Jakarta, 15 January 2026 — The Indonesia Rising Stars Award 2026 marked a strategic momentum in strengthening the sports- and entertainment-based creative economy ecosystem through the development of the national horse racing industry.
The Minister of Creative Economy / Head of the Creative Economy Agency (Ekraf), Teuku Riefky Harsya, delivered remarks at the Indonesia Rising Stars Award 2026 held at the Royal Glasshouse, Park Hyatt Jakarta, on Thursday (15/1/2026).
This appreciation event not only honored creative talents within the equestrian community, but also reinforced economic value creation through the development of creative content, event-based intellectual property (IP), brand activations, and the involvement of MSMEs and creative actors across subsectors.
Minister Teuku Riefky emphasized that the Indonesia Rising Stars Award 2026 serves as an important instrument in expanding the sustainable impact of the creative economy. The event opens opportunities for collaboration across subsectors including culinary, fashion, music, design, crafts, digital media, and content production, while strengthening the overall creative value chain.
“All of these activities generate added economic value, involve creative economy actors and MSMEs, and deliver direct benefits to creative practitioners and host regions. With proper curation and packaging, horse racing can become a space for creative expression as well as a new, sustainable engine of growth. This is why collaboration between sports stakeholders, creative economy actors, government, and the private sector is essential to ensure balanced ecosystem growth,” said Minister Teuku Riefky.
The awards form part of the Indonesia’s Horse Racing (IHR) ‘The Race of Rising Stars’ series, which throughout 2025 was held across nine races in four provinces by SARGA.CO. The series involved hundreds of racehorses with total prize money nearing Rp6 billion, and marked the emergence of Indonesia’s third Triple Crown champion, King Argentin. This achievement further strengthens horse racing’s position as a competitive national entertainment industry.
Doc. Bureau for Communication, Ministry of Creative Economy / Creative Economy Agency
The Indonesia Rising Stars Award 2026 also functions as a platform for strengthening national branding and developing sustainable event-based IP. Through consistent implementation, the awards have the potential to generate derivative creative products, content licensing, media distribution, and audience experience development driven by technology and creativity.
Awards were presented across multiple categories, including Sarga Partnership Gratitude, Rising Stars Award, Sarga Equine for outstanding individuals and athletes in horse racing, horseback archery, equestrian, and polo, Sarga Indonesia’s Horse Racing, Sarga Media Appreciation, and Badge of Honor recognizing the dedication of horse owners.
Through this approach, the Ministry of Creative Economy encourages the sports creative industry to move beyond competition alone, toward creating sustainable economic value, expanding business opportunities, and enhancing the global competitiveness of Indonesia’s creative actors.
Doc. Bureau for Communication, Ministry of Creative Economy / Creative Economy Agency
The event was attended by Minister of Tourism Widiyanti Putri Wardhana, PORDASI Advisory Board Member Hashim Djojohadikusumo, Chairman of PP PORDASI Aryo Djojohadikusumo, Governor of South Kalimantan Muhidin, Deputy Governor of DKI Jakarta Rano Karno, Co-Founder & CEO of SARGA GROUP Aseanto Oudang, and Managing Director of SARGA GROUP Nugdha Achadie.
The Minister of Creative Economy was accompanied by Deputy for Cultural Creativity and Design Yuke Sri Rahayu and Director of Fashion Romi Astuti.
Kiagoos Irvan Faisal
Acting Head of the Bureau for Communication
Ministry of Creative Economy / Creative Economy Agency
