Goat grabbing competition in snow adds fun in winter

Horsemen from seven teams fight for a goat during a competition in Fuhai County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Jan. 9, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Liu Xin)

Goat grabbing, or kok-boru, is a traditional Central Asian team sport played by herdsmen from the Kazak, Uzbek, Uygur and Mongolian ethnic groups. Competitors try to grab the carcass of a headless white goat or calf, usually below two years old, from the ground while riding on a horseback and pitch it across a goal line or into a target circle.

Horsemen from seven teams fight for a goat during a competition in Fuhai County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Jan. 9, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Liu Xin)

Horsemen from seven teams fight for a goat during a competition in Fuhai County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Jan. 9, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Liu Xin)

Horsemen from seven teams fight for a goat during a competition in Fuhai County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Jan. 9, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Liu Xin)