Horse Leaving Gyeongju Track Prepares for Second Life... Korea Racing Authority Holds 'Integrated Riding Horse Evaluation' at Gumi City Riding Center

At the Gyeongju retired horse appraisal event, a horse is undergoing a composure test by opening an umbrella.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Korea Racing Authority will hold the "2nd Integrated Riding Horse Evaluation" at Gumi City Equestrian Center for two days from the 24th to the 25th to assess the qualities of riding horses.

With over 120 riding horses participating, this integrated riding horse evaluation will be conducted in two categories: "Retired Racehorses" and "Leisure Horses."

On the 24th, the "Retired Racehorse Evaluation" will take place to verify the abilities and stability of retired racehorses preparing for their second career as riding horses. About 40 retired racehorses will compete to showcase their capabilities as riding horses.

Horses that achieve a comprehensive evaluation score of 80 points or higher will be awarded the BRT (Best Retired Thoroughbred) certification issued by the Korea Racing Authority, and prize money will be given according to their grade.

Thoroughbred riding horses retired within 24 months are comprehensively evaluated on body conformation, calmness, dressage, and obstacle jumping ability.

Among many evaluation criteria, the assessment of the horse's "calmness" includes surprising situations such as spraying water with a spray bottle, opening an umbrella, listening to compressor sounds, and raising balloons to evaluate the stability of riding horses that were formerly racehorses.

The calmness of the horse in unexpected situations is directly related to the safety of the rider on the horse, making it highly effective in verifying the ability of former racehorses to suppress their racing instincts as riding horses.

On the 25th, about 80 domestic riding horses will participate in the "Leisure Horse" evaluation category.

Young horses and ponies aged 2 to 3 years will be evaluated on basic training and behavioral skills such as "loading and unloading from a trailer" and "crossing obstacles" without a rider.

Horses and ponies aged 3 to 7 years will undergo more practical evaluations such as emergency stops while being ridden.

Hwang Jae-gi, the ranch manager of Jangsu Ranch under the Korea Racing Authority, which hosts the evaluation, said, "Through the integrated riding horse evaluation, we aim to present directions for the stable transition of retired racehorses to riding horses and contribute to the spread of a safe riding culture by early production of high-quality riding horses."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.