All the king's horses

Pedigree steeds have been the backbone of China's "horse country" for thousands of years, and now the far-western area is planning to use its most famous asset to improve the lives of its nomadic residents, as Erik Nilsson and Cui Jia report from Ili prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Jiarken Xiadat's horse stumbled in a rut as another rider rushed, sending the boy hurtling from his horse and smack onto the grassland. The nomads watching the race from a vantage point on a nearby knoll roared in excitement.

The 12-year-old member of the Kazak ethnic group picked himself up and sauntered off, his neck wilting forward, his eyes cast toward the ground. Behind him, a man chased the spooked, riderless steed away from the racetrack.