Tuesday June 2, 2009
By RONNIE OH
EQUESTRIAN enthusiasts in the northern region are in for a treat.
The 15th National Horse Show (NHS) will be held at the Penang Turf Club (PTC) at Batu Gantong from Friday to Saturday.
Also, the equestrian competition under NHS that has lured top foreign riders as well as Malaysia's best riders such as Qabil Ambak, Quzandria Nur Ambak and Diani Lee will be held over five days from Wednesday.
Set to mount a challenge: A file picture of national rider Qabil Ambak in action during a showjumping competition. National Horse Show director Johari Lee said the national trio will be featured in the dressage competition to be held on Friday.
"Their presence is of utmost importance to Malaysia's challenge as the competition has attracted top international riders such as Hong Kong's Jennifer Chang who took part in the last Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, three years ago.
"This field of foreign riders is likely to pose a serious threat to our national riders as they will be riding on their own horses based in Kluang.
"They are not expected to face any acclimatisation problems since their mounts are already familiar with the local turf as well as the climate," said Johari who is also PTC Equestrian Centre chief instructor.
The Malaysian trio is set to do the nation proud as they have been doing well in the international arena.
Their performances at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha as well as the last SEA Games in Thailand two years ago are enough to underline their capabilities.
Qabil, in particular, capped his last SEA Games outing with a four-gold haul.
He came up tops in the individual dressage and the individual show jumping events, before adding another two gold medals in the team events of both the categories.
Not to be outdone, his sister Quzandria also did her part to contribute towards Malaysia's medal haul.
Showing improvement in her challenge after a fruitless outing in the Asian Games in 2006, she brought home a silver medal in individual dressage in Thailand.
Diani, who picked up a silver in the dressage team event in the Doha Asian Games, also got herself on the medal list in the SEA Games the following year, mounting her way to gold in the dressage team event.
Now, with this Penang challenge to serve as part of their preparations for the coming Laos SEA Games in December as well as next year's Asian Games challenge in Guangzhou, China, the three riders will surely want to improve on their performances.
Others to watch out for in the three-day challenge are the younger breed of players such as those from the Penang Equestrian Centre.
Look out for Eddric Lee Chin Hon who has already caught the eye of the national selectors to be included as a member of the national team.
His stablemates Syed Kamil Nafis Syed Yusof, Mohd Anwar Mohd Harris and Shoorenderen Nageswaran are all also be hoping to steal the limelight and prove themselves against the big boys.
Syed Kamil Nafis bagged a double gold at the Sukma in Terengganu last year.
Coming up tops in the individual showjumping event, he went on to grab his second gold medal in the inter-team showjumping event.
The NHS is a good training ground for young riders from all states to prepare for the next Sukma in Malacca next year.
The competition at the turf club is expected to be intense, especially with 24 local teams having confirmed participation with a massive total of 113 horses registered for the event.
Among the teams taking part are KL City Hall, the police, Prisons Department, Armed Forces Equestrian Centre, Royal Selangor Equestrian Academy, 3Q Equestrian, Aria, Country Heights Equestrian Quarters and STC Equestrian and Sports Centre.
The 2009 NHS will be held from 10am to 6pm.
The highlights are the Queen's Cup (dressage), the J.A. Rodgers Cup for show jumping, the Riding In School Programme (RISP) championship and a carnival featuring a bazaar,a breed display, a farriery competition, stage shows and pony rides.
This article was taken from: The Star Online: Metro: North 2 June 2009
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