Rustam Minnikhanov: "The horse is an important attribute of the Tatar people"

19 September 2022, Monday

The equestrian festival "Horse's Day" in the Arsky municipal district was visited by the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov and the head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Aisen Nikolaev.

Before the start of the holiday, Rustam Minnikhanov and Aisen Nikolaev got acquainted with the work of the dairy complex near the village of Stary Yavash, Arsky district. A dairy complex for 1,800 heads of cattle of Agrofirm Kyrlay LLC is being built in two stages. Currently, the construction of the 2nd stage of the complex is underway - premises for 600 cows with a milking unit. Here, the guests visited the exposition with goods from local agricultural producers.

The equestrian festival "Horse's Day" opened with a theatrical prologue.

President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov addressed the participants of the event with a welcoming speech. He congratulated everyone on the holiday and reminded that the head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Aisen Nikolaev is visiting the republic. “We know that Yakutia is one of the centers of horse breeding”, said Rustam Minnikhanov. We recently visited this region and realized that we are still far from them, but we already have our own breed of horses, and we are celebrating Horse Day. Traditionally, the horse has always been of great importance, our ancestors could not imagine life without horses, - said Rustam Minnikhanov. “Today we pay great attention to horse breeding. And I want to thank the organizers of the holiday, and the leadership of the Arsky district, and everyone who contributed to this holiday. And most importantly, the spectators of the races that are here.”

In turn, the head of the Republic of Sakha, Aisen Nikolaev, on behalf of the Yakut people, congratulated everyone on the Day of the Horse. “For us, the northernmost Turkic people in the world, the horse is a sacred animal. We love horses, we breed them. And for us, a horse is more than a friend, it is a kind of deity. Thanks to them, we can overcome great distances. This year, in order to show how the Turks moved across the vast steppes of Eurasia, our young guys made a horse ride from Oymyakon (one of the cold poles on the planet), this is the far north of Yakutia, to Moscow. They traveled this path in 1 year and 4 months, overcame 11 thousand kilometers, including going through Tatarstan. Thank you for the warm welcome they received here. And by this they demonstrated the spirit of the Turkic peoples and our unity with the horse. I am sure that such horse crossings and such competitions - all this will contribute to the revival of traditions that are very necessary for our peoples. Every success to the participants of today's competitions!” said the head of the Republic of Sakha, Aisen Nikolaev.

The event was attended by Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan, Chairman of the Milli Shura National Council of the World Congress of Tatars Vasil Shaykhraziev, Deputy Minister Lenar Garipov.

Recall that the equestrian festival dedicated to the Horse Day includes horse races at various distances - 160 km, 120 km, 100 km, 80 km and 40 km. In addition, various competitions are organized for the guests of the festival.

One of the brightest events was the competition for the most beautiful wagon and elegant horse. Participants came from all over Tatarstan, and various decorations flaunted on animals and carts: hats, ribbons, bells, beautiful fabrics, and one of the carriages had a samovar inside. The winner in this competition was Khalil Khasanov from the Arsk region.

The most popular location of the holiday, in addition to horse races, was the Audarysh equestrian wrestling ground. The task is to throw the opponent out of the saddle. Competitions were held in two weight categories: up to 80 kg and over 80 kg. In the first weight category Ilnur Gubaidullin won, in the second - Dinar Khairutdinov.

In the run on horses of the Tatar breed, the Danube horse under the control of Albert Shaikhutdinov won.