Mongolian child jockeys mount up at Naadam festival

Child jockey Purevsurengiin Togtokhsuren, 13, in his racing uniform as he awaits the "Khyazaalan" (four year old) horse race during the Naadamm festival in Khui Doloon Khudag. - AFP/File / Johannes Eisele

KHUI DOLOON KHUDAG , Mongolia, July 16, 2015 (AFP) - Battling summer heat and dust, child jockey Purevsurengiin Togtokhsuren rides his stallion across the vast Mongolian steppe.

Despite being only 13 years old, Togtokhsuren is riding for the fifth time in the national races for Mongolia’s summer festival, known as Naadam, lining up against some 170 other child jockeys.