Seventy-five jockeys from ethnic groups gathered at the annual horse race festival in Bac Plateau in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai during last weekends. 

The jockeys came from Lao Cai province and Ha Giang province.

They were divided and entered into 18 knock-out matches to select the best 16 contenders and entered the semi-final and final round.

Jockey Vang Van Vinh from Bac Ha district, Lao Cai province won the race and was awarded 30 million dong in cash.

"I am very happy. This is the first time I have won first prize at the competition. In the next contest, I will try my best to maintain my achievement," said Van Van Vinh the winner of the race.

The race attracted nearly 50,000 spectaculars, including many foreigners.

Bac Ha is home to ethnic peoples of the Mong, Tay and Nung.

The horse is the friend of the people of Bac Ha as it helps them with transportation and farming duties and the horse racing which existed in the mind of Bac Ha people as a myth, became a unique traditional culture of the ‘white plateau’./. VNA