Galloping away ···
A trainee gallops on a horse on an 800-meter track at the Wondang Stud Farm in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. / Korea Times photos by Yun Suh-young
By Yun Suh-young
There are times when you want to run away from your thoughts, feelings, and even the environment that you’re in.
When those moments come, there are two options for you ― let your mind run, or literally run away.
If you want to do both, running away to a stud farm may be a good choice. There, you will be able to let your thoughts gallop away in the meadow while watching the horses.
At the Wondang Stud Farm located in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, you can watch the jockeys ride the horses if you visit in the morning.
The farm, which used to be called a park, not only breeds stallions, but also trains jockeys.
Although you may not actually be able to ride the horses yourself, watching the jockeys gallop on their horses may blow away your stress.
The riding
Horse riders say being on a horse is to reach the sky and in doing so we borrow freedom. Winston Churchill once said, “No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.” Perhaps on the saddle was where he let his mind run, and came up with ideas to govern the country.
Does it really feel so great to be on a horse?
“It feels refreshing and cool when I’m riding. It’s the breeze that blows away all the stress. It feels incredible to have the wind blow on your face when riding at full speed. It’s completely different from when you’re in an open car,” said Kim Kyung-hyu, a jockey trainee at the Korea Racing Authority’s (KRA) training center located within the farm.
“The sport is something that requires you to work in harmony with the horse. It’s not like you’re riding a machine. You need to become one with the animal. When we gallop at full speed, it feels so overwhelming. It’s a good sport to empty your mind because you can’t really think of anything else except the horse.”
Kim is just one of the dozens who train at the track every day.
The jockey trainees train for two hours on the track every morning. There is a large and small track where the trainees train according to their level. On the large track, the trainees usually do one lap because the horses get worn out if they race at full speed and expend all their energy. One lap around the track is 800 meters. There are times, however, that they do two laps when the horses are in good condition.
Visitors to the farm may see the trainees race on the large track if they visit on Sundays. To see them do hurdles, try visiting during October and November when they officially start training.
On the small track, the younger and less experienced jockey trainees train during the same hours in the morning.
They usually walk and trot and even canter around the track. Visitors may see them every morning between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. which is when they engage in their practical training. But the two hours include the time from which they begin preparing to the time they finish training, so the actual session is only 50 minutes.
The training
The training school inside the farm offers a four-year course run by the Korea Racing Authority and students admitted there train for free. Anyone aged between 14 and 22 and under 169 centimeters and 48 kilograms may apply as a jockey trainee.
Students at the training center have various academic backgrounds as there are middle school students, middle school graduates and high school graduates. Once they’re accepted into the training center, however, students don’t go on to college as there isn’t time to study, nor does it help them achieve their dreams.
The students at the center want to become professional jockeys. They go through theoretical and practical training everyday during the first two years. In their third and fourth years, outstanding students are selected to participate in actual racing at Seoul Racecourse Park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. Even as students, they may participate in the race and receive billions of won if they win a prize.
“For boys, if they are smaller than average, they might be teased in society. But if they become jockeys, they receive VIP treatment as long as they are really successful,” said an official from the KRA training center.
The place
When you’re feeling down, don’t saddle up but bundle up to go to where the saddles are. Let your mind run along with the galloping horses.
You may take your car or the public transportation to go to the farm. If taking the car, try going in the weekdays as the parking lot may be packed up during the weekends.
When going during the weekends, you are recommended to take public transportation to avoid traffic congestion.
You may take subway line 3 and get off at Samsong Station and take town bus No. 041. You may need to walk a little after getting off the bus but the beautiful green road on the way to the farm will also refresh your mind.