National Equestrian Sports Directorate

The National Equestrian Sports Directorate of Irad (Iradi: Uluttuk At Sportu Direktoratu) is the government body that regulates traditional and modern equestrian sport in the Irad Special Economic Zone. It was established in 1993 by an act of the Territorial Legislature of Irad and is headquartered at the Irad State Hippodrome in Talas. It sets the rules of ulak tartysh and other horseback games, licenses riders and referees, runs doping and veterinary controls, and organizes national championships, including the annual President's Cup.^[1]

History

In the Soviet period, equestrian sport in the Iradi SSR came under the republican Committee for Physical Culture and Sport. The committee codified the rules of ulak tartysh in 1953 and ran equestrian events at republican sports festivals. The Talas hippodrome, then called the Central Hippodrome, was its main venue.^[2]

The Directorate was created in 1993, during the territorial period, to take over these functions and to organize national competitions after the collapse of the Soviet sports system. The previous year Provisional President Amanbek Alimbekov had instituted the President's Cup for ulak tartysh, and the Directorate took over its organization. The hippodrome was renovated with territorial funds in the late 1990s and renamed the Irad State Hippodrome.^[1]

Since 2007 the Directorate has operated under the ISEZ administration, and its director is appointed by the Governor. Its authority in the Autonomous Tribal Regions depends on the cooperation of clan councils. Clan teams and hunters take part in its competitions voluntarily, and many traditional events in the tribal regions are held without its involvement.^[3]

Functions

The Directorate's statutory responsibilities include:

setting and revising competition rules for traditional and modern disciplines;
licensing riders, trainers and referees;
veterinary inspection and doping control of competition horses;
organizing the national league and championships;
recording results and performance tests used in breed certification.^[1]

Sanctioned disciplines

Ulak tartysh: the principal team sport, played in a national league of 24 teams in the 2023 season (11 from ISEZ cities and districts, 13 registered by clans in the tribal regions).
At chabysh: long-distance races of 20 to 50 kilometers over open steppe courses, mainly for Akyel and Chongtor horses.
Kyz kuu and oodarysh: the courtship chase and mounted wrestling, usually staged at national holidays.
Tyin emmei: picking up coins or tokens from the ground at the gallop.
Eagle hunting: contests in burkut saluu at the autumn Salburun festival, organized with falconers' associations.
Flat racing: thoroughbred and Akyel races at the Irad State Hippodrome.^[1]

Facilities

The Irad State Hippodrome seats about 25,000 spectators. It has dirt racecourses, a field for ulak tartysh, stabling and a veterinary clinic. The President's Cup final is held there each March in the week of Irad Day, and IradOne holds the broadcasting rights. The Directorate also sanctions regional fields in Nurzhan, Iyık Janyl and the larger district centers.^[2]

Breeding and international activity

The Directorate works with the Akyel Equine Logistics & Breeding Syndicate and the Chongtor Studbook Registry. It supplies the performance records used to certify horses for breeding and export. Because Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan all claim Irad, Directorate teams have not been admitted as a national team to regional events such as the World Nomad Games. Individual Iradi riders have competed in invitational races and endurance events abroad.^[3]

Criticism

Opposition figures and some clan leaders have accused the Directorate of political patronage. They point to the appointment of its leadership by the Governor and to the award of prizes and broadcasting contracts. Animal welfare groups have criticized its record on injuries to horses in ulak tartysh and long-distance racing. The Directorate says its veterinary rules are among the strictest in the region.^[3]

References

^ National Equestrian Sports Directorate (2016). Statute and Rules of Competition, revised edition. Talas.
^ Central Asian Sports Encyclopedia (2019). Equestrian Games of the Steppe Peoples. Almaty Press, pp. 88–114.
^ Eurasian Political Quarterly (2021). 'Horses, Patronage and the State in the Irad Special Economic Zone.' Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 301–322.