Updated on
Summary In a tradition that has taken place for over 100 years, Lithuanian, Russian and Estonians gather in the town of Dusetos in Lithuania to compete in one of the country's most popular events, the annual horse and buggy race, Sartai 2011.
The race was first held in 1905 on the frozen surface of Lake Sartai, but because of the fragile ice, the race was moved to the nearby hippodrome in 1996. Lithuanian minister of agriculture and race organiser Kazys Starkevicius said, We are holding the international horse race, Sartai 2011, for the 105th time. 78 horses with riders have been gathered from the Estonia, Russia, and Lithuania. We are expecting good competition and are waiting to see which horse is going to be the fastest this time. Bad weather and warmer temperatures did not deter riders from competing in the race. They were cheered on by around couple thousand enthusiastic fans who turned out to watch. The winner for best overall performance was Estaonian Vladimir Mumm. Mumm with his horse S.T Thomas ran in a time of 3 minutes and 15,328 seconds around the 2400 metre track . Mumm pocketed the 12 000 Litas (3480 euros) prize money for his efforts. Riders from Estonia won three prizes of the nine on offer at this years event.
