mirim horse riding club

The last thing I expected when going to the DPRK in Winter was to have my first experience in riding a horse (Well actually, the LAST thing I expected was going to a waterpark, but thats another Munsu story!).We were taken with our tour group, and I think it might be one of the few riding clubs that have military checkpoints just to get there.Before we even set foot in the actual horse riding arena, we were taken to a special Foreigners only 'horse museum'. It was all about the history of Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un and how they were all such good horse riders. And many photos of them riding at various ages. And this is the boots that they were. And this horse was a gift from Russia. And here is Kim Jong Un riding a horse when he was 5. And this is somebody's saddle. And this is a photo of Kim Jong Un giving hands on guidance to the construction of the new horse riding centre. Etc etc.. After this bizarre museum, we finally got in. There are large outdoor riding areas but it was very cold so we all headed into the large indoor training area.It was $25 Euros an hour, which wasnt cheap, no idea how it works for the locals. A group of us got together and booked 20 minute rides. They were kind enough to give us 6 horses at once for 20 minutes each. The stable boys/grooms/horse minders were excellent! Some of them had some English and talking about the horses names and ages and we spoke a little. This was perhaps more of an experience than my first time on horse back- in north Korea!

Brand new Star attraction in Pyongyang located just 20 minutes drive from the city centre. We were first invited to inspect the museum, which was dedicated to the pictures of the leaders of the DPRK atop horses. The tourguide kindly explained each picture to us (Kim-il Sung riding a white horse, Kim Jong il inspecting a black horse, young kim jong un riding a white horse etc, which was great as the photos were not too self explanatory...) In the center of the museum was a fantastic stuffed horse that was Kim Jong Un's favorite. After visiting the Museum we had the opportunity to ride the actual horse, the guides were very patient with us and taught us to trot etc. In the whole, an excellent attraction and a great day in the DPRK.