While Ontario's horse racing industry has seemingly fallen out of favour with the provincial government, one country is celebrating Horse Day today and strongly recommending state workers attend the races. If they don't, they could lose their job
.
In the country of Turkmenistan, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov is forcing government workers as well as students from high and middle school to turn up at the track for the races. Horse racing, and the raising of horses, is a passion of President Berdymukhamedov, aka Arkadag (The Protector).
State newspaper Neutralny Turkmenistan also published poetry over the past week celebrating the virtues of the horse and the country's President. As reported by Eurasianet.org, here are a few verses from “Akhan,” by Gozel Shagulyeva. Akhan is a top horse in the President's stable.
How gracefully you pranced, Akhan!
By your stature you charm me!
You have become a symbol of the era of Arkadag.
What playfulness my Akhan.By Arkadag you were adopted,
And a symbol of his greatness you have become.
You, beauty of beauties, have soaked up of the fragrance of spring,
Your movements, a pleasure to the eye,
The admiring gaze cannot love you enough.
The holiday will also be marked by a scientific conference discussing the origin of the horse, an exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts of Turkmenistan on “heavenly horses”, and a lecture series by horse breeders at local high schools and universities, among other horse-themed activities.
Last year, Berdymukhamedov made international headlines when he ordered a racehorse beauty pageant and wowed spectators with his own riding abilities at the event.