A jockey children waving after winning the horse races outside of Bima, West Nusa Tenggara. (Reuters / Beawiharta)BIMA, NTB - Without using a saddle, a jockey named Herman Sarifudin led his horse into the start box the racetrack on the island of Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara. The gate is open and the horse bolted together Sarifudin who hold the reins tightly. Sarifudin only eight years old. He was one of the dozens of children who participated in the race. The horses are small, only 1.20 meters tall. Still too high so that the fathers help the boys climbed onto the horse.
Sarifudin play last week against five other children in the dusty oval track along 1.400 meters near the town of Bima. If he wins, the prize is a sum of money for his family, as well as pride for him.He looked nervous before the game starts, but once the door opened, he and the other jockeys barefoot look full control, urging his horse gallop with a little kick in the stomach.Sarifudin got the third position. He said he was very tired.Mohammad Amin is a local government official who likes to maintain a horse. He has 12 horses. Children have a light weight, he said, so fitting a jockey."Children learn to ride a horse from the age of five years," he said.About 2,000 spectators saw the match on the edge of the path the game, and no one cares regulations that prohibit gambling.Hami, grandparents alone, trying to sell a Nokia mobile phone so that he could take his bet.Two CowsSukri Haji, 45, chairman of the Games just snorted when asked about the dangers of using child jockeys. According to him, the children of a reliable driver and never had anyone killed or seriously injured.One of the kids falls on the dusty tracks of the match last week. His father immediately carry her in tears."It's okay, falling off a horse," said Irwansyah, a taxi driver."But they should be in school, not follow horse racing. They could miss 10 days just for one game. "Horse racing has been held every end of the rice harvesting season long. This year, the match near the Milky lasted 11 days and involved nearly 600 horses, most of Sumba, Bali, Lombok and Flores.Grand prize is $ 1 million. Those who win in the group got two cows.One of the young stars of this year is Endiansyah Mohammad, 11, or Endi, who skipped school for two months of the season.People who bet the driver said he was great, very reliable control of the horses. His father, Asikin, said he has generated USD 15 million in the last two months of the game different."The horse is like a friend," said Endi. "I've fallen, sick and crying, but never a horse stepped on me."Andy said he wanted to be a policeman when he grows up."But I also want to become a professional jockey," he said. (Reuters / Beawiharta)
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