Page 300 - Westport Guide To Malaysia

292 EQUESTRIAN - FOREWORD
My passion for horse-riding began late in life. It is more than
exercise for me. It is communication with the most noble of
animals – the horse. My love-affair with horses started in 1984
when I was presented with two horses by the President of Pakistan. At the same time Polis DiRaja Malaysia, decided to set up a mounted unit for crowd control. This facilitated the transport of my two horses to Malaysia.
Since then I have ridden for leisure. Occasionally I have participated in endurance rides and carriage drives. I enjoy riding in different parts of Malaysia, be it in Bukit Kiara or in Putrajaya. Almost every year I would go to Argentina to ride on their endless pampas grasslands and in the Andean mountains.
There has been great development of equestrian activities in Malaysia, with the increased number of equestrian centres and through equestrian events. I congratulate the Malaysian Equine Council, the Equestrian Association of Malaysia and the Royal Malaysian Polo Association on their success in promoting equestrian sport, and to the individuals and companies that have helped the development through the years.
Malaysia has hosted world class sporting events such as the 5-star KL Grand Prix, 2006 FEI World Cup Jumping Final, 2008 FEI World Endurance Championships and the 2011 FIP Polo World Cup Asian-Australasian-African Championships.
I have always believed that Malaysians can excel at equestrian sports because it is based on skill. For this reason I encouraged the development of equestrian sports in Malaysia. It is my hope that we will see Malaysians competing more alongside the very best in the world.
Tun Dr Mahathir Bin Mohamad
Honorary President
Perdana Leadership Foundation