Polo in Shanghai

A friend of mine, Steve Wyatt, has started Nine Dragon Hills Polo Club in Shanghai, China. They are the first modern polo club in China. Historically polo was played in China centuries ago, but it died out. It’s a huge job reintroducing the sport from scratch. Nine Dragon Hills Polo Club, an exclusive club in Shanghai, has taken on that task.

“In the Tang Song (618-907 AD) and Yuan (1368-1644) dynasties, the women played in royal teams with and against the King’s men. There was no discrimination. 

Here’s a link to a recent article on them by the Shanghai Daily, titled “Flying horses, fancy dresses and champagne“.

If you are ever going to be in Shanghai and fancy a game of polo, send Steve an e-mail at ndhpolo.com.

Ja and Juno

The Oscars are live on Monday morning. I’ll be hoping “Juno” to wins Best Picture and hopefully Best Soundtrack as well.

Why would I be rooting for a movie I haven’t even seen yet? Well, “Juno” has used the title track from my sister Jacintha’s album Lush Life. It comes about 22 minutes into the movie.

It’s not the first time Hollywood has used her music. The Antonio Banderas - Woody Harrelson - Lolita Davidovich movie “Play it to the Bone” used her Here’s to Life track. And the Jennifer Garner hit TV series “Alias” has also used one of her tracks.

So on Monday morning, I’ll be hoping Juno wins.  Love is blind.

Jumping-Off

I had a lot of fun yesterday doing the latest Jump-Off on Equestrian .Com.My. It was the first time we managed to add a Youtube video to the site. Coding breakthrough!

The funny thing was that as soon as we went live with Jump-Off 66, I had two more ready made stories. One will keep till the next Jump-Off. The other relates to the Dying to be rescued story below. Selangor SPCA named the wrong guy as the owner of Melinsung and issued a correction. You can read it on their website http://selangorspcaequine.org/

Dying to be rescued

Selangor SPCA media has released the press statement: “Dying To Be Rescued”. It details the whole Melinsung saga, the frustration of trying to get the owners and DVS to do the right thing. Meanwhile, from at least July last year, horses have been dying.

“When the DVS visited the ranch in June there were 70 horses. Now latest reports from SPCA Representative Sue Quek, state that “There are only around 30 left and animals are still suffering and dying.””

““We heard in January 2008 that the horses were in a worse condition, more were dead and others that couldn’t stand were being sold for meat. We believe the DVS provided feed for the horses but it appears very little improvement in their condition has been achieved,” says Dawn Peacock, Member Society Manager for WSPA.”

I am sickened by the inaction that has allowed this abuse to persist. And the lack of justice.

Please read Selangor SPCA’s press statement on their website at http://selangorspcaequine.org/

The Unmaking of Malaysia

My father-in-law, Ahmad Mustapha Hassan has written a best-seller, “The Unmaking of Malaysia“. It hit No. 1 in MPH, is listed in Popular Bookstore’s “88 Great Books for a Great New Year”, and perhaps most famously has been banned by Borders Malaysia. He pulls no punches in the book and blog.

If you’d like to read his blog, or know more about his book, please click here to go to Ahmad Mustapha Hassan’s website/blog “The Unmaking of Malaysia” at http://www.unmakingmalaysia.com/

European Class

I spent the last week in Europe, the first time I have been back there since I was showjumping in France in 2002.

While in Europe I found that some things have not changed. I discovered French arrogance was alive and well. It was a surprise to find that some people can have so much business that they can afford to be rude to customers. Can anyone have too much business?

One of the cities I visited was the Rhineland city of Köln. It had been 17 years since my last visit to this historic city. Much of course has changed and certainly some for the better. However, while walking to dinner on Saturday night through what I had thought was a fairly decent area of town, I was hit on the head with a stone thrown by a youth in a group of about six. I had done nothing to provoke them. We had simply walked by their preferred loitering spot. I have a thick skull and there was no blood, so the stone did not add to the many scars I have on my head. We thought better of confronting six eager youths and kept walking, though I wonder what would really have happened if we had turned. It incident underlined racial tensions in Köln. Lat month I was in New Zealand with the touring Malaysian polo team and at no time did I feel unsafe there. It was peculiar, feeling unsafe in Europe.

Not all my discoveries were unpleasant. I called in at Stans in Switzerland to see my old friends at Stübben. Frank Stübben and his wife Isabelle honeymooned in Singapore about 15 years ago. We struck up a friendship that has endured, regardless of whether I have been in the saddlery trade or not. Their welcome of me in Stans was memorable.

Frank represents the fourth generation of this German family of saddlers. Frank has taken Stübben forward as a company. The company is more flexible, customer and consumer oriented than ever before. Not only has he streamlined the number of saddle models and types of leather they use, he has also made inventory management and many other administrative changes. Most commendably he has instigated many saddlery innovations. Some are small refinements to the detail in their saddlery work, their stitching, a turn of the leather here, a little detail there. Much thought has gone into their products. Other innovations are bolder, like their new range of bits. Their scientific research into bitting is impressive.

Perhaps the most impressive innovation was in seat stress dispersion. The Biomex seat is nothing short of revolutionary. It is the result of collaboration between Stübben and a group of four St Moritz orthopedic specialists. The dispersion of shock in the trot and canter gaits will surely save the spine and bad back pains of all riders, especially aging riders like me.

It is no wonder that Stübben has once again become the world’s premier saddlery marque.

Class is ageless.

Abuse

I am so pleased that SPCA Selangor has set up a blog http://www.selangorspcaequine.blogspot.com/ as it means, hopefully, that Malaysia takes animal abuse a little more seriously. I must warn you that some of the photos there are absolutely disgusting.

Olga has been writing about her experiences on Comanche’s Blog. I had written the article about the Penang Beach Horses and we all know about what is being now called “Ranch A” since no one wants to mention Melinsung anymore. We have also heard about possible abuse cases in Fraser’s Hill and in Malacca. SPCA Selangor say that they are getting more and more reports. Is horse abuse rampant in Malaysia? Probably not, but now that people have the SPCA Selangor website to send information to, we may see more cases surface.

It is also news that the FEI is getting involved and the EAM are finally waking up to the fact that you can’t be a leading equestrian nation wishing to host world championships if you ignore or fail to act against stables that have a record of abuse. It is long overdue that something more than lip service is paid to this problem.

Pete’s Note (17.2.2008): The SPCA blog has been moved to http://selangorspcaequine.org/

Celebrating Uncle Felix

My uncle, Felix Abisheganaden passed away on Monday morning after a short illness. He was an amazing man who, as a journalist, covered the Emergency, Malaysia’s Merdeka, Singapore’s independence, racial riots, the Tunku and much more. More importantly, he was a fine man, always humble, helpful, forward thinking and motivational.

Much has been written about him in life, and in his passing. Here are a few links: NST, The Star, The Edge, Bernama.

Uncle Felix helped us with the very first press conference at Carcosa Seri Negara, and his firm handled PR of the first World Cup year. He came to watch me compete a few times and never failed to ask how I was doing, what I was competing in, when we met.

Almost every Sunday he would send out a message by sms to his friends and family. It might be a simple quote or a short motivational message. He would end it by wishing the person a Happy Sunday.

I was away in New Zealand when Uncle Felix passed away, and missed his funeral which was held two days later. I didn’t get to say a final goodbye to him, but I’m not sure it would have worried him. We had said our goodbyes even without saying them, the last time we met. We both knew what might be next. Yet we discussed politics, the coming general elections, people and the polo in Argentina.

Uncle Felix had said to his family, “When I go, have a party. Celebrate my life.” We did. All the same, I shall miss him.