HORSE racing is part of traditional festival on the island of Sumbawa, 320km from Java and Bali, Indonesia.
Without harness and saddle, a boy mounts the horse barefoot, wearing a toy helmet. The race is open to those aged between six and 10, taking part in a generations-old competition held at the end of rice-harvesting season.
The horse races speed may reach up to 80kph and risky if they fall at high speed.
During the festival, the children might race up to 15 times a day on a different horse during the early round to qualify for the finals. The main prize will be a motorcycle, followed by buffalo, cow and refrigerator.
The horse owner wins the prizes and pays the jockey a fee of around RM15-45, depending on their finish.
Parents enjoy profit from their children’s effort. Some see it as child abuse or exploitation while for locals, child jockeys contribute to the family income in one of the Indonesia’s poorest regions. – October 12, 2019.
Child jockey Sharil playing with one of his favourite horses, Atlantis, on the eve of semi-final heat at a river near the Angin Laut track in Sumbawa, Indonesia. – Pic by Ahmad Yusni, October 12, 2019.Child jockeys competing during a horse-racing competition on Sumbawa Island. – Pic by Ahmad Yusni, October 12, 2019.Spectators enjoying the race from a tribune at the Angin Laut track in Sumbawa, Indonesia. – Pic by Ahmad Yusni, October 12, 2019.Child jockeyd competing during a competition on Sumbawa Island, Indonesia. – Pic by Ahmad Yusni, October 12, 2019.A caretaker rubbing chilli powder and stinging plants on his horse to make it ready for the next day’s semi-final heat near the Angin Laut track in Sumbawa, Indonesia. – Pic by Ahmad Yusni, October 12, 2019.Caretakers bathing their horses early in the morning of the semi-finals in a river near the Angin Laut horse-racing track in Sumbawa. – Pic by Ahmad Yusni, October 12, 2019.Child jockeys, aged between six and 10, taking off at the starting gate at the Angin Laut horse-racing track in Sumbawa. – Pic by Ahmad Yusni, October 12, 2019.Child jockeys, aged between six and 10, competing in the race at the Angin Laut track in Sumbawa, Indonesia. – Pic by Ahmad Yusni, October 12, 2019.A caretaker carrying a fallen child jockey at the Angin Laut track in Sumbawa, Indonesia. – Pic by Ahmad Yusni, October 12, 2019.A horse being prepared for the race amid the dust at the Angin Laut track in Sumbawa, Indonesia. – Pic by Ahmad Yusni, October 12, 2019.
Child jockey Sharil and father with their family horse, Bintang Kasino, at sunset near the Angin Laut track in Sumbawa, Indonesia. – Pic by Ahmad Yusni, October 12, 2019.A horse owner (right) receiving the main prize, a motorcycle, while the runner-up receives a buffalo and the third, a cow, and those placing fourth to sixth get a refrigerator at the race at the Angin Laut track in Sumbawa, Indonesia. – Pic by Ahmad Yusni, October 12, 2019.Child jockeys waiting for their turn at the starting gate during a race on Sumbawa Island, Indonesia. – Pic by Ahmad Yusni, October 12, 2019.Child jockeys, aged between six and 10, competing in the race at the Angin Laut track in Sumbawa, Indonesia. – Pic by Ahmad Yusni, October 12, 2019.A horse arriving on the back of a lorry for a race at the Angin Laut track in Sumbawa, Indonesia. – Pic by Ahmad Yusni, October 12, 2019.A combo picture of child jockeys, aged between six and 10, at the Angin Laut track in Sumbawa, Indonesia. – Pic by Ahmad Yusni, October 12, 2019.
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