Thursday, September 5, 2013

Tibetan Racing Ponies

              Tibetan Racing Ponies (click photo to see more detail)
6” x 8” (15.2 cm x 20.3 cm) original acrylic on hand primed board $195 w/free shipping in US & and Canada
To see past work in my dailypainters gallery click HERE.

These ponies were being prepared for a race we observed in July. This Tibetan horseracing event was several kilometers long and the small Tibetan ponies are pushed really hard. They have colorful harnesses and are ridden bareback. The two races we saw were first the adult race, next teenagers of both genders competed in the second race. The races started in a crowd of about 20 horses and continued for three or four rounds around the one half kilometer track. The ponies are well groomed with brightly colored harness and decorative tassels.    
Photo of Race

These young Tibetan riders seem to live close to the earth, yet most of them have cell phones or smartphones. One young man pointed to his phone and declared “píng guǒ” which is Chinese for “Apple”. He wanted me to know he had an iPhone.


As we arrived here, we were told that authorities had just shut down Internet throughout the area. There had been “Free Tibet” protests and police roadblocks were checking vehicles to see who was traveling in and out of the area. I tried to be as unobtrusive as possible, since I didn’t want to be asked to leave the area before seeing the festival.


© Copyright 2013 by Paul Wolber
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