The white steed Susi ran steadily toward a parking lot, pulling the carriage in which his coachman, Nengah Simpen, sat confidently.
She stopped at the parking lot, trotted backwards, turned around and ran back along Jl. Veteran to Jl Pattimura and to Jl. Melati, stopping finally in Jl. Surapati.
As many as 37 other dokar (horse carriages) followed the same routine as part of the dokar skills competition to commemorate 17th anniversary of Denpasar, on Saturday.
One of the judges, First Insp. Nyoman Suwentra from the Denpasar Police, said the coachmen were given points based on how well they controlled their horses - how smoothly their horses stopped, started and trotted backwards, and the position of their horses' legs as they moved.
"Their front and back legs have to move in conjunction. The right ones together and so on," Suwentra said.
More points were given for the carriages' equipment, such as the type of lamps, the side-view mirrors, the plates, the wooden planks used, the wheel-stop and even the horses' feces container.
He said the coachmen must have a valid driver's license.
"This relates to the practice of driving safe and the safety of their passengers and the driver," Suwerta said.
City administration official, Ketut Nick Natawibawa, said the event was an important one because it was a show of appreciation to horse-carriage coachmen who have been working to keep the tradition alive for decades.
"This is one of the ways for the city administration to keep a Balinese cultural tradition alive," he said.
Nyoman Manik, a coachman who usually works at the Kumbasari market in Denpasar, said he had been waiting for this event.
"We all want to win, but that's not our main goal. We get to meet fellow coachmen here. Besides, this kind of moment is rare. It might only happen in Denpasar," said the man who had been a coachman since the 1960's.
Nyoman Suparno, head of a horse-drawn carriage association in Kumbasari said the number of carriages had decreased over the years. In Kumbasari alone, he said, the number of horse-drawn carriages had gone down to 18 from 125. Most coachmen have changed profession to become ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers and laborers.
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