The Tokyo City Cup commemorates the relationship between Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and Ohi Racecourse in Tokyo, Japan and is the only graded stakes race that has been named for a major city outside of the U.S. In 2006 in, celebration of the tenth running of the Tokyo City Cup, the Soma Nomaoi Samurai warriors, dressed in traditional armor, performed on the main track in front of the grandstand.
The Nomaoi (wild horse chasing), can be traced back to the Heian Period (796 -1185 A.D.) and currently more than 600 horses take part in the annual festival in Japan. The horsemen train throughout the year for the three-day event and the eight horsemen who appeared at Santa Anita are said to be the best of those riders.
Because of the many considerations involved in shipping their horses from Japan, the samurai instead made use of local horses that had been specially trained for the demonstration. This consisted primarily in acclimatizing them to the various flags, banners and extra tack they would be carrying during the performance.
Those horses not already stabled on-track arrived shortly after the end of morning workouts and were unloaded at the outrider barn, which was to be the staging area for both of the days performance. Heavy rain earlier that morning had raised some concerns but, other than making for a muddy work area, proved to be of little consequence. Because of the number of horses being readied ( 10 in all, eight for the use of the samurai and two for the outriders who would accompany them) we quickly became part of the work crew, a role neither of us minded.
Upon the arrival of the samurai and their crew, the horses were inspected and each rider let it be known which mount he preferred to ride. Each horse was then outfitted with traditional Japanese tack which was similar to that used during the original Nomaoi. Time was then spent in familiarizing the riders with their mounts. Several backside workers gathered to watch this process as it presented quite a contrast to the Thoroughbreds they normally care for.
Because the main track was still wet and the crews were working on it, it was decided to move the first demonstration to the training track where the track superintendent felt the surface was drier. This provided an added bonus to fans in the infield as they were suddenly right on top of the action. The only real mishap of the day occurred just prior to the first charge when one of the samurai horse’s bits broke. One of the outriders quickly escorted that horse back and the charge was begun. Because of the threat of further rain it had been decided that only one charge per demonstration would be undertaken.
The time between performances was used to rest both horses and riders and to repair the broken bit. Quite a bit of conversation went on among the parties involved even though most of the Japanese spoke no English and the horse handlers spoke no Japanese. Since the subject was horses and tack, hand gestures and pointing proved completely effective. One of the points of interest to the Americans was the saddle being used. It is much shorter than the American western saddle but is quite comfortable. Also the Japanese use a rope cinch, which comes up through the saddle and is tied off. The cinch is tightened while the rider is mounted and can be adjusted at ant time without dismounting.
The final demonstration was moved to the main track and was just as popular with the crowd. In speaking with several fans afterwards, the main consensus was that they had enjoyed it greatly but that it was too short. The samurai were also extremely happy with the horses, the preparations, the performances and their reception. Unfortunately, this turned out to be the last mounted performance, at least for now, as increased costs have caused the this event to be dropped from the schedule. Hopefully, this is only temporary.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Return to Main Menu Page
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you have any questions or comments please e-mail us at the address below or
mail us at P.O. Box 4122, Alhambra, CA, 91803.
Jim & Lani Muche muche@earthlink.net
All photographs, images, logos, articles, stories, interviews,
emblems and all Muche's Equine Action Photos pages are Copyright
protected by U.S. and International Law for Jim & Lani Muche.
Copyright
Jim and Lani Muche - all rights reserved. No part of
this site may be copied, transferred or otherwise used without the express
written permission of the owners.