Azernews.Az

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

The Royal Windsor Horse Show, organized in honor of the Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and attracting the attention of horse lovers from around the world, has wrapped up.

A group of riders on the Karabakh horses of Azerbaijan’s State Border Service and a dance ensemble participated in this event with organizational support from the Equestrian Federation of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani representatives presented the show composition “Kelaghayi and Karabakh Horses of Azerbaijan”, which attracted the special attention of the British Queen Elizabeth II, members of the royal family and other spectators.

Before the Azerbaijani representatives’ performance, the show host stressed that one of the main elements of the Azerbaijani show composition, kelaghayi, which is more than 1,500 years old, was presented by Prince Albert to his wife Queen Victoria two centuries ago - in 1851.

Hundreds of thousands of people watched every day the show composition presented by the Azerbaijani delegation at the event held on the territory of the ancient Windsor Castle. It is also worth noting the millions of viewers admired the beauty of Karabakh horses, performing to the sounds of national music, heroism and courage of riders, temperamental and emotional dances of dancers.

In its report on the Royal Equestrian Show in Windsor, British Internet portal Dailymail.co.uk particularly noted that the show composition with the participation of Karabakh horses of Azerbaijan is one of the most favorite performances of Queen Elizabeth II.

Having viewed the “Kelaghayi and Karabakh Horses of Azerbaijan” show composition, Queen Elizabeth II received Azerbaijani delegation members - Vice-presidents of the Equestrian Federation of Azerbaijan Sakit Mammadov and Bahruz Nabiyev and athlete Khadija Gulubeyli.

The Queen's spouse, the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, the grandson of the Queen, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and other officials also attended the meeting.

Queen Elizabeth II was presented with a painting by people's artist of Azerbaijan Sakit Mammadov called "Bahar Gizi" and an Azerbaijani kelaghayi.

During the presentation of the gifts, it was noted that the image depicted in "Bahar Gizi" is one of the ancient symbols of the ancient Azerbaijani holiday Novruz. Queen was also informed about the poetess Natavan, Karabakh horses, national musical instruments and the Khari Bulbul flower depicted on the kelaghayi.

Queen Elizabeth II expressed deep gratitude to the representatives of Azerbaijan for the grandiose show composition, the presented painting and national kelaghayi.

Windsor Castle's first encounter with the Karabakh horse dates back to 1956 when a Karabakh stallion called Zaman was presented to the Queen.

Beautiful national horses, famous for their dense chestnut color, have already participated in the Royal Horse Show several times.

Equestrianism has a long history in Azerbaijan, which was one of the first regions in which the horse was domesticated. The Karabakh horse, originating in the Azerbaijani Karabakh region, is renowned for its good temper, loyalty, strength and speed.

The Karabakh horses are mountain horses, so they are not very tall, 1.48-1.52 metres (up to 15 hands). They are slim, with attractive faces and are kind and gentle by nature. Despite their delicate appearance they are known for their stamina and they have been very successful racers. Their suppleness also made them the ideal mount for traditional games like Chovgan and Surpapag.

Karabakh horse is also included on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

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