Chagu Chagu Umakko was held for the first time in three years. Decorated horses paraded through rice fields. (In Takizawa City, Iwate Prefecture)
Otsubo keeps horses backed by crowdfunding. (In Takizawa City, Iwate Prefecture)
IWATE, Oct. 4 – “Chagu Chagu Umakko” is a traditional event to appreciate farm horses in Iwate Prefecture. For the past two years, it was canceled due to Covid-19, leaving a heavy burden on the horse owners. However, the event returned this year backed by a crowdfunding (CF) platform.
“With or without the festivals, we must feed the animals. It costs 200,000 yen per month to feed one, and some colleagues had no choice but to sell the horses,” said Noboru Otsubo, an 84-year-old owner of 14 horses in Takizawa City.
For every horse owner, it’s an honor to have his/her horses participate in the event, but the number of horse owners is decreasing because of aging and soaring feed cost. This year, the number of horses which paraded in the festival declined to 58, nearly half of the peak (114) in 1991. It dropped by 16 in the past two years due to the pandemic.
Morioka City provides a premium of up to 100,000 yen per horse when it joins the horse parade. The reward was paid in 2021 as the parade was abruptly canceled, but not in 2020.
To reduce the burden on the horse owners, a Tokyo-based group of volunteers, Tokyo Chagu Chagu Umakko, launched a crowdfunding campaign and created a joint owner scheme. The party has been backing feed costs for the horses participating in the event since 2019. The returns to the supporters include the rights to take care of the horses they support and to ride them in costumes, most of all focusing on having direct interactions with the owners. The campaign raised 340,000 yen from 54 supporters in 2019 and 1.33 million yen from 124 this year.
“Covid-19 pandemic has boosted the momentum for everyone to join hands to raise horses,” said Masanobu Saito, the head of the program. “The audience are now our partners. The network to support the event continuation expanded.” Chagu Chagu Umakko this year was held in June for the first time in three years on a smaller scale to prevent creating crowds, but a record 184,000 people came to see the event.