On June 30, a unique equestrian orienteering challenge hosted by the Hongyuan County Party Committee and Government and undertaken by the County Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau was successfully held on the beautiful prairie. More than 30 equestrian enthusiasts rode their horses through mud, rivers, hills and grasslands along the planned route and check-in points, riding on a 12-kilometer track with an unobstructed view of the beautiful grassland, which is both a competition and a tour.
According to reports, the equestrian orienteering race refers to an outdoor sport in which the participating athletes ride on horseback with the help of a map and compass through the unknown area, and visit a number of check-in points specified on the map.
The organizing committee specially designed a visual identity for the event, integrating elements such as unrestrained river meandering horses, grassland sunrises, Yellow River meanders and outdoor tents, aiming to enhance the recognition and attractiveness of the event, and promote the development of related cultural creativity.
According to the director of the Hongyuan County Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, "Riding a Horse on the Grassland" is a new tourism development plan launched by Hongyuan County in 2024 in combination with the local tourism resource endowment and the idea of improving the economic income of farmers and herdsmen, allowing tourists to ride a river meander, rest in the grassland full of flowers, experience nomadic life, and feel the magnificence of nature.
To this end, Hongyuan County planned to create the first batch of 7 unique horseback riding tourism routes, and officially awarded the license at the launching ceremony of the cultural tourism series activities on June 9 to carry out standardized management and provide quality and safety assurance for the majority of tourists riding and traveling.
The equestrian orienteering competition is divided into two races, the first event was held at 10 o'clock in the morning in the infield of Hongyuan County Racecourse, and the participants wore helmets, armor, safety stirrups and other professional equipment to ride their horses in the field in turn along the 9 points to complete the check-in, and the one with the least comprehensive time wins.
In the morning competition, Renqing Wangjia from Wangjia Equestrian Club in Hongyuan County won the championship of the venue orienteering, and Zheng Ke and Du Haozhen, college student riders from Sichuan Tourism University, majoring in equestrianism, won the second and third places respectively.
The second race, which starts at 2 p.m., will be held on a well-designed 12-kilometer course, where participants will ride their horses to complete the check-in challenge according to the track map and compass, and experience the fun of deep interaction between people, horses and nature. The top three finishers in the cross-country orienteering competition were Jiahua Duoji, Xu Yifeng and Nie Changyi.
In summer, the red plains are full of verdant greenery and gorgeous flowers, white tents are dotted, and yaks are leisurely on the grassland. Equestrian enthusiasts ride horses through the process, challenge unknown tracks, start the journey of anticipation, and harvest the enthusiasm from the savannah.