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The story
We had been driving through the vast Gobi Desert in Mongolia for over two hours, while our old Russian van driver sang cheerful traditional songs to entertain us.
In the middle of nowhere, we suddenly spotted a crowd of 200-300 people. We stopped to stretch our legs and found several off-road vehicles parked in a row, alongside Mongolian yurts (ger) and food stalls. Friendly locals offered us kumis (fermented mare's milk) and grilled meat—it was a local celebration of Naadam, Mongolia's most famous festival.
In July 2015, I led a small group through central Mongolia and the Gobi Desert. Our plan was to arrive in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital, for the first official day of National Naadam. We'd scheduled a few hours at National Stadium to experience the festival, but hadn't planned to attend any local Naadam celebrations since our time was limited. As it turned out, luck was on our side.
We approached a group of 15–20 kids on horseback, wearing helmets and bibs—the jockeys. The festival scene resembled a children's party, but some participants looked alarmingly young, appearing tiny and fragile on their large saddles. Our guide explained that while these children's horse races are traditional, they've become controversial due to the riders' ages. I later learned that child jockeys can be as young as five years old, particularly in rural areas.
Most children's horse races take place during the National Naadam Festival in July, with more than 10,000 children competing in 395 races throughout Mongolia.
We arrived just as the competitors lined up at the starting line. The young jockeys leaned forward, gripping their reins close to the saddles. With a few swift kicks, the horses bolted ahead and disappeared into the distance. The crowd erupted in passionate cheers, their shouts echoing across the landscape.
I investigated these competitions further and discovered that thousands of young jockeys compete in Mongolian horse races annually. NGOs like UNICEF and child rights activists report that these races—some covering distances of 24 kilometers or more—are among the world's most demanding, resulting in painful injuries and even deaths. In a single year, statistics revealed 600 children were thrown from horses, 169 suffered injuries, and 2 died.
While horse racing is traditionally part of the Naadam festival, child jockeys are now also hired for private parties, illegal races, and winter competitions. This practice has become exploitative, with impoverished families pushing their young children into the sport for financial gain—effectively a form of child labor.
Human rights organizations and advocates have increasingly spotlighted this issue. Reports show that over 1,500 child jockeys have been injured and 10 have died in racing accidents—though these numbers are likely incomplete as new incidents occur each year.
The crowd had gathered at the finish line, eager to see and congratulate the winner. People were trying to touch the sweat of the racehorses, believing it would bring good luck. I looked at the rosy-cheeked jockeys and tried to decipher their emotions. There was no visible sign of excitement, although some of them looked tired and bored.
Child jockeys are often injured and disabled in falls, which is a cause for concern. However, horse racing is a big part of Mongolian culture and tradition, going back thousands of years. Banning the practices or even trying to influence them would be difficult. Western media often focuses on the sad aspects of the races and the disregard for children's rights, which is understandable. But the reality is more nuanced. Mongolian nomads still maintain their traditional lifestyle, including children riding horses, and this is unlikely to change anytime soon.
Human rights activists understand the reality of horse racing and strive to reduce the most damaging practices, such as illegal and winter racing. They also work to prevent children from attending private parties where wealthy Mongolians hire child jockeys for entertainment. It is essential to ban underage winter racing, as children are more prone to frostbite while riding in the cold. Furthermore, the lack of visibility in the winter increases the risk of children getting lost or falling off their horses. It is admirable that efforts are being made to enforce the law requiring jockeys to be at least seven years old and to wear safety equipment. However, this is difficult to control in rural areas.
Cash prizes at horse races can reach thousands of dollars, yet child jockeys receive only a small portion of the winnings. The bulk goes to the "patrons" or horse owners, turning what was once a cultural tradition into a profit-driven enterprise. This commercialization of a cherished tradition is perhaps the most concerning development.
Mongolia faces severe economic challenges. During our trip, we witnessed widespread exhaustion and overwork among locals, with rural areas experiencing a 35% poverty rate.
"Tsanlig Battuya, the spokesperson for the group The National Network Against The Worst Forms of Child Labor, believes child jockeys are often exploited, with children from impoverished families sometimes coerced into the sport," (Quote from an Aljazeera article).
Children helping their parents through labor isn't unique to Mongolia—I've studied similar situations in India and Bangladesh, where conditions are even more dire. The crucial question remains: can this ancient horse tradition survive the twin pressures of greed and poverty?
"No child is obligated to put food on the table," says Baasanjargal Khurelbaatar, a lawyer from Ulaanbaatar. NGOs, UNESCO, and human rights lawyers and advocates have worked tirelessly to protect child jockeys, yet the situation remains complicated.
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