Can you imagine a horse ranch right in the middle of the busy city?  If not, come with me.  I'll show you one....

Nantzu District has a street called "Ma Lu", or "Horse Street".   Even from the road you can hear the horses neigh.  Enter the gates and you will see huge haystacks on the left and horse stables on the right.  This small yard is covered by a roof to keep the haystacks dry, and the sweet smell of hay spreads all around.  The stables are in rows around the yard.  The horses stand inside within dark rooms.

Some of the horses are brown, or light brown.  Some are brown with white spots.  One even has black spots all over a white body.  It looks like an overgrown Dalmatian!  The coach leads a beautiful, mighty chestnut horse out of the stable.  It is a bit of a showoff, but it is great to see.  It likes to turn its backside to the public.  The name of this beauty is "Clinton".  Names  of the other horses are as funny: "Madonna", "Gucci", "US$", "Godzilla", "Handsome Boy" and "Gestapo" are all here.

Cross the yard, and go to the sand covered training ground.   It is not so big, about half the size of a soccer field with bars for jumping.  The arena is never deserted because whenever you come you can see two or three people practicing.  The coaches are always ready to help the beginners.  The sand is kept wet so that the horses won't raise too much dust.

It is so great to sit high in a saddle on a horse's back and feel the strong movements of its mighty body just like the waves in the sea.  And how beautifully the racing horses look against the background of a green carpet of rice fields surrounding the training ground!