferl.org/649CBDDC-E3FA-4D7B-A54C-8E16B4127AEE_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
3
Texan Susannah Winfield comforts her horse before the event. Winfield told RFE/RL there was some head scratching among the U.S. contingent over what exactly America's traditional dress was: "I think a lot of [Kyrgyz] people thought we would compete in native American clothing, but we had to explain that we can't really do that, and we figured the cowboy look would be less controversial."
4
An arrow flies from the bow of Ayana Rustam (left), from Kyrgyzstan, alongside other competitors during one of the standing archery events.
5
Young women in national dress wait to welcome guests with a stack of traditional bread.
6
A stunt rider sets the pace during a performance. Organizers expected competitors from 77 countries to participate in 37 types of ethnosports at these 3rd World Nomad Games.
7
Elderly Kyrgyz women cruise through the crowds on yaks en route to the main stage.
8
Friends splash through a swift mountain stream on their way to the games. These Nomad Games' slogan was "United in Strength! United in Spirit!"
9
Deasy W. Hidayati, from Indonesia, poses for a photographer after performing a dance on the main stage.
10
Kyrgyz archer Aida Akhmatova flashes a smile as she speaks with a referee during an event.
11
Ban Batar, of Mongolia, awaits her turn in the mounted archery.
12
Old friends amble toward their yurt near the end of festivities.
