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Koreans Saddle Up [코리아 타임스]
Suddenly Horseback Riding Is No Longer a Sport of Elites


By Moon Gwang-lip
Staff Reporter



Kim Ji-soo, front, a 20-year-old animation major at Korean National University of Arts, and Choi Joo-hee, 20, Yonsei University library and information science major, enjoy horse riding at Semadae Horse Riding Club, Osan, south of Seoul, April 16.
/Korea Times Photo by Shim Hyun-chul
Thirty years ago in Korea, a steak dinner and bottle of French wine passed for luxury and required rare affluence. Soon new symbols of the high life appeared _ a night out with boilermakers concocted from 30-year-old scotch with exotic names like Johnny Walker Gold and Royal Salute. Then there’s golf, which today can still set you back 500,000 won for 18 holes.
An opportunity to go horseback riding has also been the preserve of the wealthy. So it might come as a surprise that recently Koreans have developed a taste for equestrian sports.

The rate at which people are taking up riding is remarkable, and the government is responding by expanding opportunities for those who want to saddle up.

In a scene that recently unfolded at the Semadae Horse Riding Club in Osan, south of Seoul, several young women walked, trotted and cantered around a corral surrounded by cherry blossom trees and wonderful views of the surrounding countryside. All were decked in typical English-style riding garb ­ breeches, black helmets and black knee-high riding boots.

``I didn’t know riding a horse would be this fun,’’ said You Eun-young, a 25-year-old Seoul National University senior majoring in clothing and textiles. ``I really like horses. I want to keep coming here and who knows, I might consider this as a career.’’

Equestrian expert Kim Myung-ki said the number of people with an interest in riding, while still small, has tripled in the last five years. Kim is a training manager with the Korea Youngster’s Horse Riding Club.

According to a survey Kim submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture last month, the number of riders registered at clubs across the country rose from 2,000 or so in 2001 to 6,000 as of this March.

At the same time, the number of clubs almost doubled in the past five years from about 80 to 150, with the number of horses for recreational riding rising three times to around 3,000.

You Kyung-sun, owner of The Golden Horse, the biggest and oldest equestrian store in Korea, says the change is noticeable in the number of customers coming in to buy tack, saddles, boots and other gear. You is the daughter of the founders of the store, which opened 30 years ago.

``Once it was just older rich people that could buy equipment,” You said. “But now, young people from colleges and horse riding groups account for more than half of our customers.’’

As for the stables and riding academies, Kim said costs are coming down, making riding more affordable.

At most riding clubs people pay 15,000 to 35,000 won for one hour on horseback. With a 400,000 won per month membership, a rider can saddle up six days a week. Fees are 150,000 to 300,000 won higher if you stable your own horse.

``I think at that price you can easily afford to try it,’’ Kim said. ``You can get started in horse riding even without boots, a helmet and pants _ everything is provided at the riding clubs.’’




Kim Myung-ki, an equestrian expert, watches beginning horse riders including Yun Hwa-young, left, a 22-year-old student at Red Cross College of Nursing, training at Semadae Horse Riding Club, Osan, south of Seoul, April 16. Kim, a 44-year-old training manager with Korea Youngster's Horse Riding Club, often visits the Semadae Club to help train riders.
/Korea Times Photo by Shim Hyun-chul
Kim says Koreans have come to believe horse riding provides physical and mental benefits. In fact, in many countries it is used as a form of therapy for the mentally and physically disabled.
``I see it an excellent exercise, and love the jumping. It is good for the intestines,’’ Kim said. ``For mental soundness, there is nothing like it.’’

Kim is a 44-year-old former businessman who hardly knew a thing about horses until the 1997 financial crisis forced him into bankruptcy. In embarrassment, he left the city for the mountains around Kyonggi Province. There he came across a riding center where in return for his labor he began to learn about horses.

``Horse riding has turned me into a whole new person. Through all the activities associated with horses, I overcame the hardship I was going through,’’ Kim said.

There are as many reasons why people love to ride as there are breeds of horses.

Lee Seong-soo, 19, is one of the enthusiastic fans of horse riding at the Semadae club. He has started thinking about making horse riding a career. ``I started this year upon graduation from high school. When I’m riding it feels like I am in another world. I want to have a job related to it,’’ he said.

Jeon Sang-kyoon, Semadae’s owner, says more Koreans have been realizing how enjoyable the sport is.

``Unlike the past, there are many young people who say they love horses. Among other things, people come to ride horses because it is fun. That’s the real reason the horse riding population is rising in this country,’’ he said.

Another rider at Semadae is Cho Ji-young, 18. She says the sport has given her new confidence.

``Horses are very sensitive, so they react to every tiny thing. If riders show any signs of nervousness, the horse may make them fall off. Riders should remain open-minded. That’s what I am learning from being a rider,’’ the Korea University linguistics major said.

The newfound passion for horse riding is likely to grow with the appearance of special schools as well as support from the country’s biggest company, Samsung.

While several high schools were recently established to train horse-riding professionals, Samsung Electronics is also promoting the sport.

In 1988, the company founded Korea’s first equestrian team. Since then, Samsung has sought to boost the team’s popularity by thrusting it into international competitions.

``We started the team to help horse riding take root in Korea because it was one of the least popular sports in the country and might be facing a crisis of survival,’’ Jang Jae-won, public relations manager for the team, said.

According to Jang, the company has supported the team with four or five billion won a year.

The Korean national horse riding squad, all riders from the Samsung team, took 9th in the group finals of the show jumping event at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. The team also won a gold medal at the Pusan Asian Games in 2002 and the group competition at the German Nations Cup tournament in June 2004.

``I dare say the 9th in the Olympics is like being in the semifinals in the World Cup. This is an amazing performance made by riders from a country where the sport had rarely been practiced among the public.’’

``But things are changing now. More people have begun to claim the sport as their own. We can’t say we made it happen, but we will keep supporting the sport.’’

Still, Korea faces a long road in developing horse riding compared with more advanced countries.

The size of the horse riding industry here was estimated recently at 80 billion won, a fraction of the 5.3 trillion won gamblers bet on horse racing.

To make horse riding more popular, Kim says government deregulation of laws covering horse riding clubs is needed.

``The regulations for establishing horse riding venues should be eased. It requires a great many things beforehand, making it more costly to set up such facilities,’’ Kim said.

For example, Kim points to the size of the minimum area required for stables and facilities, currently 3,000 square meters, saying it is too large and dissuades investors.

The minimum of 10 horses per facility is also unnecessarily high, Kim said.

Kim plans to launch a forum next month, which he already named ``The Forum for Fostering Horse Riding Industry.’’

Scholars and government officials interested in the issue are expected to join him.

To help boost an industry which, if not nurtured may fall by the wayside, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is working on measures to ease regulations on building riding stables and plans to put it into effect from this year.

``The number of horses available for riding needs to be increased to boost the local industry, which now depends heavily on horse racing,’’ said Kim Jung-wook, deputy director at the livestock policy division.

``First, we will make it easy to build horse riding facilities, by reducing the number of compulsory facility items. For example, the size of the minimum area for stables and facilities will be halved. The minimum number of horses will also be cut to five.’’

The government will also use horse riding as part of the tourist program in agricultural villages, planning to supply those areas with horses and horse-breeding workers.

In addition, horse riding will be linked to the school curriculum to provide educational opportunities.

The official said the ministry will come up with plans allowing school children in elementary and middle schools to enjoy horse riding in school programs. He added that the ministry would host local horse riding competitions for the first time in the country at the end of this year.

The event involves participants competing in several types of horse riding disciplines on Korean-bred horses.

``We are still deciding the details of the program. But I think we will certainly host the event by November. We hope it will be a good opportunity to boost the popularity of horse riding in the country,’’ Kim said.


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