Guizhou's "Hundred-Time Champion" jockey rides village horse-racing wave

GUIYANG, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- The starting gun cracked and the brown horse burst forward, hooves pounding the dirt as dust billowed behind. On its back, jockey Lu Guo leaned low, his red helmet and yellow shirt flashing against the September sky.

When "Meteor Warrior" crossed the finish line first at the 2026 Guizhou Village Horse (GVH) village-level league final in Sandu Shui Autonomous County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, the crowd erupted. "'Hundred-Time Champion' wins!" they shouted.

Lu straightened up, patted his horse's neck and broke into a wide grin. The brown horse gave a low whinny, as if answering the cheers.

"Hundred-Time Champion" is a nickname Lu has long lived up to. Since he began competing at the age of eight, he has won well over 100 titles. But the 37-year-old from Yongkang Village in Sandu is not one to dwell on past success.

"'Hundred-Time Champion' belongs to the past," he said modestly. Looking ahead, he hopes to continue competing on the fast-growing GVH circuit and eventually raise his own racehorse and win more titles.

At the 2026 GVH village-level league final, held at Guwen Hill in Sandong Community, Zhonghe Town, Lu won two gold medals and one silver, making him the event's most successful rider.

"In recent years, as the GVH has gained popularity far beyond local circles, races are held throughout the year in Sandu, which is perfect for a jockey," said Lu, his face bronzed by the sun.

Lu is a native of Sandu, home to the Shui people, who have a long tradition of breeding, riding and racing horses, earning them the nickname "an ethnic group on horseback." From September to November, during the Shui New Year festival known as the Duan Festival, villagers hold horse races on open, gently sloping hills accessible to people of all ages.

The youngest of seven siblings in a Shui family, Lu was influenced by his father, a horse breeder and jockey, as well as his eldest sister, now in her 60s, who still enjoys riding. He first rode a horse at six and began competing at eight. At the time, there were no age or horse classifications and no saddles. Courage was often the only requirement for taking part.

From watching races with his father to competing himself, Lu grew familiar with the roar of thousands of spectators. His favorite mount was a white horse named "Little White Dragon," raised by his cousin, and he won many titles riding it.

With limited entertainment options at the time, Duan Festival horse races drew crowds from miles around, and Lu went wherever races were held. He won prizes ranging from 15 yuan to 250 yuan, as well as goods including quilts and refrigerators. Those carefree racing days lasted throughout his nine years of schooling.

Then life took a different turn. A year after his father died in 2004, 16-year-old Lu finished middle school and left home to earn a living. As more people left the area for work, participation in Duan Festival horse races declined. After two years in factories, Lu, longing for the freedom of racing, returned to jockeying and competed in places such as Anhui, Hebei, Beijing, Jiangsu and Wuhan.

Although Lu won many titles over more than a decade, the itinerant lifestyle eventually took its toll. "There were few races in those years. I was like an apprentice drifting from place to place with no stable job," Lu said.

Injuries sustained in competitions in 2017 and 2019 added to the strain, and Lu often returned home to decompress through farm work such as rice transplanting and harvesting. In 2022, he returned home permanently. Employed by a local horse owner in Sandu as a trainer and jockey, he also competed in several major events outside the province, with limited success.

His fortunes changed with the rise of the GVH, a grassroots horse racing event that grew out of Sandu's traditional Duan Festival races. Featuring local villagers as jockeys, it has developed into a popular sporting and cultural event.

In 2023, inspired by the Village Basketball Association, dubbed "Cun BA," and the Village Super League, known as "Cun Chao," Zhonghe Town and Colorful Guizhou Cultural and Art Co., Ltd. began organizing local horse racing events.

During the 2024 National Day holiday, the company launched the GVH Racing Invitational at Sandu Western Racecourse. Videos of the races gained widespread attention online and drew visitors from across the country, helping the GVH gain popularity.

The expansion created new opportunities for Lu. Over the years, the GVH has staged more than 180 events and attracted nearly 3,000 riders nationwide. The Duan Festival races have also made a comeback, growing from just nine race sites three years ago to 34 today and contributing to local cultural, sports and tourism development.

Competing year-round, Lu now earns more than 100,000 yuan (about 14,904 U.S. dollars) annually in prize money. He also cares for horses for several owners, earning more than 10,000 yuan (about 1,490 U.S. dollars) a month. "Since the 'Village Horse' went viral, races are held all year round. My income and quality of life have improved," Lu said.

The GVH has also given Lu a renewed sense of purpose. Over the past year, he has won more than 10 titles in GVH events. At the 2026 May Day National GVH Invitational, he claimed four gold medals and one bronze across five races in a single day.

"In hometown races, family and friends come to cheer me on, which brings me great joy," Lu said, adding that he has also mentored many children who want to learn from him, something he finds equally rewarding.

With the GVH continuing to grow, Lu's life has become increasingly stable. His biggest wish now is to own a racehorse again. "I used to have one, but had to sell it due to injury and financial constraints," he said, adding that he is determined to work hard to buy another and further develop his racing career.

"My fate is now closely intertwined with the GVH," Lu said, emphasizing that he hopes the GVH will carry his dreams even further into the future.