Ulaanbaatar
World’s first equestrian marathon to be held in Mongolia
Sports
Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. “Equestrian Marathon” or “Aravt” (meaning a unit of ten soldiers) competition of the International Army Games 2019 will kick off on August 3 at the training center of the Mongolian Armed Forces in Tuv aimag.
Some 32 categories of the Fifth International Army Games will be organized throughout 10 countries, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Uzbekistan and India at the same time from August 3 to 7 with more than six thousand participants of 221 teams from 36 countries. 16 of the total competitions is to be held on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Teams from Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan will compete in the “Aravt” and the USA, Zimbabwe and Vietnam will participate as observers. During the Aravt competition, the servicemen with their horses race 130 km road with various obstacles in the first stage “Equestrian Marathon”. In the second stage “Short medley relay”, servicemen are tasked to run a short distance and throw grenades for accuracy and range. The whole race will cover 130 km area in Tuv aimag, passing beautiful landscapes such as Khustai National Park.
Deputy Head of the General Staff of the Mongolian Armed Force and head of the organizational team of the competition, Major General J.Badambazar said during the press conference held at the MONTSAME News Agency’s press center that “This is not a sports contest, this is an all-around competition for professional military servicemen, an event not only international soldiers are able to challenge their professional skills, but also strengthen military cooperation, exchange mutual experiences and promote each of their traditions and culture”.
Besides the equestrian competition, Mongolian Armed Force teams have departed to enter Tank Biathlon tank crews’ competition, Field Kitchen food service specialists’ competition and Engineering Formula engineering units’ competition in Russia, Sniper Frontier snipers’ competition in Belarus and Clear Sky AD units’ competition in China.
