The Jakarta Globe:
————— Horses are used throughout Indonesia, an archipelago of about 17,000 islands that straddles the equator, more often for pulling carts and buggies than for riding.
This year, the races near Bima lasted for 11 days and attracted nearly 600 horses, many from the nearby islands of Sumba, Bali, Lombok and Flores.
The grand prize was Rp 1 million ($100). Those who win their groups get two cows.
One of the young stars this year was 11-year-old Mohammad Endiansyah, known as Endi, who has taken a two-month break from school for the racing season.
The punters say he’s a great rider, an expert at handling the horses. His father, Asikin, said he earned Rp 15 million ($1,500) in the last two months from different races.
“A horse is like a friend,” Endi said. “I’ve fallen, been sick and cried but no horse has ever stepped on me”.
Endhi said he wanted to be a policeman when he grows up.
“But I’d also like to be a professional jockey,” he said.