The international marathon-baiqa “Ұлы Дала жорығы”, held as part of the 5th World Nomad Games, started on September 3, 2024, in the village of Lobanovo, Aiyrtau District.

This year, the marathon “Ұлы Дала жорығы” is being held in Kazakhstan for the first time at an international level.

Approximately 10 teams from foreign countries participated, including South Africa, Iran, Turkey, Hungary, and Kyrgyzstan. Participants were required to cover a distance of 500 kilometers. In total, 17 teams took part in the event.

The main goal of the international marathon-baiqa “Ұлы дала жорығы” is the revival of forgotten horse breeds, as well as the development and promotion of their potential at the international level.

In addition, this marathon provides an opportunity to demonstrate a modern model of nomadic civilization to international participants.

Within this initiative, Kazakh horses are compared with foreign breeds in order to showcase their endurance, potential, and ability to cover long distances.

Foreign participants represented breeds such as Karachai, Kabarda, Arabian, Tatar, Bashkir, and New Kyrgyz horses.

As part of the “Ұлы Дала жорығы” marathon, a mobile exhibition titled “Botai – Culture of the Great Steppe” was organized in the village of Lobanovo. Marathon participants and guests became acquainted with the Botai culture and valuable historical artifacts from the Eneolithic period.

The Botai museum-reserve exhibition was presented at this event for a significant reason: 44 years ago, archaeologists made a sensational discovery in this area. They found around 100 artifacts and concluded that horses were first domesticated on the territory of Northern Kazakhstan. Numerous archaeological finds in the region also provide evidence of the development of horse breeding.