Afternoon. Mr. Huynh Van Me (90 years old, residing in Hau Hoa hamlet, My Hanh commune, Tay Ninh province) sat thoughtfully on an old hammock in the middle of his yard. Looking towards the horse stable behind his house, his eyes were filled with sadness. “The horses now just wander around in the stable or graze in the fields. Since the racetrack closed, the horses’ hooves have become sluggish…” – his words were heavy with emotion. Perhaps Mr. Me was reminiscing about the golden age of horse racing in Duc Hoa several decades ago.
Around the 1990s, horse racing in Duc Hoa was considered its "golden age." Almost every household owned horses; wealthier families kept two or three. The stables were built behind the houses, thatched with leaves, with bamboo posts, and earthen floors. According to many elderly people, at that time, Duc Hoa had about 2,000 horses, most of them in the communes of Duc Hoa Thuong, Duc Lap Ha, Hoa Khanh Dong, My Hanh Nam, etc.
At that time, Mr. Me's family also raised several dozen horses with rather beautiful names. As the second generation in his family to continue the horse breeding business, despite the difficulties, he never gave up his passion. "I grew up seeing my family raise racehorses, since my father's time. By the age of seven, I already knew how to ride horses and shoe them... Early exposure to these majestic steeds and caring for them day and night made me very fond of them. The profession of raising racehorses became ingrained in my blood. Especially, every time a horse won a prize on the racetrack, I felt even more proud," Mr. Me recalled.
In those years, every morning, fellow enthusiasts would come to Mr. Me's house to drink tea and "chat" about racehorses. Now, visitors no longer discuss racehorses but only inquire about buying and selling. Since the Phu Tho racetrack and the Dai Nam tourist complex closed, horse racing has slowed down, and many breeders are gradually shifting to raising horses for meat or supplying them to the tourist complex.
Mr. Huynh Van Lao, son of Mr. Me, currently raises about 10 horses. Previously, during the heyday of the profession, he raised more than 20 racehorses. “Preserving the profession is a way of showing gratitude. Because three generations of my family have lived off horse breeding and racing. Horse racing is for entertainment, while raising and selling racehorses is for economic purposes. Back then, each horse was worth several hundred million dong, now it's only a few tens of millions dong,” Mr. Lao shared.
Driven by his passion for horse breeding and a desire to make a living from it, Mr. Lao transformed from a horse breeder into a horse trader. Through connections, he buys horses from local people and then resells them to traders. In addition, he diligently cares for his family's existing herd to ensure they breed and he sells foals. "On average, I sell 1-2 horses a year for 50-70 million VND each. This income seems high, but after deducting expenses and labor, there's not much left. I mainly stick with horse breeding because of my passion!" Mr. Lao confided.
"Because of love, he's attached to them," so not only does Mr. Lao keep his horses, but he also preserves the mementos of his time on the racetrack. In a corner of the stable, the saddle, reins, and other items are carefully preserved as beautiful memories of a golden age. Occasionally, in the late afternoon, on his old bicycle, he takes his horses for a walk, as if to relive the time when hooves echoed across the country roads.
The golden age is over! The rhythmic clatter of horse hooves on the country roads each morning has faded away. The horse racing industry is gradually dying out. Occasionally, hearing the neighing of horses in the fields, the breeders sigh and murmur, "Where have the sounds of galloping horses gone?" |
Source: https://baotayninh.vn/con-dau-tieng-vo-ngua-phi-137457.html
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