Chovgan

Chovgan is a game in which two mounted teams try to drive a ball into the opponents' goal with long sticks. It appears in Nizami's poems and was a favourite pastime of rulers and warriors in the Middle Ages.

Traditionally it is played on thoroughbred Karabakh horses to the sound of zurna and naghara — a contest of skill and of the bond between horse and rider.

"Chovqan, a traditional Karabakh horse-riding game" was inscribed on UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2013; championships are held in Azerbaijan today.