Equine Sports
Aerial view of the Selangor Turf Club, 1989. The club moved to its current location in Sungai Besi in 1993, and the old site is now home to the PETRONAS Twin Towers.
Horses have long been reared in Malaysia. The kuda padi, a local pony, has been bred and cross-bred for centuries, especially in the east coast states of Kelantan and Terengganu. In Sabah, the Bajau are renowned for their horsemanship, which is an integral element of their culture (see ‘Traditional recreation of Sabah’).
Racing and polo were the first organized equine activities, introduced in 1842 and 1886 respectively, but since the 1990s the rise of Olympic-style equestrian disciplines such as showjumping, dressage, eventing and, more recently, endurance, has ignited the imagination of Malaysians.
Since the mid-1980s, the country has witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of horses, equestrian clubs, riding schools, endurance stables and private or semi-private ranches. Programmes have been implemented to introduce riding to local schoolchildren, and there are apprentice riders in the nationally funded sports school at Bukit Jalil. The Klang Valley, where previously only the Selangor Polo and Riding Club existed in Kuala Lumpur, boasts more than 30 equestrian centres and stabling facilities as of 2008. The Malaysian Equine Council, formed in 1993 to coordinate the development of equine sports in the country, has introduced the National Coaching Accreditation Scheme for Malaysians to have easy access to, and sponsorship in obtaining, internationally recognized instructors’ licences.
Malaysians have competed with distinction at the SEA Games and Asian Games as well as the European Open Championships, FEI World Endurance Championships, FEI World Cup Jumping Finals and World Equestrian Games. After winning races on three continents in 2001, Datuk Kamaruddin Abdul Ghani became the world’s top-ranked endurance rider. At the 2001 SEA Games, Qabil Ambak captured four gold medals, and was subsequently honoured as the Best Male Sportsman of the SEA Games and the male OCM Olympian of the Year.
The country has played host to the CSI–Star KL Grand Prix in 2003 and 2004 and the FEI World Cup Jumping Final in 2006, bringing world-class competition to the country. The Royal Malaysian Polo Association (RMPA) has established the RMPA Southeast Asian International Polo League as a regional polo fixture, while the Malayan Racing Association (MRA) organizes the Triple Crown Series.