Unique Bareback Horse Race
For generations, the sound of horse hooves has been intimately connected to the daily life and spiritual life of the K'ho ethnic people in the Lang Biang mountain region. Gently patting the back of his horse, Rambo, Kra Jan Truik – Chairman of the Lang Biang Horse Riding Club in Da Lat – said: “In this area, children as young as eight or nine years old already know how to ride horses. In the afternoons on the hillsides, the children in the village often gather to ride horses around the mountain slopes, and if they get excited, they race each other. Horses are familiar animals in every family here, but people often let them roam freely in the forest, so taming them requires a certain method.”
Rambo and Kra Jan Truik were names frequently called out at the bareback horse races organized annually by the People's Committee of Lac Duong District (now Lang Biang Ward - Da Lat). With the ferocity of their wild horses, and under the skillful guidance of their jockeys who had been trained to ride horses since childhood, Rambo and Kra Jan Truik consistently came first in these bareback horse races.
For many years, Lang Biang ward in Da Lat has organized the Bareback Horse Race as a unique local cultural feature. Besides preserving the national cultural identity, the race also attracts a large number of tourists to the area.
According to Cil Póh, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Lang Biang Ward, Da Lat, with its many beautiful natural landscapes and unique cultural identity of the indigenous people, the locality has always identified preserving and promoting cultural identity and developing tourism as key, continuous, and long-term programs, and has initially achieved positive results. Besides the Central Highlands gong culture heritage, Lang Biang Ward aims to develop the bareback horse racing sport of the K'ho ethnic group into a national intangible cultural heritage and a new tourism product. Through this, the locality hopes to continue strongly promoting the image and introducing the tourism development potential of Lang Biang Ward, Da Lat, as well as Lam Dong province, associated with the brand "Da Lat - a miraculous essence from fertile land".
The sound of horses' hooves echoed.
The jockeys on their bareback horses not only participate in annual competitions but have now become a security and order force at the local level. At the end of November, the People's Committee of Lang Biang Ward, Da Lat, issued a decision recognizing the Lang Biang - Da Lat Equestrian Club, with over 20 members, as an organization operating within the ward.
Besides training, activities, and skill demonstrations, and developing the equestrian sports , culture, and tourism movement, the club also collaborates with local agencies, units, and tourism service establishments to organize experiential activities for tourists. Through these activities, it promotes the people and natural beauty of the Lang Biang mountains to visitors.
Club members also participate in ensuring security and order, as well as forest fire fighting and rescue operations in the local forest. Mr. Dang Ngoc Hiep, Team Leader of the Fire Prevention and Rescue Team of Lang Biang Ward, Da Lat, shared: “In the locality, there have been incidents of tourists getting lost in the forest due to self-guided sightseeing. The ward police advised the Ward People's Committee to establish a Horse Riding Club and directed the Fire Prevention and Rescue Team to encourage members who own horses to join the club. Besides training, activities, and performances, and participating in competitions inside and outside the province, the club also cooperates with authorities to capture stray horses and transports water and equipment to support forest fire fighting. In particular, the members are local people familiar with the forest trails, so their participation in search and rescue operations in the forest is more effective. The club has received support from the Ward Military Command in terms of uniforms, and the Fire Prevention and Rescue Team has arranged a training and stable area for horses, providing initial funding to support the club's operations.”
Despite being newly established, the Lang Biang Horse Riding Club - Da Lat has regularly participated in training sessions for competitions and exchanges with tourists. Furthermore, the club also participated in filming in Phan Thiet to promote Central Highlands coffee. Most recently, on the morning of December 12th, the Lang Biang Horse Riding Club - Da Lat, along with relevant authorities and the Fire and Rescue Team of the ward, participated in the launching ceremony of the ward police's intensive crime crackdown campaign.
Given the mountainous terrain of Lang Biang ward, Da Lat, where transportation is difficult during forest fire fighting and rescue operations, the establishment of the Horse Riding Club contributes to supporting local security and order forces in timely assistance to fire prevention and rescue efforts. This helps maintain security and order at the grassroots level and actively participates in the nationwide movement to protect national security.
Source: https://baolamdong.vn/vo-ngua-tren-cao-nguyen-lang-biang-410121.html
Comment (0)