People show off their horses at a horse riding festival in Sulaimani's Sharazur district on April 11, 2025. Photo: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A horse riding festival in Sulaimani’s Sharazur district on Friday featured purebred Kurdish and Arabian horses and attracted riders from across the Kurdistan Region.
About 120 riders gathered in Sharazur for the event, organized by the Kurdish Horse Society.
“I have been a horse rider for three years and I’m a skilled rider. My horse’s name is Bruska … He is a purebred Kurdish horse and, God bless him, he is well trained. I cannot go without seeing him every day and washing him once a week. I love him so much,” Aro Omar, a horse rider, told Rudaw’s Sazgar Salah.
Bahnam Bakhtiar, another horse rider, said that his horse “is a purebred Kurdish horse from Iran with a clear lineage.”
“It has a passport and is certified by the Iranian federation. If it gets sick, we send it back to Iran for treatment and bring it back to Kurdistan,” he explained.
The prices for the horses range from $2,000 to over $10,000, according to their owners.
"As the Kurdish Horse Society, we have several festivals annually, and this year we started in Sharazur in spring. Organizing these festivals is in itself a public gathering. We have placed great importance on preserving the authenticity of our Kurdish horses,” said festival supervisor Dana Haji Salih.
Historically, horses played a significant role in Kurdish life - they were the sole means of transportation for villagers in remote and mountainous areas, as well as for Peshmerga forces, carrying weapons and food during revolutionary times.
About 120 riders gathered in Sharazur for the event, organized by the Kurdish Horse Society.
“I have been a horse rider for three years and I’m a skilled rider. My horse’s name is Bruska … He is a purebred Kurdish horse and, God bless him, he is well trained. I cannot go without seeing him every day and washing him once a week. I love him so much,” Aro Omar, a horse rider, told Rudaw’s Sazgar Salah.
Bahnam Bakhtiar, another horse rider, said that his horse “is a purebred Kurdish horse from Iran with a clear lineage.”
“It has a passport and is certified by the Iranian federation. If it gets sick, we send it back to Iran for treatment and bring it back to Kurdistan,” he explained.
The prices for the horses range from $2,000 to over $10,000, according to their owners.
"As the Kurdish Horse Society, we have several festivals annually, and this year we started in Sharazur in spring. Organizing these festivals is in itself a public gathering. We have placed great importance on preserving the authenticity of our Kurdish horses,” said festival supervisor Dana Haji Salih.
Historically, horses played a significant role in Kurdish life - they were the sole means of transportation for villagers in remote and mountainous areas, as well as for Peshmerga forces, carrying weapons and food during revolutionary times.
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