The National Horse Show (NHS) is in town again this month and will be held on the grounds of the Perak Turf Club Equestrian Centre at Jalan Kelab Golf, Ipoh adjacent to the Perak Turf Club from December 5 to 8.
The four-day NHS event of equestrian sports will feature sports and farrier (person who shoes horses) competitions, exhibitions, carriage and pony rides as well as various fun programmes and activities for children. A trade expo (with individual booths) and local hawker food fair will also be available.
The main activity throughout the four-day event will be the equestrian sports competitions. These include show jumping, dressage (where the horse and rider are expected to perform from memory a series of predetermined movements) and derby events such as the cross country where participants will lead their horse through an obstacle course which includes water features.
According to Perak Turf Club General Manager Soo Lai Kwok, equestrian sports is a recognized Olympic event. As such this NHS is a government-sponsored event funded by the Totalisator Board of Malaysia and the Ministry of Finance.
The annual National Horse Show is organised in turn by the Turf Clubs of Penang, Selangor and Perak to encourage young Malaysians to participate in equestrian sports.
It is the biggest equestrian event on the equestrian sports calendar and draws competitors from all over Malaysia and abroad. The Singapore Turf Club and Bukit Kiara Equestrian Resort are participants in this year’s event. A total of 200 participants including officials will be participating this year.
Besides the pony and carriage rides, one of the fun activities this year will be the Man vs Horse Race. It is a 100-metre dash with the man given a handicap of 30 metres in front of the horse. According to Soo, there will be athlete sprinters taking part and should be a hilarious spectacle.
Another interesting equestrian activity this year is the rides for the disabled. Special saddles and harnesses will allow the disabled to sit atop a big horse which will provide a sense of achievement and confidence and be one of the main highlights for them.
The event will start on Thursday December 5 with the competitions. The official opening will be on Friday 6 December at 9.30am. Being the school holidays the weekends are anticipated to be busy. Entrance to the show and parking is all free, hence Ipohites are encouraged to visit the activities.
JAG
