Sitting in our secret hideaway high up in Equestrian.Com.My towers, trawling the Internet to bring you the latest edition of Jump-Off
Christmas Confusion
Taken off one of the U.K.’s top equestrian and hunting websites: a wee bit of confusion as to when Christmas is exactly.
Too much Egg Nog, chappies?
It’s now or never
The Selangor Turf Club at their STC Equestrian Nite raised RM. 500,000 in a charity auction for BAKTI, the charity body led by Ministers and Deputy Ministers wives. Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and Datin Seri Dr Siti Hasmah were the guests of honour. EAM President and Finance Minister II Datuk Dr. Jamaluddin Jarjis was amongst the 1,200 guests.
The evening saw performances by STC Line-Dancers and even an “Engelbert Humperdink.” Jump-Off would have stayed for the feature performer “Tom Jones” but after Engelbert we simply couldn’t. It would have been too much of a good thing. Really.
S.E.N.T.O.S.A.
Singaporeans used to joke that the island resort of Sentosa stood for “So Expensive, Nothing To See Anyway.” Now that Sentosa Riding Centre closed its stable doors at the end of November, the joke is going around equestrian circles that S.E.N.T.O.S.A. now stands for “Stables Evacuated, Nothing To Saddle-up Anymore.”
The joke continues that private owners who had to move their horses out of the Sentosa stables went to Bukit Timah Saddle Club (B.T.S.C.) because they said B.T.S.C. (Better Try Saddle Club).
It’s a snap
Some senior BTSC members are chuckling that they have outlived yet another public riding school. First Greendale Riding School and now Sentosa Riding Centre (SRC.) Particularly sweet as certain persons were allegedly going round when SRC started saying that SRC would "kill BTSC", snapping their fingers as they said this.
What can it all mean?
Still on the closure of Sentosa Riding Centre, Sentosa Development Corporation’s Chief Executive Darrel Metzger was quoted in the Straits Times as saying, “the closure was a 'very painful last resort' as no company or individual wanted to take over the running of the centre.”
While in a sidebar titled “Looking for investors” Dr. Melvin Goh is said to be “sticking his neck out to set up another public riding school in Singapore.”
Err, what is it they are missing?
Racehorse Of The Year
Confluence, owned by the Ratnasingham’s, whose children Neelan and Sharmini are regular equestrian competitors, is the hot favourite for this year’s MRA Racehorse of the Year title. The 7 year old bay/brown New Zealand mare by Paris Opera out of Tristrams Jewel (by Sir Tristram) has won 3 classics: last year’s RM 1.25m Yang Di Pertua Negeri Penang Gold Cup, RM. 500,000 Piala Emas Sultan Selangor in March this year, and in November the RM. 500,000 Coronation Cup. This super mare is now aimed at a repeat in the Penang Gold Cup.
Perhaps we’ll get to see this champion in the showjumping arena one day?
To read previous editions of Jump-Off, click on the links below:
Jump-Off IX - 14th November 2002
Jump-Off VIII - 19th September 2002
Jump-Off VII - 6th September 2002
Jump-Off VI - 13th August 2002
Jump-Off V - 2nd August 2002
Jump-Off IV - 15th July 2002
Jump-Off III - 27th June 2002
Jump-Off II - 20th June 2002
Jump-Off I - 14th June 2002
Thanks to all contributors to this edition of Jump-Off. You know who you are. If you have a story that you think should be in Jump-Off, please send an e-mail to jumpoff@equestrian.com.my
