Tent-pegging: After eight years, lance-wielding riders return to play ancient sport

The equestrian sport attracted a sizeable crowd and promises to entertain over the weekend.

ISLAMABAD:

Gone are the days of horse-mounted cavalries, but at least one of their classic battle tactics survive as a sport — tent-pegging.

The cavaliers’ pre-dawn raids targeting the pegs on enemy tents used to create havoc for sleeping soldiers. The game evolved from the military tactic and has attracted throngs of fans over the years.

Hundreds flocked to Fatima Jinnah Park on Friday to witness a game of flying spears and tent-pegs that arrived in the town after a long eight-year gap. Organised by the Capital Development Authority (CDA), the three-day event will see 300 riders and their horses galloping for glory in the ancient sport.

“I love horses and am thrilled to see so many of them from so close and at full gallop,” said Waqas Akbar, a young local resident. He and his friends arrived at the venue long before the event started so they could see the horses and pet them, he added.

The first day attracted hundreds of people from Islamabad and Rawalpindi besides a handsome number of people flocking in from other parts of the country to back their respective teams and riders.

To add colour to the event and celebrate the arrival of spring, the organisers decorated the area with colourful stalls selling traditional clothes, ornaments and food items. Some offered camel rides. A good number of women also visited the arena to cheer the competing riders.

Wearing traditional kullah caps over shalwar-kameez and waist coats, riders from different parts of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) are participating in the competition that concludes on Sunday.

The three-day event was inaugurated by Prime Minister’s Task Force on Islamabad Chairman Faisal Sakhi Butt, who pledged to make the traditional game a regular feature and announced that a permanent ground established for the purpose.

Traditional sports including kabaddi, horse racing, cattle shows and other games will also be held in Islamabad on a regular basis, said the Task Force chief.

“I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the game I used to see played in my village as a child has come to the city,” said Mushtaq Ali from Mandi Bahauddin, who has been working in Islamabad for over ten years. He hoped the event becomes an annual fixture.

The event include three sessions comprising of individual riders competition, pair riders and the third showcasing section riders, featuring four horses on the dash for pegging. On the first day, the singles competition dominated, with only a friendly session held for section riders.

The last tent pegging competition in the city was held in 2004. A special track was prepared for the game by the CDA in the city’s biggest park, which has the capacity for proper security arrangements and large parking areas for visitors.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17^th, 2012.

View pictures of the event here.