I dare you to try this!
Our travel group, going on an overland tour from Kathmandu, Nepal to Lhasa, Tibet saw this Tibetan horseman. He was one of a dozen or so horsemen who were doing their tricks out in the open field beside the highway. They were probably practising for a horse riding competition. Our driver and tour guide was kind enough to allow us a few minutes to watch the spectacle from the roadside.
This was how it goes as I observed it: the horseman starts out on top of his horse racing towards the other side of the track in regular upright position. He then twists his body around in the middle of the track to try to touch the ground with his hands without stopping the horse. He comes back upright on his horse again just before he reaches the end.
I don't know the objective behind this trick or its history. I know much less if there is actually a regular competition for this trick or hwo this is judged. But, there were about a dozen horsemen doing this trick one at a time. And while it was obviosuly not a full blown horse race or horse fetival, there were several spectators on one side who were cheering them on, probably people from their own community come to see the tricks or even judge who goes to comnpete.
Too bad we had to be on our way we didn't have the time to talk to any one of the horsemen or the cheering crowd. Some children came to us though, out of curiousity as most children in all parts of the world do. Maybe next time I go to Tibet, I will have the time to stop and talk to these people and learn about their culture...
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