TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Activists condemn horse racing for children in NTB after jockey's death

Children rights activists have called on local horse racing organizers to stop involving children in competitions following the death of Muhammad Sabila Putra, a 10-year-old jockey who died after falling from his horse

Panca Nugraha (The Jakarta Post)
Mataram
Mon, October 21, 2019

Share This Article

Change Size

Activists condemn horse racing for children in NTB after jockey's death

C

span>Children rights activists have called on local horse racing organizers to stop involving children in competitions following the death of Muhammad Sabila Putra, a 10-year-old jockey who died after falling from his horse.

Sabila died after succumbing to a head injury sustained when he fell during a race to commemorate the Indonesian Military’s birthday in Bima city, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), on Monday. His horse was injured and collapsed, resulting in Sabila's fall. He died shortly after he was taken to a hospital.

The NTB Child Protection Institution's (LPA) law and advocacy coordinator, Joko Jumadi, said that the institution had already coordinated with the group's representatives in Bima to report this accident to the police.

“We highly recommend other horse racing organizers to stop involving child jockeys in the event because there is an indication of exploitation that endangers children,” Joko said on Friday.

Joko further explained that children are often used to gain profits in a horse racing arena.

“Whether they realize it or not, children become the source of profits in this case. A child jockey can generate up to Rp 10 million [US$708] in an event. Surely, their parents are the ones who enjoy it [the money], as they are the ones who make their kids become jockeys in the first place,” Joko said.

Horse racing by children is common in the province since it is considered a traditional sporting event that is part of the festivities after harvest. Residents hold the races as an expression of gratitude for their crops, but these days the races have become a tourist attraction in the area.

Joko said the horse races were often used for gambling. Adults in the area are often seen smoking and drinking alcohol as well, which may make negative impacts on the children’s health and social interactions.

“They also have to be absent from school activities in order to become jockeys. Many of them end up skipping school for at least 10 days because the race arena is far from school,” he said.

Since most of the horses belong to local administration officials, LPA said it realized that this indicates a serious problem for the administration's commitment to protect children. There is also a lack of protective gear for children during the horse racing. Child jockeys are often taken to the hospital when they fall because there is no medical support in the race area.

“The problem is not only about [child] exploitation, but also the administration’s commitment. They’re the one who own the horses. We did not object to the existence of horse racing, but to the child jockeys' involvement in the racing itself, especially with such barely minimum protection,” Joko said.

NTB Governor Zulkieflimansyah said he had already instructed organizers to halt the horse races.

He also said that parents of child jockeys often felt proud if their children made it into the race, when the reality is such a practice could put their children’s lives at risk.

Zulkieflimansyah also admitted that involving children in horse racing without giving them proper protective gear is very risky. The governor, who also owns an academy for horse jockeys, said that he wanted to change this tradition through his school.

Furthermore, he stated that the child jockey practice puts a lot of burdens on the child. However, because of poor financial situations, parents often force their children to become them and make them the breadwinners for the families.

“They [the parents] often feel proud because they thought the child jockeys are brave, when the reality is they are also scared [of what they’re facing in the racing arena], but they have to kill their fear because of their parents’ pressure. Hopefully, we can change this culture one step at a time,” Zulkieflimansyah said. (dpk)

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.