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Galloping towards a Lankan breed
By Ruwanthi Herat Gunaratne
"They say that horses are creatures of the rich," smiles Palitha Samarakoon, a self-professed 'horseholic'. "But I find that far from true. Horses draw no distinction between social classes. They are fantastic animals - their grace, speed and sheer strength distinguish them from all others."

Palitha Samarakoon is not a jockey; neither is he an avid race-goer. He's a horse lover whose vision is to produce a 'Sri Lankan horse'. Having started life in the tea trade he moved on to the Mahaweli Authority as the Director of the Forestry Programme and that's where he could give his love for horses full rein.

"Sri Lanka never had its own endemic breeds," says Mr. Samarakoon stressing that over the centuries horses were brought in from various countries. "Our kings traded with the Arabs and horses were bartered. For the Portuguese, Dutch, and British who came to the island, life was impossible without horses and they maintained extensive stables.”

And soon began the trend of horse racing in Nuwara Eliya, Colombo and Boossa.
With Sri Lanka gaining independence in 1948 and the exit of the British, horse-racing began to wane. Fewer horses were also brought into the country as the import duty was raised.

Ponies had, though, as a result of much in-breeding become established in Sri Lanka. "The Delft pony found in the Delft Islands off the northern coast of Sri Lanka originated from the pony breeds introduced by the Portuguese. But the Delft pony has become feral and inbred. We needed a horse that would be acclimatized to our weather, our feed and our way of life. That was my goal," says Mr. Samarakoon.

Working with the Mahaweli, Mr. Samarakoon found himself in Kalawewa. "The plains were great for horses and I wanted to purchase a horse for leisure riding. Around the same time I came to know that Upali Wijewardene's family was looking for someone to take on his stables."

In the early 1980s Mr. Wijewardene had imported six horses from England. "Amongst them were the jet-black King of Zulu, Cornwall Garden and Kandosman." King of Zulu was the pick of the lot; a 16 hands tall racehorse from England. (1 hand = 4 inches)

Mr. Samarakoon decided to approach Dr. Seevali Ratwatte, the then Chairman of the Upali Group of Companies, to obtain one horse from the Wijewardene Stables. "We had a long chat and before I knew it he was offering me the entire stable that comprised four thoroughbreds and 10 large ponies.

To me it was as though I had won a lottery." But there were a range of problems. Mr. Samarakoon only had the capacity to look after one horse. "Looking after a horse is a lot of work and the thought of looking after 14 was daunting."

"The late Gamini Dissanayake suggested that I should take on the horses and use them for the Forestry Project. His thinking was that there were many places to which it was impossible to go by vehicle and the horse would be an ideal substitute."

By the time Mr. Samarakoon was presented with the horses only one of the four thoroughbreds remained. King of Zulu soon rose to stardom at the Mahaweli Stables but Mr. Samarakoon's vision to create a Sri Lankan horse was still far from realised.

"I could use one of the large ponies as a mare, but I still needed a stallion. The King of Zulu though a fantastic horse was a gelding (a male horse that has been castrated. Racehorses are usually geldings, as that is the method by which greater control may be wielded over the horse during races)."

And thus began his search for a stallion. A fax from The Cricket Board of Pakistan came as a godsend. "They were prepared to gift us two horses, and I couldn't control my excitement as I went to receive them." But as luck would have it both were female.
It was then that Sydney, a big gray that had raced in Singapore and been gifted to the Sri Lanka Police came into the picture. The Prince of Zulu was the result of a match between 18-year-old Sydney and 11-year-old Amal.

Prince's mother Amal, though classified a pony was a large one. "She had taken part in 32 races and won 31 of them," says Mr. Samarakoon. The Prince of Zulu was therefore an established half-breed. "He had 50% of a thoroughbred horse's blood and 50% pony blood." But it was not the ideal. For the Prince, whose gallop, stride and manners were breathtaking was not the ideal height. "The ideal height would have been between 14 to 15 hands tall."

Mr. Samarakoon also obtained two more Australian thoroughbreds named Rustum and Sarah. Rustum was shot dead during the insurgency. The match between the Prince of Zulu and the Australian Sarah resulted in a 3/4 bred foal named Sumali.
This was the ideal breed for Sri Lanka, in Mr. Samarakoon's eyes. He however had left the Mahaweli by then and this breeding process was undertaken under the guidance of Mr. Nihal Ratwatte.

"Horses are considered expensive animals not only because of pre-conceived notions but because even their feed is imported and expensive. We have a great selection of feed in Sri Lanka and it only seemed right that we should not import the feed." Together with Dr. Derik Van Arken, a Belgian vet working at the University of Peradeniya, an ideal combination of feed was made.

The saga of the Prince of Zulu, the award-winning half-breed does not end there. Subsequent to the birth of his offspring Sumali, the Prince, and other horses and ponies at the Kalawewa stables all went to the Police. Is Sumali, the ‘unofficial Sri Lankan horse? Horse experts will have to give their verdict.

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