Berdymuhammadov Falls Off Horse

I don't actually care that the President of Turkmenistan fell off his horse, but others seem to.

Unbeknownst to outsiders, one of the riders is Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, and his horse, Berkarar, (Turkmen for "Mighty") is in the lead.

But as soon as he gallops across the finishing line of the one-kilometer race, Berkarar’s front legs buckle underneath him...

"He crossed the finish line and, as he crossed, he looked at the crowd with a big smile and, about 20 meters further, the horse stumbled probably on a soft spot in the sand and went down on his knees and, of course, stopped at that point. And so the president who was going quite fast moved on and fell in the sand."

As the Turkmen leader lies motionless, an announcer says, “Our beloved president was able to finish the race in first place.” But any pride Berdymukhammedov had in his victory is followed by a pretty spectacular fall.