Pakistanis seek world record in ancient sport of tent-pegging

Traditional drumbeats and melodious shahnai flutes are drowned out by thundering hooves in the small Pakistani city of Tulamba, as riders pound down a dusty track seeking world record glory in the ancient sport of tent-pegging.

Riders in bright costumes drive their lances into the targets, wooden pegs embedded in the dry ground, their aim sometimes obscured by the dust kicked up by other competitors.

The cavalry sport requires a mounted horseman to pierce and pick up a peg from the ground at a full gallop.

"This is the sport of young lions," local politician Shaukat Hayat Bosan told AFP. "For this sport not only a good horse but a good rider is also necessary."