Official Turkmen accounts describe a journey of about 4,300 kilometres completed in 84 days by thirty riders. The route crossed the Karakum and tested both equine preparation and human organisation.
Figures in later retellings sometimes differ. This page follows the official source and presents the distance as approximate because historical routes and methods of measurement are not always described in the same way.
In 1937 the carpet known as “The Horse Ride” was woven in honour of the participants. A feat of travel and sport thus entered decorative art and the shared memory of the Turkmen horse.
One of the best-known demonstrations of Turkmen horses' endurance is the 1935 ride from Ashgabat to Moscow. Thirty riders covered about 4,300 kilometres in 84 days, including a crossing of the Karakum Desert. It remains a major part of the breed's public memory.
In 1937 the carpet known as “The Horse Ride” was woven in honour of the participants. A sporting feat thus entered the decorative arts—a vivid example of the horse's history living in story, image and craft at once.
- 1935
- year of the ride
- ≈ 4 300 km
- approximate route
- 84
- duration
