Horses of Phnom Penh

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Khmer Times/Jonathan Cox and Chea Vannak

A few are destined for karaoke fame, most for restaurant tables

Across the river from the manicured fields of the Phnom Penh Country Club, where horses practice their hurdling, a small herd of horses leads a more humble life, cropping grass in a field next to the Sokha Hotel parking garage. They seem well adjusted to city life – their ears hardly twitch when cars roar past on Tonle Sap Street, and they disregard the plastic bags that litter the field while they roll in the grass.

The herd belongs to 25-year-old Ki Ren, a member of Kampong Cham’s Muslim minority who launched his horse business two years ago. His business has one key advantage over possible competitors – access to one of the city’s few patches of grass. Grazing in the city is scarce, but Sokha Hotel and the local police have given Ren the go-ahead to pasture his horses on this disused five-hectare field.

Horse breeders on the eastern side of the Mekong sell racing horses at more than $10,000 apiece, and Phnom Penh Country Club’s equestrian center has steeds trained for competition. Ren’s horses aren’t so glamorous. Only one or two are even fit for riding, he said, and his best horse has an asking price of just $1,000.

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