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How pride and money complicate efforts to ban child jockeys in Bima
The love for horses in Bima poses a fatal threat to children earning money as young jockeys without proper safety measures and regulations.
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Horse racing in Bima, Sumbawa Island, West Nusa Tenggara, often features child jockeys. (Kompas/Khaerul Anwar)
M
uhammad Sabila Putra, 10, made his final ride during a horse race to commemorate the Indonesian Military’s (TNI) anniversary in Bima city, West Nusa Tenggara, on Oct. 14.
His horse was injured and collapsed, throwing Sabila off. The young jockey hit his head against a rock during the fall; he drew his last breath shortly after he was taken to a hospital.
The Bima public does not see Sabila’s death as a wake-up call to review the involvement of child jockeys in horse racing. But instead, Sabila is seen as a martyr of the century-old culture in the region.
Just nine days after the boy’s death, Bima Deputy Mayor Feri Sofiyan posthumously honored Sabila as “the hero of young jockeys” at a horse racing event at the Sambina Race Track in Bima.
Feri, who also serves as head of the Bima National Sports Committee (KONI), praised Sabila for his meritorious contributions in keeping the tradition alive.
“We can’t stop [horse racing] as this is tradition,” Feri said.
However, the West Nusa Tenggara Child Protection Institution (LPA-NTB) has demanded that the practice of using young jockeys in horse races be stopped once and for all.
