1st South East Asian Equestrian Championships postponed to February 2010
Wednesday, 21 October 2009 10:11
The 1st South East Asian Equestrian Championships has been postponed to 15 -21 February 2010 to enable more participation by countries wishing to compete on their own horses.
Mr Harald Link, President of the South East Asian Equestrian Federation and owner of venue Thai Polo & Equestrian Club where the event is to be held, suggested the postponement when it became clear that more time was needed to enable participation fairly by all nations.
Preliminary entries had been affected by the need for clear protocols to enable their riders to bring their own horses to Thailand for these championships.
The South East Asian Equestrian Federation and the Thailand Equestrian Federation are in talks with the Thai Health Authority to enable movement of horses for countries like Singapore, which currently does not have a health protocol in place with Thailand.
While four South East Asian countries were able to confirm their participation in the SEA Equestrian Championships that were set for early December, Singapore and Malaysia were not among them.
Singapore was badly affected by the lack of a health protocol for the movement of horses after the 2007 SEA Games in Thailand. It was six months before some horses finally returned home to Singapore after the games.
Malaysia has not yet been able to secure funding from the National Sports Council to send teams to these championships. It is hoped that by postponing the championships till February will enable both these countries to join Indonesia, Philippines and Myanmar in Thailand for the 1st South East Asian Equestrian Championships.
Thailand and Malaysia are already scheduled to jointly host an Endurance League event between the two countries. This event may be rolled into the South East Asian Equestrian Championships, which will encourage private Malaysian participation. Despite lack of funding from the National Sports Council, Malaysia still participated in the European Open Endurance Championships in Assisi, Italy last month. This was done as a private initiative with the blessings of the Equestrian Association of Malaysia.
Interest in the 1st South East Asian Equestrian Championships from outside of South East Asia has been very high, with UAE, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, Sweden, Switzerland and USA submitting preliminary entries. A total of 57 entries have been received to date.
Related Links:
FEI Medals for first FEI championship in Asia
First South East Asian Equestrian Championship sparks Asian-wide interest
