From riding to racing, Xinjiang builds strong horse industry

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This could be Horse Heaven - Zhaosu county has the best grassland in Xinjiang, and is famous for raising horses. For centuries, the Kazakh people, a nomadic minority, have been living here with their livestock. They like to say their children are born on horseback.

Although horses won’t make the families rich, they’re an important part of their lives.

Emmamjan Enhaz, an 80-year-old herdsman in Zhaosu, explained that Kazahks are strongly engaged in animal husbandry.

“We live in the pasture during summer, and settle down in yurts in winter,” he added. “Grazing can be self-sufficient, and riding horses keeps you fit. Life is wonderful.”

Enhaz’s love of riding is as strong as ever. The modern world still has a place for this tradition. CCTVNEWS reporter Han Bin traveled to Zhaosu county and found that while horses used to be only for transportation for the Kazakhs, now they are mainly for sports and entertainment. The tradition has taken a modern turn, as Xinjiang creates a strong horse industry.

Many young people, like Enhaz’s son Erhanat, have exchanged their life in the pasture for a career in business. The son is now a horse trainer, working for a local company.

Most of the horses are imported, the so-called "blood-sweating" breed. Some have won international racing awards.

Erhanat spends most of his time with Dragon King, a former British Tournament Champion.

The company brought Dragon King from Australia four years ago. Now he is mainly used as a stud.

Erhanat is something of a horse whisperer - a trainer who has special skill in handling horses.

He says that great care and training are needed to raise racehorses. Their relationship with humans is very close.

“I have to check his legs and groom him every day. Horseracing is about the unity of man and horse. When I went back home for a few days, I dreamed of him, and missed him so much.”

Zhaosu has built the largest and most modern racetracks in Xinjiang. It has organized several key racing events.

The goal for the county is to be labeled as a strong horse base in Central Asia.

Though the Chinese mainland has sports lotteries, betting is illegal. Private developers are nevertheless pressing ahead with ambitious schemes, hoping that will change some day in Xinjiang. If that happens, Zhaosu is ready.

“I don’t want to follow in my father’s footsteps, living a nomadic life,” said Erhanat. “I wish to accumulate more experience, so that one day I could go to bigger cities, to earn more money.”

Kazakhs have an old saying that “horses are the wings of man.” Erhanat's dreams are soaring.

Preferential policies are strengthening his confidence. He says the horses he trains will bring fame and fortune, to both him and the vast prairie that he calls home.

(Report by Han Bin)

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