Fire Newt Riding

Found only onDiomikato, the sport of Fire Newt Riding is actually a collective name for numerous different competitions and athletic activities that all involve fire newts and people riding upon them. These can range from sports that are officially organized and recognized planet-wide, to sports localized to single towns and communities with disorganized rules; of all the competitions that fall under Fire Newt Riding, four are the most popular across Diomikato with official sporting leagues. These four are Rodeo, Racing, Shooting, and Triathlon.

## Fire Newt Rodeo

Fire Newt Rodeo is spectator sport that involve various Fire Newt Riding activities. As is the nature of Fire Newt Riding, rodeos can be hosted by communities, but the biggest rodeo on Diomikato is organized by the Professional Newtfolk Association (PNA). The PNA hosts preliminary rodeos throughout the Greenbelt utilizing the different lords’ estates, while the finals are held within the capital of Infernum.

Common rodeo activities include:

* **Barrel Racing** - Where competitors ride fire newts and attempt to complete a fleur-de-lis pattern marked by barrels in the fastest time. If a barrel is knocked over then a time penalty is applied.
* **Wrangling** - Where competitors must chase after a fire newt on foot, wrestle it to the ground, and then rope it. The competitor with the fastest time for a completed wrangle is the winner.
* **Riding** - Where competitors must ride a bucking fire newt with their goal being to stay atop the fire newt the longest. A rider must last minimum of eight seconds or they will be disqualified. Due to the difficulty of the sport, riders are also given point scores based on performance which is then added onto their times.
* **Jousting** - Where competitors compete in two vs. two jousts atop fire newts. Competitors wield lances that are used to try and knock their opponents off their fire newts; in the event that neither jouster has been unseated, the one with the most broken lance wins.

## Fire Newt Racing

The largest and most popular race is the Greenbelt Derby, hosted by the Noble Conference of Fire Newt Racing (NCFNR). The Greenbelt Derby is a two week long racing festival where multiple races of varying skill levels and classes are held, but the main event is the Lord Newt Spectacle, a standard oval track race, where the best fire newt jockeys from across Diomikato compete for the title of Lord Newt.

## Fire Newt Shooting

Fire Newt Shooting is a misnomer often drawing people to conclude that competitors must shoot at fire newts or shoot from atop fire newts, but neither are true. Fire Newt Shooting, organized by the Fire Newt Marksmen Association (FNMA), is actually the sport of riding atop fire newts while using their fire breath to incinerate targets. Riders use their fire newts to hit stationary, moving, and aerial targets within a time limit and with the different types of targets offering different amounts of points. The winner is the competitor who accumulates the most amount of points after three rounds of increasing difficulty - difficulty is increased by target type, target resilience and limited fire breath production.

## Fire Newt Triathlon

The Fire Newt Triathlon is the ultimate fire newt experience; organized by the NCFNR, the triathlon combines the three other major Fire Newt Riding sports into a single, multi-day competition.

Athletes start in the designated arena - the location changing every year to the top noble bidder - when the buzzer sounds fire newts are let loose into the arena and the athletes must successfully wrangle and then mount them with riding equipment. Once a competitor has successfully gained control of a fire newt, they may immediately begin the race; the race track is chosen out of predetermined layouts that take the riders out of the arena, through the Greenbelt, and even out into the wastelands. Spread throughout the race track are obstacle zones where the racers must complete challenges such as shooting, barrel racing, or jousting before they can continue with the main race - these obstacle zones are used to slow the race which can help stragglers to catch up with the front-runners.

The race only ends once every competitor crosses the finish line, this means that the Triathlon has no time limit and can take multiple days to be completed; because of this, rest stops are set up along the course which offer the fire newt riders with food, water and shelter.

While Fire Newt Riding of any kind is dangerous, the Triathlon is often considered to be the most dangerous. Outside of injuries caused by the fire newts themselves, riders have been known to die from exposure, dehydration, and sleep deprivation.

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