Coming to the Bac Ha White Plateau Festival in the summer of 2023 with the theme "White Plateau Dance", what visitors are eagerly waiting for is the Traditional Horse Race. This activity is chosen as the opening program for a series of attractive activities at the Festival.
Like previous seasons, the 16th Bac Ha Traditional Horse Racing Tournament is organized in 3 rounds: Qualifying round, semi-finals and finals.
At 7:30 a.m. on June 3, in the front yard of Hoang A Tuong Palace, locals and tourists were standing in line, waiting for the ritual program to prepare for the race. According to ancient tradition, before organizing a horse race, the shaman will perform a ritual to pray to the gods in heaven and the land to protect the people and horses throughout the race. After completing the spiritual procedures, the jockeys and their racing horses paraded around Bac Ha street to the district's central stadium, warmly welcomed by locals and tourists.
The weather before the race was very cool, with rain and light wind. According to the experience of professional jockeys, this is the ideal weather for the race.
At exactly 9:00 a.m., after the starting signal, 104 jockeys from the host district of Bac Ha and the districts of Si Ma Cai and Bat Xat, divided into 21 groups, entered the racetrack to compete. Of these, Bac Ha has 92 jockeys, while Si Ma Cai and Bat Xat districts each have 6 jockeys. The jockeys will compete in individual and team competitions according to the content registered with the Organizing Committee. The competition distance in the qualifying round is 1,900 m. At the end of the qualifying round, 32 jockeys with the least competition time and no violations during the competition will be selected for the semi-finals and continue to compete in the final round.
The traditional horse race in Bac Ha district has the participation of highland horsemen using farmers' pack horses, which are used to transporting goods to the fields or to the fields, as racing horses. In particular, the true barefoot farmer horsemen of the Mong, Tay, Nung and many other ethnic groups also demonstrate the bravery and talent of the highland people in riding without a saddle, bringing to the audience dramatic horse galloping steps in the highland dance.
Unlike other professional tournaments, when coming to the race, the audience will have the opportunity to enjoy the galloping of horses that have participated in previous seasons, who are familiar with the race; at the same time, they will also have the opportunity to enjoy the horses participating in the race for the first time, unfamiliar with the racetrack and the bustling scene of the crowd, so they become "unruly" on the track when not controlled by their owners. This is the interesting thing about the race on the "white plateau".
Mr. Phung Van Ky, a tourist from Phu Tho, kept cheering and encouraging the jockeys, saying: I have been to many horse races, but the Bac Ha Traditional Horse Race is truly special, from the simple farmer riders to the pack horses with the typical highland characteristics. The race is not professional, but it has brought visitors refreshing smiles because of the "clumsy" race horses. I will tell my friends and come back with them next season.
Participating in this year's tournament, besides the familiar faces of previous seasons, there are many new faces. Mr. Sung A Chu, Ngai Thau Thuong village, A Lu commune (Bat Xat district), participated in the Bac Ha traditional horse racing tournament for the first time and said: In previous seasons, I was very impressed by watching my friends race horses and wanted to become a jockey to participate in the competition. Since last year, I started training my own horse to participate in the tournament. This is my first time participating, so I don't set high goals, I just hope that people and horses will get used to the tournament to continue competing in the following seasons.
After 21 races, the 32 best riders have been named to the semi-finals. According to the plan, the semi-finals and finals will be held on the morning of June 10 at the Bac Ha District Central Stadium. Based on the results of the finals, the Organizing Committee will award the First, Second, Third, and Fourth prizes for individual and team events.
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