Note: this festival has been discontinued.
Most photos of me growing up include a horse. Instead of becoming an equestrian in Canada however, I became a housewife in Utsunomiya. No regrets, but once in a while, I hanker for the smell of saddle soap, horse sweat, hay and manure (I never hanker for the work involved!).
Here in Utsunomiya, I can get an annual horse fix at the Japan Racing Association (JRA) festival, held the first Sunday of June at JRA's Equine Research Institute on Kanuma Road, about 10 minutes drive west of JR Utsunomiya Station. The festival gates open at 10 AM. It’s worth lining up at the gates early to score a free horseback ride for your kids, or a horse-drawn carriage ride for you and your entourage.
JRA offers a tour of their facilities (in Japanese of course). The Research Institute keeps a number of horses in stables year-round. The grounds includes some pasture and wooded land too. If you join the tour, be prepared for a lot of walking. The most memorable part of of the tour for me was the horse treadmill. Other festival highlights include an acrobatic equestrian show set to music, yabusame, and for kids, a stamp rally, wooden hobby horses, miniature ponies and a chance to dress-up in racing silks for a photo. I can get a few close-up photos of my son every year with horses, wooden and real. As for the horseback events, to get an unobstructed view of the arena, pay attention to the schedule which you are given at the gate, and be sure to be at the arena when the show starts. The best view is probably near the announcer's booth.
JRA's Equine Research Institute's extensive grounds provide a scenic backdrop to the festival. Bring a picnic sheet to enjoy lunch on a stretch of lawn. Although there is an adjacent woodland, shady places to sit down and eat are limited so you will want to stake out your shade early if it is a hot day. Certainly, wear a hat, and sunscreen. For those with young kids, bring a stroller; getting from the parking area to the festival area without one would be a trial. And don’t worry, the foods stalls emit much more scent than the horses.
