News Dozens of horses suffer sunstroke at Fukushima samurai event

The annual three-day event — featuring more than 400 participants dressed as medieval samurai warriors fighting on horseback over flags that are shot overhead by fireworks — attracted more than 120,000 people, reports said. Yoshichika Hirata, a member of the festival's executive committee, told AFP that changing the date of next year's event to a cooler time of year would be discussed at a meeting on Thursday. "We sprinkled water on the track for the first time, as extreme heat was expected. We used three water-sprinkler cars, but it dried up quickly," Hirata said. One horse died during last year's festival, after which a majority of riders supported a plan to change the date, according to a survey conducted in December.

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johnnyG said:

I haven't been riding for maybe two weeks now, even tho I would be out now instead of in the middle of any heat.

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johnnyG said:

No, biking.

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johnnyG said:

From the picture it is apparently full-on galloping?

Yuk. (many words with negative connotations stifled)

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johnnyG said:

So not just scouts in Busan...

I haven't been riding for maybe two weeks now, even tho I would be out now instead of in the middle of any heat.

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Lothor said:

Has the scouting debacle been reported in Japan?

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The brutal summer heat took a toll on both humans and horses. The number of mounted samurai warriors and spectators treated for heatstroke, or its preliminary symptoms, at first-aid stations in the city reached 83 this year, up four-fold over last year. Eleven of them were rushed to hospitals by ambulances. Officials said 111 horses suffered from sunstroke, and two of them died.

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One of the "Soma-Nomaoi" (Soma wild horse chase) festival's main events, a parade of costumed warriors and their horses through the streets of Minami-Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, was held on May 26. They also competed in horse races and battles to take a sacred flag at the festival's main venue, Hibarigahara-saijochi, in the city. About 390 horses participated this year and about 73,000 spectators attended that day. The three-day festival has been held in the Soso district of the prefecture for about 10 centuries, traditionally at the end of July--but this year, it was moved up to late May. The highest temperature on the day of the festival was 26 degrees, a reasonable temperature for both people and horses.

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