Horse riding attracts youths in Ho Chi Minh city

(CPV) -Horse riding has long been a popular sport in Western countries. But in Vietnam, this sport is still quite strange.

Saigon Pony club is one of a few places having horse riding training program in Vietnam. Since its establishment, the club has quickly attracted the curiosity of young people in Ho Chi Minh city.

Saigon Pony Club is located at No 42 Le Van Thinh street, district 2, Ho Chi Minh city. The club now has hundreds of members of all ages from 3 to 50 years old.

The club’s tuition fee is VND400,000 and each class lasts 45 minutes. Although it’s quite expensive for Vietnamese, this cost is still the cheapest in comparison to the costs of horse riding schools elsewhere in the world.

Amaury, a former horse racer from French, is the owner and also the coach of Saigon Pony Club. He built the club to teach anyone who want to practice horse riding, both Vietnamese and foreigner, in order to fulfil his passion for the sport.

Young people have many reasons for learning how to ride a horse. Some people think that horse riding gives them many interesting experiences; someone comes here to reduce tension after school. The parents take their children to Saigon Pony for physical and willpower exercises. Most horses in the club come from Vietnam and all of them have their own names. The connection between people and horses is also an important thing. Therefore, the club encourages riders to take care of horses.

There are 2 training grounds in the club, with 600m2 for basic level and 1000m2 for advanced level. Before every class, practitioners have to put on protective shoes and helmets. Then they must stretch their hands, head, neck, shoulders and hips on horseback to avoid injury in case of falling. At the basic level, riders only learn closing their eyes, arms outstretched, standing and lying on horseback. At advanced level, they learn difficult movements such as jumping fences or other obstacles.

Many youths have been practicing in horse riding for 3-4 years and now become more skilled riders. Van Giap said that he used to fall down a lot when he was just stretching on horseback. But because of his passion, he kept trying and now he can completely control the horses. Meanwhile Thu Hoai, a student said: “When I first came here, I was very worried watching people fall down from horseback. But thanks to the coaches, I didn’t fall and got better. Now I’m not afraid of horses anymore and become close to them. I will follow this sport for a long time”.

Now, horse riding is also available at a club named Hanoi Horse Association in Hanoi. The club has many services such as horse rentals for photography and basic or advanced horse riding courses with the cost of VND450,000 per 45 minutes. If you are interested in this attractive sport, you can search for more information in the website http://nguahanoi.vn/./.

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