This was one of the crazyist things I’ve ever seen done with a horse. I have to admit, I don’t have stacks of experience with horses, but this is really out there!
This event is meant to predict, or encourage the coming year’s rice crop. I’m not sure which way the influence works, The test is to see how many horses are able to run up a hill then jump up on to a 2m (6ft) wall. Simple? No. You jump that high.
Of the 12 horses that attempted to make the leap, only 3 did make it. One horse was severely injured, one human was trampled, and I scuffed my knee.
Now, a 25% success rate doesn’t seem that great to me, but the people and the next day’s newspaper expressed lots of enthusiasm, making it sound like there will be plenty of rice this year. So, good on ’em.
But all this babble does not describe how amazing this feat was… and honestly, the pictures don’t really do the live action much justice either. So, next year, get down here yourself and see what it’s all about.
