Steppe strong: the World Nomad Games unite tradition, strength, and sport in Astana

In the heart of the Kazakh steppe, men on horseback clash in a dramatic display of strength and agility. Riders from two teams—one in blue, the other in red—jostle for possession of a leather-wrapped carcass, not of a real goat, but a synthetic stand-in filled with material to match the weight of a traditional goat carcass, roughly 30 to 40 kilograms. Each rider grabs for the makeshift "boz" (the game object), striving to carry it across the field and drop it into the opposing team's goal, a designated circle on the ground.