▲ Gaga Horse Riding / CEOs Park Jeong-jae and Yoon Soon-jeom

(PowerKorea) Seeing the horse industry as a growth engine in the future, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced the second phase comprehensive plan to promote horse industry for 2017 to 2021. The plan seems to have created substantial results including increasing number of horse riders. 

“Riding a horse requires you to breathe with your horse in line. What you are riding is a living creature that feels and breathes. When you ride a horse with this in mind, you can enjoy both physical and emotional experience and satisfaction. It will give psychological stability and can ease the tension and stress you are having in daily life especially if you are from a city” says Park Jeong-jae, CEO of Gaga Horse Riding.

Park fancied having a horse in his early years. It was 25 years ago he bought a horse with money he saved. He woke up early in the morning to ride a horse and rode again when came back home from work. He felt that he was the happiest man on earth. One day, he thought of sharing this happiness with children and started brewing his ideas to make it happen. Body in his workplace, mind in his horse, he soon decided to wrap things up to start a ranch. After 3 years of preparation, he opened a ranch with 7 horses in Uiryeong County in 2013.

The business went not smoothly at first but Park had a strong willpower to see the fruits of his decision. And his enduring finally was rewarded with increased number of horses and their friends: 12 riding horses, 6 ponies, 1 Jeju horse, 2 colts, 1 mule and numerous guinea pigs, rabbits, peacocks and chickens. Thanks to this whole bunch of animal friends, children are the one who are most excited when visiting the ranch. 

“Horse riding in a way is a natural exercise. You don’t need to make a resolution like when you do a certain exercise or diet. All you need to do is just seat on the horseback and walk around with it. And the benefits are great: ease of anxiety and stress, natural body movement without challenging or tensed postures and above all it makes you feel good” says Co-CEO Yoon Soon-jeom.

Park and Yoon couple obtained a license to run the ranch for educational purpose alongside a quality certificate from the Rural Development Administration. 

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