Cross Country Horse Riding on October 1
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Of the 25 slots that will be open for the inaugural Cross Country Horse Riding Competition to be held at the Victoria Golf and Country Resort (VGCR) on October 1, the organisers, Sri Lanka Equestrian Association (SLEA) revealed that already 12 have been taken by top riders. The SLEA President, Suranjith Premadasa told the Sunday Times that inquiries are still on and riders will have time until today evening to make a final call.
“Soon after the announcement, we received 12 entries and for the remaining 10 slots we have been getting inquiries. We expect confirmation from those to fill the total of 25 slots by Sunday (24),” he said.
Among the confirmed competitors, Premadasa himself comes out as a competitor representing the Premadasa Riding School. He will be riding ‘Kumood’ while his team mate, Mina Baba will be on ‘Honey’. The Upcountry Saddle Club have entered two riders, top favourite Rashmin de Silva and Sohanya Aziz, as both are expected to ride ‘Storm Away’ on the competition day.
The Victoria Saddle Club and Sri Lanka Army will be represented by two riders each while four independent competitors make up the confirmed 12. Ravindu Fernando and Chiteshya Nanayakkara will compete on ‘Galaxy’ for Victoria SC while for Army Rohana Udaratage will ride on ‘Abaya’ and K.D.S. Nawaratne will be with ‘Dhanuja’. The four independent riders are H.L.S. Surang on ‘Prawega’, D.M. Jayalath on ‘Nimala’, D.B.K. Abewickrama on ‘Kalawela’ and J.M.D. Madhushanka on ‘Lankara’, the only pony among horses.
The SLEA, since its existence in 2003, had conducted closer to 20 events from time to time but this will be the first time a Cross Country Horse Riding Competition comes to light with a long term intention.
“Since 2003, the SLEA has conducted beach endurance competitions of 40km and 20km and in total we could boast of having hosted closer to 20 other events in total. This particular discipline — Equestrian — is a world famous horse riding competition though it is not that popular in Sri Lanka. It’s a beautiful sport where coordination and timing of the rider and the horse come to work together. The opportunity will be open for local riders to prove their capabilities on Eventing, Showjumping and Endurance,” Premadasa stated.
The competitors will have to overcome 10 jumps, covering two and a half kilometers, in under 15 minutes through an extremely long hurdles race. As an introductory to this technique in horse riding, the SLEA will keep open 25 slots for the competition.
The SLEA initiation of the event was presented to the officials of Victoria Gold and Country Resort, where it was treated as a top potential sporting event by the hosts. The Victoria Gold and Country Resort readily joined in as the venue sponsor to make SLEA’s plan of an annual competition, a reality. However, the competition course has been designed in such a way, totally preserving the beauty and glamour of the venue’s picturesque Golf course. The vast open space of the Golf club with its hills and bends will serve as the perfect setting to view horses tackling the jumps and terrain at a full gallop.
The intended competition is expected to give a wholly different interpretation to the exposure of horse riding in exposure in Sri Lanka, where it is monopolised mainly by horse racing. The SLEA has conducted several national dressage and Showjumping shows in the past and with the event to be held on October 1, the SLEA hopes to broaden the interest in Equestrian sport.
With the Victoria Golf and Country Resort coming aboard as the venue sponsor, Expolanka Freight and Mina Baba join in as the logistics sponsor. Abans, Sporting Times, Sporting Star and the Premadasa Riding School are the supporting partners of the event.