Young Mongolian riders train for Naadam amid safety concerns

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (AFP) — At just six years old, Hurts Gantumur gallops over the steppe as he trains for a place among Mongolia’s child jockeys at Naadam, the nation’s foremost cultural celebration.

His brother Zolboo, now 14, has already aged out of the contests. Only riders aged eight to 12 may take part as child jockeys in the annual gathering.

“In training, the child and the horse become one,” said Hurts’s father, who for years bred Naadam racehorses and guided his younger son’s preparation, speaking to AFP. “That’s how they succeed,” he added while watching the boy race across the plains.

Horse racing ranks among Naadam’s central traditions, and youngsters have taken part for generations. Distances run from 11 to 25 kilometres (7 to 16 miles), set by the age of the mount and the class of race.

Across the countryside, most Mongolian children mount horses while still small. Aspiring jockeys typically start formal practice near the age of five. Organisers expect more than 500 young riders to line up at this year’s festival.

That practice has drawn sharp objections from children’s advocates, who cite exploitation and hazardous racing conditions. A UNICEF report described youngsters competing “under circumstances that are detrimental to their health and lives.” The charity Their World said young riders often “miss school to prepare for races and work long hours for low wages at large stables.”

Mongolian government data for 2022 recorded one fatal crash and nine serious injuries among child jockeys, when roughly 3,200 juveniles contested 82 events. Authorities later lifted the legal floor for child jockeys from seven to eight years.

Even so, the Mongolian National Human Rights Commission counts 46 child-jockey deaths in racing over the last decade. The United Nations has voiced alarm at a discipline that, it says, poses “a fatal risk to the lives and well-being of children who are recruited or will be recruited as jockeys.”

For many households, the sport remains a cherished custom. A Naadam win confers prestige on the rider’s kin and home province. As Hurts works toward matching his older brother’s path, his twin siblings Galt and Gerelt, both three, stand next in line.