National endurance riding championship puts horses through their paces in Inner Mongolia

The 2024 China National Endurance Horse Riding Championship came to an end on Sunday in Damao United Banner, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, with winners being crowned in the different events.

The championship, the highest-level endurance riding event in China with more than 200 participants, includes a 120km individual competition, a 100km individual competition, a 100km team competition, and 40km and 80km qualifying competitions.

In order to protect the health of the horses on the grueling course, the competition is divided into stages. After each stage, the physical condition of the horses is tested immediately and if the horse's heart rate exceeds 64 beats per minute, the rider will be eliminated.

"All the horses at the highest level in China have come, and the seven members of the national team who will participate in the 2024 FEI Endurance World Championship in France in September have also participated in the event. Through this competition, we are strengthening our physical fitness and adapting to competition atmosphere," said Jia Huilin, a member of the national team.

During the competition, exhibitions of world famous horses, show jumping performances, and equestrian barrel racing were also held to keep the audience entertained.

Infrared cameras have recorded adorable scenes of mother and bay deer foraging together in the forests of Ailao Mountain in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The recent footage showed female red muntjacs venturing out cautiously in the wooded area with their young fawns close by.

In tender and heartwarming scenes, the young deer were seen to stay nearby their mothers, alternating between searching for food and running back to share some affection.

Staff members at the nature reserve said the repeated capture of such footage indicates that the reserve's ecosystem is healthy and that food sources are abundant to serve the growing population of red muntjacs in the area.