Instead of going shopping or attending entertainment activities in the central area of the city, Vu Thi Thuong in district 3 and her family members go to the suburbs where they practice riding horses.

According to Thuong, horse riding is known as a sport of the nobility. 

“The interesting thing is that you can sit on the back of a real animal. Riding a horse brings a sense of ‘adventure’ to people,” she said, adding that the sport is suitable for both adults and children.”

Huyen Trang in district 10 said it took her 20 minutes to feed the horse and “make acquaintance” with it before riding on horseback. 

She said the sport is suited to those who are adventurous and have good financial capability. The costume alone costs millions of dong. People also have to be equipped with protective tools.

An imported horse is priced at VND100-200 million, while domestic horses are cheaper.

Pham Hong Thuy Trinh, manager of Vietgangz Horse Club, said clients are ready to spend VND200 million to buy a horse, and hire the club to take care of it for VND8 million a month. The owners come to visit and ride the horse whenever they want.

Trinh said caring for imported horses is costly because of the hot weather in the south. Besides, it is necessary to keep a close watch over the horses’ daily nutrition regime every day, inject horses with Vitamin C to help ease the horses’ temperature, and inject calcium after horses engage in a lot of activities.

The horses need to always be in the best condition to serve their owners. And they need bathing every day. Horses not only eat grass to gain weight, but are also fed with bran to increase their energy.

Vietgangz Horse Club now has 10 horses and the number of clients registering to attend horse riding training courses and experiencing horse riding has been increasing rapidly since its opening. People are curious about horse riding as the sport remains unfamiliar in Vietnam.

The club provides horse riding classes at three levels – basic, advanced and professional. Basic  courses provide the skills to control a horse, while professional training courses help people ride horses proficiently and gallop. Trainees have to pay VND12.9 million for such a training course with 36 lessons.Tran Chung