点评:I've been dreaming of a horse archery training in Mongolia for years. Tulga at Nomadic Trails was so supportive and attentive in making those dreams come true. He worked closely with me earlier this year to customize a solo trip focusing mostly on horse archery. He was such a wonderful, knowledgeable guide who has clearly spent decades building strong relationships with local communities. He has a hilarious sense of humor and does a great job making you feel at ease. We listened to the Hu as well as a lot of throwback 80s and 90s music on our long drives. He was so open, generous, flexible, and accommodating.
My teachers, Tsogtoo and Tudu, from the Khan Mongol horse archery center were also endlessly patient and encouraging. They gave me such incredible instruction and worked with my very basic field archery and horse skills. I learned blind nocking, a new type of draw for horse archery, speed shooting with movement, and shooting on horseback at a walk and a trot -- all in 5 days. They patiently helped me find my arrows in the field when I missed the target and gave me such warm encouragement when I encountered a few setbacks. I was clueless on how to maintain my balance at first and got such great guidance from my teachers. They ran and rode with the horses at a trot when I needed a lead. They helped me bring my anchor point down and were patient with how long it took me to figure out blind nocking. I'm so happy I was able to shoot on horseback without a lead at a trot by the end! It seemed like such a far away dream to me before I came to Mongolia. They gifted me the arrows (the few I had left!) and I was able to buy a beautiful handmade back quiver that Tsogtoo's elder son had made.
We stayed with a family at a ger camp the first three days and they were so hospitable and kind. I got to help them with migration to another site which was amazing to experience. The man who helped lead me on horseback also let me tag along to drive the cattle to the new camp. I also got to tag along with a woman on motorbike to help herd the goats and sheep. They were both so skilled and had such a deep connection to these animals. It's hard to describe the profound sense of stillness and peace I felt in the countryside, even amongst the good hard work we did together. And I was so deeply astounded and grateful to receive a gift of horsehair rope from the hostess when I left. An experience of a lifetime.
The timing also worked out for me to watch a local horse archery competition at Khan Mongol one of the days. The skill of these riders was absolutely incredible and impressive. They were so fast, so smooth, and so steady on their galloping horses. After three days of training, I could really fully appreciate how difficult this skill is to master. So amazing to witness. They were also so dedicated to preserving this heritage sport. I wish them all the success in getting horse archery back into Naadam and one day into the Olympics.
Our last day we visited the Chinggis Khan statue outside of UB. Truly enormous. Tulga gave me such detailed and interesting history lessons as we walked around the museum inside. I got a deeper sense of how immense the Mongol Empire was and the strategic insights into each decision to expand.
There were so many other moments I'll treasure -- the aurora borealis and shooting stars in the vast night sky, naughty cows getting into the water tank at night, seeing horses nursing on the road, watching old music videos at dinner, cracking pine nuts in the car, getting a beautiful deel coat that Tulga spotted for me, watching the moon grow full over the days, fetching water from the well with one of the boys from the camp, speaking Russian and Korean with Tsogtoo and a few locals, and eating delicious mutton dishes after solid days of training and moving.
I'll truly never forget this trip and in my heart I didn't want to leave the steppe. I'm deeply grateful to Tulga, Tudu, Tsogtoo, and everyone I met in the countryside from this incredible training journey. Hoping to take back what I learned to the Catskills and continue my training at home. I'll be back soon for sure. It seems I can't stay away.
翻译:多年来,我一直梦想着在蒙古接受骑射训练。Nomadic Trails 的 Tulga 非常支持我,并细心地帮助我实现了这些梦想。今年早些时候,他与我密切合作,为我定制了一次以骑射为主要内容的单人旅行。他是一位非常出色、知识渊博的导游,显然他花了几十年时间与当地社区建立牢固的关系。他有一种有趣的幽默感,能让你感到轻松自在。在长途驾驶中,我们听了胡族音乐以及许多 80 年代和 90 年代的复古音乐。他非常开放、慷慨、灵活和随和。
来自 Khan Mongol 骑射中心的老师 Tsogtoo 和 Tudu 也非常耐心和鼓励我。他们给了我如此令人难以置信的指导,并教我非常基本的野外射箭和骑马技能。我学会了盲射、一种新的骑射拉弓方式、移动快速射击以及在马背上以步行和小跑的方式射击——所有这些都在 5 天内完成。当我没有射中目标时,他们耐心地帮我在田野里找到箭,当我遇到一些挫折时,他们给了我热情的鼓励。一开始,我不知道如何保持平衡,我的老师给了我很好的指导。当我需要牵绳时,他们会带着马跑着小跑。他们帮我把锚点放下来,耐心地看着我花了多长时间才弄清楚盲搭箭。我很高兴最后我能够在没有牵绳的情况下骑马小跑射击!在我来蒙古之前,这对我来说似乎是一个遥不可及的梦想。他们送给我箭(我剩下的几支箭!),我还买了一个漂亮的手工箭袋,是 Tsogtoo 的大儿子做的。
前三天,我们住在蒙古包营地的一个家庭里,他们非常热情好客。我帮助他们迁移到另一个营地,这是一次奇妙的经历。帮我牵马的男人也让我跟着一起把牛赶到新营地。我还跟着一位骑摩托车的女士帮忙放牧山羊和绵羊。她们都非常熟练,与这些动物有着深厚的感情。很难描述我在乡村感受到的深刻的宁静与平和,尽管我们一起辛勤工作。当我离开时,女主人送给我一根马鬃绳作为礼物,我感到非常惊讶和感激。这是一生难忘的经历。
时间也恰到好处,我有一天在 Khan Mongol 观看了一场当地的骑射比赛。这些骑手的技巧绝对令人难以置信,令人印象深刻。他们骑着飞奔的马,速度如此之快,如此流畅,如此稳定。经过三天的训练,我真正体会到了掌握这项技能有多么困难。亲眼目睹真是太神奇了。他们也非常致力于保护这项传统运动。我祝愿他们能够成功地将骑射带回那达慕,并有朝一日带入奥运会。
我们最后一天参观了 UB 外的成吉思汗雕像。真的非常壮观。我们在博物馆里走来走去,Tulga 给我上了一堂详细而有趣的历史课。我深刻地感受到了蒙古帝国是多么庞大,以及对每个扩张决定的战略见解。
还有很多其他的时刻我会珍惜——浩瀚夜空中的北极光和流星,顽皮的奶牛晚上钻进水箱,看到路上的马在吃奶,晚餐时看老音乐视频,在车里敲松子,穿上 Tulga 为我找到的一件漂亮的鹿皮大衣,看着月亮一天天变圆,和营地里的一个男孩一起从井里取水,和 Tsogtoo 和一些当地人说俄语和韩语,在经过几天的训练和运动后吃美味的羊肉菜。
我真的永远不会忘记这次旅行,我心里不想离开草原。我非常感谢 Tulga、Tudu、Tsogtoo 以及我在这次令人难以置信的训练之旅中在乡下遇到的每一个人。希望把学到的东西带回卡茨基尔,在家里继续训练。我肯定会很快回来的。看来我不能离开。