National Sports Festival Equestrian Events Return to Jeju After 12 Years

The equestrian events of the 107th Korean National Sports Festival will take place from October 16 to 18 at the Equine Industry Professional Training Center of Jeju National University (제주대학교 말산업전문인력양성센터). According to the university, teams from all 17 cities and provinces and about 150 horses are expected to take part. The festival as a whole runs from October 16 to 22 at venues across Jeju.

This is the first time in 12 years that the festival's equestrian events have been held in Jeju. When Jeju hosted the 95th festival in 2014, disputes over the arena footing, drainage and stables led organisers to move the equestrian events to Incheon eight days before the opening. At the 83rd festival in 2002, the equestrian events were also held separately in other regions.

Ahead of this year's festival, the number of stalls at the venue has grown from 53 last year to 190. The venue has also added 24 wash bays for bathing and caring for horses, along with water supply and ventilation systems. The arena surface has been improved for evenness and drainage, separate routes have been set for riders, horses and vehicles, and health and biosecurity checks have been tightened for horses brought over from the mainland.

The Jeju Equestrian Federation confirmed the venue as host after an on-site inspection by the Korea Equestrian Federation (KEF) in September. In the same month, it held an equestrian competition that served as a test event to check how the competition would be run.

Sources

• 파이낸셜뉴스, 2026년 10월 12일 (in Korean)
• 영주일보, 2026년 10월 12일 (in Korean)