“You WILL marry me!”
Kyrgyzstan 2012
The custom of stealing a bride still prevails. Horses are not required now, just a fast car. The above photo is of a ‘horse game’ or a competition that the horse-loving Kyrgyz enact at family gatherings and festivals. Both boys and girls learn to ride as toddlers and being in the saddle is as natural as walking, maybe more-so.
The girl wore high heels and a bridal gown to look the part. I worried about her feet slipping out of the stirrups, but she had no such concerns. They rode hell bent for leather across the open land as she lashed her horse and the boy with her whip. It was a matter of hanging on and getting the most out of your horse. She was unable to stop her horse at the finish line and rode up a rocky canyon, out of our view to get him to slow down.
The young man didn’t succeed in pulling her onto his horse and maybe it was a good thing. If they’d fallen, it wouldn’t have been a pretty sight.
I used my d300 for this shot. I’d learned my lesson when I tried to photograph an eagle flying that the d800 downloads the huge files too slowly. I wanted a sharp photo this time. I shot at 1/3200 which was overkill, I know. Usually, I’d shoot a shot like this at 1/1000. It’s good too, to use ‘burst’ or continuous high so you can get a ‘pretty’ shot. I like the boy’s arm reaching out to the girl and the cloud of dust is also a plus.
To those who are riders: I think the reason for her legs being so far off the horse is that she is kicking as hard as she can.