Malaysia Veterinary Forum (Archive)

Dr. TanDY

Fairytale opening at horse show

Source: The Star

Date: 6 October 2006

THREE princesses, the mask-ed hero Zorro and a ninja made a grand entrance during the official opening of the National Horse Show in Ipoh.

These characters were actually young riders taking part in a fancy dress competition in one of the show’s many events at the Perak Turf Club Equestrian Centre recently.

Teenager Renita Ravindra stood out with her costume of majestic peacock feathers in her role as Peacock Girl.

Other riders came dressed as Pocahontas, Cinderella, ‘Puteri Perak’ (the Princess of Perak), a cowgirl and many more.

Taking first place was the ‘fairy girl’ on her pony who was accompanied by adorable tots dressed as ‘creatures of the forest’ from the Ipoh International School.

The fancy dress event added a carnival-like touch to the National Horse Show which entertained visitors with performances by fire-eaters, stilt-walkers and clowns.

The four-day show featured pony and carriage rides, and an equestrian competition which tested riders from all over the country on their show jumping, dressage and other skills.

At the stables, visitors got the chance to pat some of the equine breeds, such as Shetland pony and thoroughbreds, in their stalls.

However, while most admired the bigger and more elegant horses, four young women were attracted to Fred, the donkey from the Kluang Veterinary Institute.

To their delight, the affectionate donkey was not shy, nuzzling his visitors and enjoying their attention when they patted his nose.

Yvette Shaan-li Susiapan, 23, who attended the show with her fellow mates from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, said she had been waiting a long time to take a photograph with Fred.

“He’s very cute! Everyone is going for those big elegant horses, but here we are with this little lowly donkey,” said Yvette, after Fred tried to playfully nibble at her shirt.

She added that the four of them were in Ipoh to compete in preliminary dressage category in the equestrian competition.

“I could have performed better but I was competing with all these big guns, so that’s okay. There’s nothing I don’t love about riding. It’s a great sport.”

Yvette, who has been riding for two years, was accompanied by her university mates Pang Su Fan, 23, Suriani Shaffee, 21, and Zaleha Mohd Hendra, 21.

Near the stables, visitors also snapped pictures of a fancy Cinderella fairytale-like carriage on display and browsed through an exposition of riding equipment, horse feed, medicine, equine dentistry and saddles.

Other visitors got a look at how horses were shoed during the show which was held in conjunction with the 6th Asian Regional Farriery Competition.

Perak Agriculture, Agro-based Industry and Tourism Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Radzi Manan launched the event. It kicked off with a colourful parade of horses, clowns, fire-eaters and young riders in fancy dress.

Also present were Perak Turf Club chairman Tan Sri V. Jeyaratnam, organising chairman Tan Sri Dr M. Mahadevan, Datuk Bandar Datuk Mohamad Rafiai Moktar and other officials.

Earlier, Jeyaratnam said the show was aimed at promoting equestrian sports among children and youths, and giving potential riders a chance to shine in equestrian competitions and be selected to represent the country.

The event was also an opportunity for visitors to see special children from the Riding for the Disabled Association riding their own horse or pony.

The National Horse Show, held in rotation with the Selangor Turf Club and Penang Turf Club every year, is sponsored mainly by Lembaga Totalisator Bhd and Pan Malaysian Pools Sdn Bhd.