Archive · 11.10.2026
The first mountain horse race in Artavan
Held on 11 October 2026 · Artavan, Vayots Dzor
Watch the film
Archive · 11.10.2026
Held on 11 October 2026 · Artavan, Vayots Dzor
Watch the filmThe winners received a substantial cash prize and certificates of honour.
The winner is called Jalal — like Kurkik Jalali, the fiery horse of the epic Sasna Tsrer, who takes “one step on the ground, the next in the sky”. And among the riders was a Sanasar: in the epic it is Sanasar who brings Jalali up from the bottom of the sea. The horse in Armenian history →
An encouragement prize and certificates of honour.
Besides certificates and flowers, a handmade leather pendant in the shape of the Art@Van horse.
Every rider received a certificate of participation, which gives them a place at next year’s start.
| Rider | Horse | Sex, age | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agit DrboyanԱգիթ Դռբոյան | KuviՔուվի | stallion, 6 years | |
| Aleksandra KorovinaԱլեքսանդրա Կորովինա | MiraՄիրա | mare, 10 years | woman rider |
| Artur GalstyanԱրթուր Գալստյան | MustangՄուսթանգ | mare, 6 years | |
| Ashur KhoshabaevԱշուր Խոշաբաեվ | KassandraԿասանդրա | mare, 6 years | |
| Azat AdamyanԱզատ Ադամյան | BuyanԲույան | stallion, 7 years | |
| Bagrat MikayelyanԲագրատ Միքայելյան | AmpikԱմպիկ | stallion, 8 years | |
| Emin SafaryanԷմին Սաֆարյան | BuyanԲույան | stallion, 10 years | youngest |
| Garik ArakelyanԳարիկ Առաքելյան | KakavԿաքավ | mare, 7 years | 2nd place |
| Garik CherkezyanԳարիկ Չերկեզյան | BuyanԲույան | stallion, 3 years | youngest |
| Garnik TadevosyanԳառնիկ Թադևոսյան | MustangՄուսթանգ | stallion, 3 years | |
| Gogo AmzoyanԳոգո Ամզոյան | JalalՋալալ | stallion, 7 years | 1st place |
| Gor TigranyanԳոռ Տիգրանյան | KarolԿարոլ | stallion, 7 years | |
| Grigor HarutyunyanԳրիգոր Հարությունյան | DumanԴուման | stallion, 8 years | |
| Kajik GevorgyanՔաջիկ Գևորգյան | KazbekԿազբեկ | stallion, 8 years | 3rd place |
| Lernik HovhannisyanԼեռնիկ Հովհաննիսյան | SuslikՍուսլիկ | mare, 6 years | |
| Lilit AvetyanԼիլիթ Ավետյան | KaytsakԿայծակ | mare, 3 years | woman rider |
| Marine MelikyanՄարինե Մելիքյան | KashtanԿաշտան | mare, 5 years | woman rider |
| Mariya GrokhovskayaՄարիյա Գրոխովսկայա | ShekoՇեկո | stallion, 7 years | woman rider |
| Mayis PetrosyanՄայիս Պետրոսյան | ZeynaԶեյնա | mare, 3 years | |
| Nairi NikoghosyanՆաիրի Նիկողոսյան | DumanԴուման | stallion, 2.5 years | |
| Narek AsatryanՆարեկ Ասատրյան | KapitanԿապիտան | stallion, 10 years | |
| Rustam TamoyanՌուստամ Թամոյան | BuyanԲույան | stallion, 8 years | |
| Sanasar TadevosyanՍանասար Թադևոսյան | KhrustalԽռուստալ | mare, 13 years | |
| Stepan MatevosyanՍտեփան Մաթևոսյան | BuyanԲույան | stallion, 10 years | |
| Temur CherkezyanԹեմուր Չերկեզյան | DumanԴուման | mare, 7 years | |
| Valeri GasparyanՎալերի Գասպարյան | SevukՍևուկ | mare, 3 years | |
| Vladik GrigoryanՎլադիկ Գրիգորյան | KarmirԿարմիր | stallion, 7 years |
Listed alphabetically, not in finishing order. Places were awarded to the first three only.
The one-minute teaser that called riders to the start in September.
A report on a village where some households keep 15–20 horses, and on why Artavan wants a race of its own.
Liana Yeghiazaryan · read in Armenian ↗The riders set off on a mountain trail and came back about three hours later. All that time the village celebrated: a harvest market, a village table, dancing, sporting demonstrations, horse rides. The day peaked with the leaders crossing the finish and the awards.
By the Sasuntsi David monument, Artsakh Avenue. Tour operators pick their own departure point
130–140 km along the Yerevan — Meghri highway, 2–2.5 hours
Welcome with mountain herbal tea — thyme, rosehip
A market by the schoolchildren and their parents, a hay-bale lounge, a village table: cheese, matsun, aveluk, dried fruit
Behind the school. The riders are out on the trail for about three hours
A kyokushin karate demonstration, ensembles from the Vayk community, national dancing, horse rides
The leaders return; certificates and prizes for the first three places
Two dishes you will not find anywhere else are cooked in the village for this day. The hospitality is free for every guest.
The market is run by Artavan schoolchildren with their parents and by women from the nearby villages. Much of it you can take home.
While the riders are out on the trail, ensembles from the Vayk community take turns on the ground by the school.
The village is much older than its name: in the 13th century it was called Hajoghk and paid tribute to Tatev Monastery, and it took its present name only in 1950.
The medieval arched bridge over the stream. The programme includes a walk to it.
Fragments of an 11th–12th-century church and ancient khachkars. Stones of the demolished church sit in the walls of the club and school.
The bell from Akhach still rings the start and end of lessons. The race starts and finishes behind the school.
The Art@Van emblem follows bronze horse figurines of the 9th–5th centuries BC from Ayrum and Paravakar in Tavush, now kept in the History Museum of Armenia.
The Ayrum horse, 6th–5th century BC, stands with a close-cropped mane, long neck, defined muscles and natural proportions. It shows how strong the local breed was.
The horse was linked with the Sun and the cosmic order. Horses were sacrificed to the gods of war and the sun, and bronze likenesses were worn as amulets or offered to temples.
This was the name of the Armenian cavalry in antiquity and the Middle Ages, one of the strongest forces in the Near East.
The rider wore scale or mail armour from neck to feet, a helmet and often a metal mask. The horse was covered in armour on a leather base over chest, forehead and flanks. The main weapon, the kontos, was a heavy lance 400–450 cm long.
They formed up tightly, in a wedge or a wall, and struck the infantry at a slow but unstoppable pace. No shield wall held against armoured horses. Once the line broke, the light cavalry went in.
In Armenian mythology the horse is no ordinary animal but a sacred being tied to fire, water and the sun. The best horses are born from the sea.
In the epic Daredevils of Sasun, Kurkik Jalali is not merely the horse of Sanasar, Mher and David but the clan’s protector. Sanasar raises him from the sea floor. He speaks with a human voice, knows the future and warns his master of danger.
On 11 October the group meets at 07:30 by the David of Sasun monument in Yerevan. David sits there on Kurkik Jalali himself.
Armenian has dozens of words for a horse, by colour, age, build and work.
General
Sex and age
Work and build
Colour
All 27 riders of 2026 already hold a certificate of participation that brings them back to the start.
«Ամեն տարի փորձելու ենք այս փառատոնը նշել»
“We will try to hold this festival every year” Atom Vardanyan, head of Artavan