Turkmenistan defies pandemic to celebrate national horse day

Turkmenistan flouted social distancing conventions introduced across the world in the face of the coronavirus pandemic with spectators packing a hippodrome for festivities honouring its national horse. Footage broadcast by state television late on Sunday showed strongman President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov presiding over races to mark Turkmen Horse Day — an important date in the Turkmen calendar. While Berdymukhamedov, known as Turkmenistan’s Arkadag, or “Protector”, watched proceedings from a sealed box, ordinary spectators filled out the stadium and waved Turkmen flags.