Close-up: Snow horse racing in northern Xinjiang

On the 15th, the traditional snow race of "Meet the Snow Capital and Celebrate the Winter Olympics" in Altay City was held at the city's racecourse.　Photo by Gou Jipeng

Xinjiang Altay, January 16 (Gou Jipeng) The sky is clear and the winter sun is warm. Amid cheers and shouts, Akjan Zhuman, a 13-year-old Kazakh teenager from Xinjiang, rode a brown horse through the snow and sprinted across the finish line to win the 16-kilometer horse race.

On the 15th, the traditional snow race of "Meet the Snow Capital and Celebrate the Winter Olympics" in Altay City was held at the city's racecourse. The Reporter of China News Network saw at the scene that the General Mountain not far away was covered with snow, the people under the mountain were crowded, and a snow horse racing event broke the tranquility of this small city in northern Xinjiang.

Early that morning, Akjan Juman's family set off from The Village of Chelkzi, more than 60 kilometers away, as grandly as they usually attended a large party. "For this competition, I have been training and preparing for more than 1 month." Akjan Juman said.

Like many children of Kazakh herdsmen in Xinjiang, Akjan Zhuman has loved riding horses since childhood. "When I was 4 years old, I followed my parents around the mountains to graze and learned to ride horses. He began to contact horse racing at the age of 9. He said.

The Kazakhs are known as the "people on horseback". For families who make a living as nomads, horse racing is one of their favorite sports activities. Whenever there is a major event, horse racing is inseparable.

The reporter noticed that almost all the contestants were Kazakh teenagers of the same age as Akjan Juman. According to the organizers of the event, the event attracted dozens of teenagers from the surrounding townships of Altay City to compete in the snow and speed.

"Snow horse racing, affected by cold weather and so on, the test for horses is more severe than that of ordinary horse racing. Therefore, compared with the weight of adults, juvenile royal horses can move forward lightly and achieve good results. The on-site referee told reporters.

A total of 4 horse races were set up on the day, including 16 km, 5 km and 4 km. After winning the 4 km race, Akjan Juman also took the lead in the subsequent 16 km race.

During the 16-kilometer race, Akjan Juman and his horse made 10 laps around the 1.5-kilometer track. The horse's hooves stomped on the snow, and a splash of snow splashed behind it. Akjan Juman glanced at the last circle of cue cards raised by the referee, waved the whip in his hand, and continued to gallop the horse.

Standing on the edge of the fence, his brother Aknar Juman was almost overwhelmed by the crowd of onlookers, but he still struggled to wave his hands upwards to cheer for his brother.

Aknar Juman, 15, who is also a master horse racer, said: "Last year I was also here and I won the 18 km race. The mother on the side seemed calm, looking at the distant back of Akjan Juman, waiting for the final result.

20 meters, 10 meters, 5 meters... Akjan Juman crossed the finish line first! He and his horses were surrounded by people in the middle, huddled around to take photos. The father, Juman Adambek, who stood by, smiled happily. He said: "Seeing my son get the first place, I also remembered the scene of horse racing when I was a child. ”

Altay City, which has a strong horseback riding atmosphere, has vigorously promoted the development of the horse industry in recent years and promoted the deep integration of the horse industry and tourism. In addition, the city has also incorporated modern equestrianism into the physical education curriculum of primary and secondary schools, driving more teenagers to take the horse. (End)