It was early morning Friday. On the most level stretch in a hilly area in An Xuan in the central Phu Yen Province, the eagerly awaited horserace began. All the animals were farming and draft horses, and were ridden by farmers.
When the staring siren went off, 32 horses set off amid the clamor of excited crowds.
Some galloped towards the finish line, others decided to turn back despite their riders’ best efforts to cajole them to run in the right direction.
Some others slowed down to a trot after an impressive gallop. One even headed out of the racecourse and towards the crowds.
The animals, small horses that are native to the area, have just reins since a full set of harness would be too big for them, a spectator explains to us.
The riders, dressed in their daily clothes and without any footwear, apparently wore any helmet they could lay their hands on.
Origin not known
The annual race has been held for very long though locals do not know when it started.
In 2006 it was acknowledged as an official cultural event of the province. Held on the ninth of the first lunar month, it draws thousands of locals and people from nearby provinces.
In this mountainous agricultural area where crops are cultivated on remote hillsides, the only means of transport are these hard-working animals.
Before the race, they have a week off during Tet and are fed a special diet to prepare for the race.
Interestingly, a farmer and one of the jockeys said mares were easier to raise and work harder than stallions, adding that out of the 32 racers, 28 were females.
All four of the animals that made it to finals were mares.
“I woke up early in the morning and rode 30 kilometers here,” 65-year-old Tran Van My from the nearby An Hoa commune said with a satisfied smile.
“What a payoff, this interesting race.”
An American freelance photographer introducing himself Jaques who seemed to be enchanted with the race, said: “I have never seen such a strange, wild, fascinating race like this. My friends in Binh Dinh Province told me about this.”
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