|
|
|
  |
| Sunday, 10 April 2005 |
 |
|
 |
Sports |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Holiday entertainment from Premadasa Riding School The Nuwara Eliya season will be more entertaining this year with The Horse Show, Cycle Polo Matches and the Endurance Race - three new events added to make the season all the more colourful for the holiday crowds that will make the annual trip to there. The Premadasa Riding School has taken the lead role in organising the Horse Show to be held in front of the Nuwara Eliya race track on April 17 at 4.30 p.m. The event is sponsored by SriLankan Airlines. The evening will commence with a march displaying all the participants of the evening events with their beautiful horses decked and dressed to impress in complete Rajastani outfits. And then the dazzling show rolls through flag salutes and standing salutes all performed astride a horse. The Horse Show in entirety will include a combination of tent pegging, horse dances, hanky picking, fire arch runs and numerous other activities and acrobatics performed on horseback. Nearly all items on the day itinerary are reminiscent of days when wars were fought astride horses and quarrels were sorted at the tip of a sword. It was during such times that the game of tent pegging arose. Now an internationally recognised sport, tent pegging originated from a war manoeuvre that uprooted, pegs tethering the tents of enemy soldiers, trapping them within the folds of their own tents, thereby making easy work for the cavalry. Tent pegging has made its way off the battle fields and into the sporting arena. A swirl of colour and the beat of hooves, horse dances too originated from the battlefields. In essence footsteps and evasive manoeuvre were taught to mount, to protect themselves and their riders in the heat of battle. The beat of war drums that they dances to have since become the beat of pleasure instruments, and their war manoeuvers have since become dance steps. The fire arch runs allow a glimpse of the tenacity and strength of spirit of the horses. The acrobatic and exercises on horseback will be demonstrative of the calmness of spirit and willingness of the horses. This Nuwara Eliya Horse Show will have displays of both Indian and Sri Lankan talents. Cycle Polo Then on April 18, 20 and 22 there will also be three exhibitions of Cycle Polo matches in front of the Nuwara Eliya race track. Cycle Polo players from India will be coming over for the matches and it is bound to be a treat for the holiday makers up in Nuwara Eliya. Everyone has heard of equestrian polo and even elephant polo, but have you ever heard of cycle polo? Strange but true, cycle polo is a popular past time in many nations worldwide, and will soon be displayed in a series of exhibition games held in the hill capital-Nuwara Eliya this month. Originating from Irish shores, the brain child of a certain Richard Mecredi (1891)-this common man's version of the Sport of Kings quickly made its way to the British mainland and subsequently to the United States in 1897. In 1908 it was included in the Olympic Games held in Shepherds Bush, London. Cycle polo nearly died out during the First World War, but enjoyed a revival in the 1930s and its popularity has since been increasing. In India it was initially utilized as a training measure for polo players during the off season for polo; and has since accumulated a significant following in itself, when the common folk incorporated this game into their leisure activities. The sport remains popular among many equestrian polo players in India both as a means of conditioning and in order to practice team strategy. Currently the Cycle Polo Federation of India has a membership of 10,000 not including the thousands that play the sport informally. Endurance riding Then there will be a treat of endurance riding which is a test of speed and stamina for the horse as well as for the rider. The Sri Lanka Equestrian Association will introduce a new element to the holiday celebrations in Nuwara Eliya by adding an endurance race. This event will be on April 23 starting at 7.00 a.m. on the Nuwara Eliya racecourse sand track and according to expectation there will be at least 20 riders, each divided into groups of threes of twos. Endurance rides were initially in organised by respective armies mainly France, Norway, Sweden, Austria and Germany since 1860 and have now become an internationally recognised sport. Endurance veteran Raghuvendra Singh Dundlod and experienced veterinary surgeon Dr. Rathore will be overlooking the event to ensure that international rules and regulations are adhered to with regard to the conduct of the event and the treatment of horses. The Sri Lanka Equestrian Association is currently recognised by the world body for equestrian sports and has been in the forefront of the revival of equestrian sports in the island. The national federation and its member clubs have organised key equestrian events in the recent past such as The Horse Show (2003), The Confifi Derby (2001), the John Keells Derby (2004), the Southern Derby, the Mount Lavinia beach races, the Mini Endurance Race (2004) and veterinary workshops. Endurance races are essentially divided into segments for vet checks, thereby ensuring that the horses are fit and able to complete the race at all times. Such endurance riding events are essential to prepare Sri Lankan riders to participate in international endurance racing events, thereby to represent the nation on the world stage. |
|
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Produced by Lake House |
