Traditional Sumbawa Horse Race to Be Held Ahead of Samota MXGP

TheIndonesia.id - The West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) provincial government said a traditional Sumbawa horse race is to be held to celebrate the Motocross Grand Prix (MXGP) race in Samota on June 24-26.

Head of NTB regional tourism promotion board Ari Garmono revealed that the international sporting event in Samota, Sumbawa regency, will be the right opportunity to introduce the region’s local cultural event to the national and global audience.

“[The race] is an alternative activity for the fans of MXGP Samota to extend their stay in Sumbawa,” Garmono said on Sunday, June 12, as reported by Antara.

The horse race will take place on June 15-22 in Penyaring village, North Moyo subdistrict, Sumbawa regency, on a 1.8-kilometer track located nearby the circuit for MXGP.

Meanwhile, the MXGP race is set to take place on June 24-26 and has already been hailed as the perfect opportunity to speed up the local economic recovery – similar to the MotoGP race held in Mandalika earlier this year.

NTB governor Zulkieflimansyah said small businesses, farmers, entrepreneurs, locals at large, and the provincial government can gain a lot from the event, including new knowledge on how to develop their region.

“Through international events like MXGP and MotoGP, we’re forced to interact with the new things, and we’ll eventually learn a lot,” Zulkieflimansyah said.

The rising demand for flights, hotels, travel agents, tourist destinations, etc. also equal more economic activity. And the scale of the event is expected to introduce NTB’s tourism potential globally.

“This will also ensure business certainty and invite investment to create job opportunities that will reduce poverty and unemployment,” the governor said.

The preparation for the event continues, including the construction for Rocket International Circuit that will host the MXGP race.