Daniel Foo, Author at Horse Riding Malaysia

Trail Ride @ Paya Indah Wetlands Dengkil With MM2020HorseAdventure

It’s been almost 2 months since I last ride in Paya Indah Wetlands, Dengkil.

This time I got Negro (again), the black mighty horse. Athirah booked Langkaputra for me. Unfortunately Langkaputra has its shoes removed and yet to put back. The only horses with their shoes on are Negro and Kate.

Nazirul (Naz) was my trail ride guide. He is a passionate young horseman. He has been playing with horse riding since young age. It is pretty pleasant to talk to Naz. We talked about horses in the stable and also some of Naz’s education background.

Naz got Kate and I got Negro. We head out to our trail ride at 8.30AM.

Trail Ride @ Paya Indah Wetlands, Dengkil

The view at the entrance of the trail.

Trail entrance view at Paya Indah Wetlands.

Slightly after the trail ride entrance, we walk through a short stretch palm oil trees to warm up the horses.

I like part of the trail as it is surrounded by peaceful lakes. The ground is covered by dried brown leaves. We can see long stretch of green ahead of us. It feels like the scene in Korean drama.

dried-leaves — Dried leaves all over trail path.

Naz leads the way trotting to get the horses hotter.

Naz makes a turn so we could get deeper into the trail.

As the place name Paya Indah Wetlands suggests, this place is surrounded by both big and small lakes. In retrospective, I image it will be a really peaceful time if I stop by to appreciate the calmness of water by the lake. Perhaps that’s exactly what I should do the next time I come again.

We walk on big open ground in the trail.

Another lake in the trail. This lake definitely looks deeper than all the other lakes.

While we were walking through the trail, Kate suddenly stopped walking. Usually that means the horse is answering the call of nature. Naz was checking Kate’s back to see if she is doing her business. However, this time she is not. For some reason, Kate just decided to stand there for a little while.

check-shitting — Is Kate answering call of nature?

Naz asks me to go ahead cantering as there is long straight path ahead. Naz is giving me direction where should I make a turn when we get to the junction.

naz-gave-direction — Naz explaining, make a left turn at the junction.

The junction that Naz mentioned earlier. Go straight ahead is to go back to stable. Turn left to get deeper into the trail.

Along the trail, we saw an abandoned boat.

abandon-boat — An abandoned boat at the side.

At the end of our trail, we make a u-turn to go back.

end-u-turn — Making u-turn at the end of trail.

The short grasses and wide flat ground give a sense of peacefulness.

This is a typical view you can find throughout the trail.

deeper-into-wood — Typical view in the trail.

Back to stable

On our way back, we walked passed tar road. There were some cyclists cycling at Paya Indah Wetlands.

IMG_20160821_095907 — Cyclists drop by to visit.

There were also some kids with their parents. There were screaming “Horse! Horse!” in excitement from far. I slowly walked Negro near them for them to see the horse up close. Ironically, when I walked near them, they were afraid to get closer to the horse and hide behind their parents. I asked if they (the parents) want to take a photo and they politely rejected. I wonder if the parents were scared too. Hey, it is a horse, not a T. Rex, ROAR! 😀

Kate is munching grasses on the ground.

IMG_20160821_100430 — Kate is having breakfast!

Negro having a feast! He has been eating non stop since the last 15 minutes. Now you know where does the phrase “eat like a horse” come from!

IMG_20160821_100221 — Negro is doing his horse thing… Eat!

Trail Ride Experience in Paya Indah Wetlands.

The last time I got Negro, I was having a little difficulty to ride his canter. This time, his canter was pretty easy to ride.

Naz said he has been doing some training with Negro. He trains Negro to canter in a small circle to make his canter less bumpy. This might be the reason; or perhaps since the last ride, I got more used to Negro’s big stride; or maybe a little of both.

Generally it was fairly relax ride in Paya Indah Wetlands. The trail is clean. There are plenty of long stretch of flat ground to canter. In short, this trail is nice and easy to ride. If you are new to trail ride, this trail is highly recommended.

If you want to do a similar trail ride in Paya Indah Wetlands, please contact the lovely administrator, Athirah (014-5189147) to arrange a time slot for you.

Empayar Sunnah Archery and Riding Club

Empayar Sunnah Archery and Riding Club (ESAR) is located in Bukit Beruntung, about 45KM north of KL city center.

Few shop lots are renovated to be the stable. The stable set up is pretty new. The stable is also surprisingly clean. Although not huge, the stable currently comfortably homed 4 horses for riding school and a few more horses for private owners.

The Horses

Some of the horses in Empayar Sunnah Archery and Riding Club stable.

I have been in contact with Boy before visiting, one of the founders in Empayar Sunnah Archery and Riding Club. Boy has a really tough look, but once he starts talking to you, you will agree that he is extremely friendly and chatty. I did not have a bored moment throughout my trail ride with Boy.

Boy introduced me to another partner running the stable, Muhammad. Muhammad is a Level 1 Coach. It is quiet rare to meet horse riding coach certified as Level 1 Coach in Malaysia. Being Level 1 certified is one of the more credible qualification for horse riding coaches. Muhammad definitely has the right skill set to run the stable.

Trail Ride @ Empayar Sunnah Archery and Riding Club

We head out to our trail ride at 8.45AM. Boy was riding Faraz. I was riding Lizaz, a very interesting horse that will start cantering very quickly. Here is the video from our trail ride:

There are a couple of very steep uphill slopes for us to canter up. The horses will automatically canter up when they see an uphill slope.

While we were walking, Boy kept me company by sharing his experience in this trail. He always has a big smile on his face.

Whenever there is uphill slope, there will be a downhill slope. This is one of the short downhill slope where the horses like to canter down.

Boy leads the way cantering on open ground!

Boy leads cantering — Boy leads on cantering.

Boy signals me to turn right on the junction.

Boy signals right — Boy signals turn right.

We canter around the hill that we would go up later on. This section of the trail offers more greenery to cool the eyes.

Boy explaining each direction is which part of town around Bukit Beruntung. I have to say Boy is the best trail guide I have ever met so far.

Boy explains direction from the hill — Boy explains directions from the hill.

Another view on top of the hill.

daniel-foo-bukit-beruntung — Daniel on Lizaz.

We slowly walk down the hill. Boy’s horse (Faraz) is a little afraid of going downhill. I got Lizaz to lead the way walking down.

I lead the way going down. — Lizaz leads the way going down.

We walk passed narrow path with little beautiful flowers on the sides.

Walk passed green — Walk passed narrow path.

There are also a lot of areas with green in the open ground. The morning sun made the photo looks more yellowish than it really is.

Vegetable Farm @ Bukit Beruntung

We slowly canter passed a vegetable farm.

We canter passed more farm path.

We walked into vegetable farm area to check out the farm up close.

Boy has experience farming before venturing into the world of equestrian. He is familiar with various plants. He was passionately explaining different type of plant to me.

We exit the farm after a short break from cantering.

Back into Trail

We get back into the green.

This is another place where we canter down. Cantering down is a really amazing experience. The horse moves really fast yet you do not really feel the bumpiness like when you canter on ground. It felt like you slide down through the slope with amazing speed.

We met some kids doing jungle trekking in the trail.

Boy shared with me some of his horses training experience while we walked out. He claimed the horses he trained does not require riders to use whip. The horses are really responsive to riders’ clue by just using body and legs.

Boy explains how he train horses. — Boy explains how he trains horses.

Boy get back on Faraz after he came down picking up my whip. Thanks Boy!

On our way going out of the trail.

On our way get out of trail — On our way get out of the trail.

Boy explained to me the importance of going trail ride with the riders with equivalent riding level. If there is a greener rider in the group and the rest of the group is more seasoned, the greener rider might slow down the rest of the group. In this ride, although I only spent 45 minutes in the trail, I had plenty of satisfying canter time.

Here is an area that will be filled with half feet of water height during rainy season. Since this spot has rather flat ground, it is also safe to canter here. Imagine cantering on water! It will be like a pond with shallow water. The horses will start playing water and sometimes even lying down at this spot. Unfortunately during my visit, Bukit Beruntung did not have much rain hence the dry ground.

The pond area but was dry. — The pond area was dry.

I asked Boy to inform me the next time Bukit Beruntung has a lot of rain. I will definitely be back to canter on water!

Overall Trail Experience

We completed our trail ride in slightly more than 1 hour. It is a huge track but we completed it in relatively short amount of time. Largely because we spent a lot of time cantering.

Generally, the trail has wide even ground but not lacking of slopes for uphill canter and downhill canter. The trail is one of the most satisfying trails I ever had. Best part is, Boy adjusts his riding speed according to the rider’s’ ability to ride to gain the most rewarding experience.

I go riding every weekend. Sometimes I get muscular pain and sometimes I don’t. This outride track is one of those that gave me a bad muscle stiffness from shoulder till lower back. It took me a few days to recover. It is one of those tracks that are pretty challenging to canter. Of course, if you prefer to have a smoother trail ride, you can always opt to walk and trot in the trail.

Back to Stable

Here are few more photos in the stable. Decorations in the stable.

In the stable, Muhammad proudly display his Level 1 Coach certification. Below it, the schedule for horse riding activities.

And of course, you can give the horses a carrot treat for just RM1 😉

The gears are organized neatly in the office.

Student having riding lesson in the arena.

Here are some of the activities Empayar Sunnah Archery and Riding Club (ESAR) offers. This is by far the most affordable fee you can find in town.

The affordable fee does not compromise on your riding experience at all. You get well trained horses and great coaches. It is definitely the most value for money riding school I have seen so far.

The stable and the paddock is a bit of distance from each other.

Please contact Boy (018-918 8871) if you are visiting Empayar Sunnah Archery and Riding Club (ESAR).

You can also follow Empayar Sunnah Archery and Riding Club Facebook page. In the Facebook page, the location will point you to their paddock where the training happens. The following map points you to their stable, which is about 200 meter away from each other.

Trail Ride @ Gombak Horse Riding Club

Yup! Another trail ride video – this time I was at Gombak Horse Riding Club. My ride was joined by Irene van Eldik, a very experience rider from Netherlands and Suki Low, another experience rider born in Malaysia and grew up in Netherlands.

When I arrived Gombak Horse Riding Club, it was about 8.10AM. Irene and Dick were already waiting. I called Jai to wake him up telling him we were already there. Suki arrived shortly after. (Dick did not join us riding)

Sharil (and Jai) helped us to prepare the horses for our trail ride. Irene got her horse first, but she decided to change her horse later.

IMG_20160806_084638

Suki (left) and Irene (right) exchanged horses.

Suki and Irene put on a big smile on their face posing on their horses.

Suki on Sofia, Irene on Ray (also known as Express)

We have a round of warm up before heading out.

I got my horse, Timing. A beautiful and tall horse with long legs. He is a model among horses. And boy, his canter is really fast and smooth! In fact, he is the fastest cantering horse I have ever ridden. According to Sharil, he was an ex-racer which probably explained his fantastic canter.

As I have the “honour” to get the most energetic horse, during the ride I have to intentionally stay behind instead of leading in front so that Timing will not get overly excited.

There is a dog in the arena. His name is Jockey. Jockey followed us out for our trail ride, which made the whole ride much more lively!

We brought our horses out of riding school through the main road. It was about 500 meter down the road before we hit the trail entrance.

We got plenty of straight path to trot while riding in. However, it is not a very good place to canter as the trail is covered by little stones and turning slightly downward.

Irene turned back with a thumb up to check if I’m okay (how thoughtful!)

The first round of canter going up a slope.

The end of our first round of canter where you can see the trail going downward.

There were a lot of steep downhill.

As usual, there will be a lot of leaves and branches along the trail. You either avoid it like Irene did or crash it through using your body… and probably leave some scars on your face and neck (which I heroically did few weeks back).

Looking at the degree Irene and Suki bending down their body, you can definitely guess how steep the uphill trail is. It is time like this that reminds us how powerful horses are!

bending

Jai, our escorter stopped by to make sure we are doing alright.

There are a few spots with bamboo. It was similar to the scene when I was visiting a shrine in Kyoto, Japan. Except that this time I’m on a horse!

bamboo

Irene got stuck when Ray decided to stop to have a snack (munching leaves).

We had to carefully walk down this slope. On our way back, this slope gave us pretty good length for a long canter.

As my poor Timing has been following Ray and Sofia the whole journey. It is time to unleash Timing’s suppressed energy to run wild!

While cantering, I could hear Irene was following closely behind. I’m sure Ray and her had a good time cantering behind Timing. (Yeeeeehar!)

After the long canter, we took a short break before going downhill. Irene was explaining to me how Ray gave her a canter plus an “extra canter” a moment back.

irene-explain-canter

While Suki was busy taking photos with Sofia.

suki-taking-photo

Irene was leading on our way back. Suki caught up to walk passed me.

irene-leading

And… Anytime is a good time to talk!

On our way back, we could see across some mountains.

Now it’s Sofia’s time to munch some grass on the ground.

The hungry Sofia was reluctant to move and fell behind. She was barely moving and probably mumbling “I want food… I want food…”. Irene and I decided to overtake Suki. Sorry buddy!

Here is another very steep downhill slope. Jockey catch up with us to show us the way. We were walking down carefully.

downslope

A view from Suki on her horse on our way back. — A view from Suki’s horse on our way back.

One selfie before leaving.

cameraman

On our way out leaving the trail, Jai helped us to snap a few more photos.

IMG-20160806-WA0016

IMG-20160806-WA0018

Generally it was a pretty good ride. The trail took us 2 hours to complete. We spent a lot of time walking slowly downward but that later gave us very good room to canter back up. This trip is really fun thanks to Irene, Suki, Jai and Jockey making this ride so much lively!

If you want to do a similar outride, feel free to contact Mr. Sharil from Gombak Horse Riding Club.

Until next time!

Gombak Horse Riding Club

Gombak Horse Riding Club is conveniently located in Gombak, right outside of KL city center. I went there on a Sunday morning. It took me about 40 minutes to drive from Kajang. If you are going there from KL city center, it should be around 30 minutes.

Horses playing in stable early morning. There are approximately 6 horses for different activities such as riding school and outride.

A few additional pets are making the stable more lively~

Gombak Horse Riding Club Riding School

IMG_20160724_080508 — Amazing view to appreciate while learning horse riding

There is a big paddock to accommodate several students at one go. When I visited, there were 2 coaches (Angah and Chai) training 2 different students individually at this paddock. But I’m sure this paddock can comfortably accommodate up to 4 horses for training at one go.

IMG_20160724_080409 — Stage for students who need a little help getting on horses.

IMG_20160724_113023 — A first-time student posing on Francis Express.

IMG_20160724_092900 — She sure looks like having a good time!

The facilities also include a paddock ring. I’m not sure what is the exact size, but it is definitely bigger than the standard 15m diameter ring. During my visit, I did not see the trainers make use of this paddock ring. Probably the trainers make use of the ring paddock to train horses more often. This ring paddock is definitely a good addition if the student crowd is more.

Other Facilities

There is also a facility for archery if you are into bow and arrows.

A really macho office decorated with various gears.

A surau is conveniently provided for Muslim students and visitors.

There is also an area for dining. There is a menu placed at the table but I’m not sure if food is being served on normal days. I did not see anyone order food throughout my visit and the counter looks rather empty as well. But the tables and chairs definitely serve as a chilling place to hang out while waiting for your children or partner come back from riding.

More private space for visitors who want to spend some quiet time.

The person in charge of Gombak Horse Riding Club is Mr. Sharil.

Mr. Sharil from Gombak Horse Riding Club on horse

Gombak Horse Riding Club offers a membership package for RM150/year. You can still come here for a visit and ride even if you are not a member. Join as a member to enjoy the following benefits. Do contact Mr. Sharil to find out more.

Gombak Horse Riding Club Membership Package

Trying Horses

I got to try on 2 of the horses during my visit.

Francis Express – is a really beautiful white horse who arrived to Gombak Horse Riding Club recently. He trots really really softly. Riding on him is fairly comfortable. He is perfect for new students to have a sense of what trot is without bouncing all over. However he might not be a good choice for student for long term if the objective is to to learn a solid trot. Part of learning horse riding is to be able to ride on any horse steadily. Student should not settle on an easy horse too early.

Jet – another beautiful brown horse in Gombak Horse Riding Club. I was having a little problem with Jet at one particular corner. He kept going into the “shortcut” without passing the cone properly. It was a pretty strange way to ride when you pull the horse head facing right while his body kept moving to left. Well, probably it was because Jet got used to going in the “shortcut” in the previous few sessions by other students. Sharil saw it and he swiftly retrained Jet to not use the “shortcut”. It was about 6-8 rounds of trot and canter by the alpha and Jet is back to be a good boy. Yes, horses do learn very quickly!

Last Thought…

Generally I enjoyed the visit very much. The best part about Gombak Horse Riding Club is the people there. The staffs and coaches are friendly and chatty. There is a little hut right next to the big paddock. Parents and students sit there to chit chat about their riding progress and talk about everything related to riding – while watching the horses in action. One of the students (Umi, a really cheerful lady) actually baked some Raya cookies to give everyone a treat! Needless to say, I made some really amazing friends there.

The location of Gombak Horse Riding Club is here:

You can also follow Gombak Horse Riding Club in their Facebook page.

Do look for Mr. Sharil (+6012 270 5674) to find out more about their activities!

AS Equestrian Centre

AS Equestrian Centre is located in Lenggeng, Negeri Sembilan. It might sound far from KL but it is only right after Selangor and Negeri Sembilan border. On a Sunday morning, it is about 30 minutes drive from where I stay (Kajang).

The road lead to AS Equestrian Centre is not a big road, you might want to drive slowly upon nearing to avoid missing the entrance.

Parking is on the left upon entering.

Upon entering, you will see impressive landscape. In fact, this is the most well-decorated riding school I have visited so far.

Extra spaces for riding students and visitors to chill out.

The owner is also running Homestay Rawa at the same place. It makes the perfect location for foreign horse riders to come to Malaysia for a ride.

Common dining area for homestay visitors.

There are about 8 horses sitting (and sleeping) at the back of the stables.

It was about 8.15 AM when I arrived. This horse must have a late party last night!

The gears for horses are well organized.

If you are here for a visit, you can buy some carrots to feed the lovely horses too. Each pack of carrot is selling for RM2.00.

Oh wait… AS Equestrian Centre is also keeping some extra pets!

I was probably a little too early. When I arrived the horses are not ready for action yet. But that gave me some extra time to chit chat with the guide, Aqil while he was grooming the horses.

Aqil – the man behind AS Equestrian Centre

Aqil is a Level 1 Coach, graduated from Melbourne, Australia. For those who are not familiar with horse riding coaching program, being a Level 1 Coach is pretty impressive. I have met many “coaches” in Malaysia who are not officially certified.

Aqil is a really friendly guy who is happy to share his experience. He shared with me his exciting experience on how he tamed Marco. Marco was a really aggressive horse and did not like any trainer since young. He thrown all trainer down whenever a trainer tried to ride on him. In fact, one of the trainers got his arm broken while trying to tame Marco. When came to Aqil’s turn to test on Marco, Aqil practically tied himself up with Marco while trying to tame him. Marco tried to throw Aqil off for half an hour but with no luck. To make a long story short, eventually Marco submitted to the macho Aqil and started their amazing training journey together.

Trail Ride

Aqil got me another horse, Cross Bell. We went on to some warm up in the paddock before heading out to our trail ride.

Cross Bell is a very responsive horse. I could make transition into trot and canter by tapping on his shoulder lightly.

WhatsApp-Image-20160717 (12) — Daniel on Cross Bell

The trail here is slightly short compared to some other trails I ride usually. However, this trail has a lot of long up-hill road. That gave us plenty of opportunity to canter uphill which is pretty amazing experience altogether.

At the top of the trail, we arrived to a hill with MAGNIFICENT view. At one point, we could even view Seremban, Cheras/Kajang, and Broga Hill all together from the same spot!

The whole trail ride took us about 45 minutes. We probably spent a lot of time cantering on our way in and took a shorter route to come back. Generally, it was a pleasant trail ride with Aqil. I’m surely going back for another trail ride!

Upon coming back, Aqil right away started his training with his regular students.

Riding School in AS Equestrian Centre

I met one of the parents who sent his kids to train with Aqil. The father has been very satisfied with Aqil’s coaching. A lot of riding schools in Malaysia do not take kids below 10 years old. Aqil is not your typical coach that follows by the book. He is delighted to train your little ones individually. I observed that he was really nurturing and patient with the younger riders.

IMG_20160717_101703 — Aqil training a 6 year old

If you want to give AS Equestrian Centre a visit, here is the location.

The person in charge for the site is Pn. Saadiah (019-354 4472). She is very easily accessible through phone or you could simply drop her a message in WhatsApp.

Hacking @ Paya Indah Wetlands, Dengkil with MM2020HorseAdventure

Paya Indah Wetlands, Dengkil by MM2020HorseAdventure is open for business!

https://vimeo.com/174629776

I went Paya Indah Wetlands, Dengkil for trail ride in the morning. I was greeted by Athirah from MM2020HorseAdventure office.

When I arrived, I got my horse, the gigantic Negro. I brought Negro to the arena to do some warm up for about 15 minutes before we head out. Negro is one of the most challenging horses I have ever ridden. He is a really muscular horse. His canter is fast and his stride is huge.

One of the frequent riders, Amirul was helping out as the guide to bring us riding into the trail.

The track in Paya Indah Wetlands, Dengkil has plenty of trees surrounded by peaceful lakes. It might be a little too plain if you like variety of view while you ride.

The original route was blocked by fallen branches. We did a detour to bypass the blocked route.

The whole trail took us about 1.5 hour. Generally, it was a good mixture of trot and canter throughout our ride.

Do come over and give it a try!

Hacking @ Putrajaya with MM2020HorseAdventure

Visit to Denmark Royal Stables

The Royal Stables of Denmark are located at Christiansborg Palace in central Copenhagen, Denmark. Today, there are about 20 horses in the stables. The stables are open to the public. I visited The stables in May 2016.

The status is built in remembrance of King Christian IX after his death in 1906. Four artists were invited to compete for the commission. Sculptor Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen, won the competition with her proposal for a new equestrian statue. In the proposal, the statue was shown on a high pedestal.

The office of the Prime Minister of Denmark is located at the left side of the following photo. Throughout my visit, I have only seen 1 security guard. You can probably imagine how confident the Danes are with their security.

I visited The Royal Stable on Saturday. The entrance fee is 40DKK (equivalent to RM24). There is a free guided tour at 1.30PM (I don’t exactly remember the time but it is around this hour), every Saturday. Any other time you can still walk around by yourselves.

There is a showroom known as The Harness Room to display paintings and old uniforms of the Royal Stables. The entrance of the room is the place where you can get your ticket. I arrived The Royal Stables slightly early. While waiting for the guided tour to begin, I killed some time in the The Harness Room with the attractive displays.

The Harness Room

The Royal Stables

Next, I proceed to enter the Royal Stables. The horses are all white in color. They probably have a better life than I do – they get released into the grass during summer to run freely for 2 months!

Coach Hall

The Royal Stables also contains the Coach Hall with old well-preserved state coaches and carriages. The coaches and carriages were actually used for various royal ceremonies. However for practical reasons, they are being preserved for display now.

Thanks to our tour guide, she generously brought us to visit the other side of the Royal Stables which is usually closed for public. The “behind the scene” visit surprised me how clean the place is kept although it is not open for public.

Riding School

There is also a riding school in the Royal Stables. The indoor arena is huge. Since it is indoor and the weather in Denmark is mostly wet and cold, the sand is not as fine as the sand in Malaysia.

Students are learning in the Royal Stables.

Generally it was a really pleasant time to see the royal horses and to understand the history of Copenhagen through horses. If you happened to be in Copenhagen, remember to visit the Royal Stables on Saturday to catch the guided tour.

Hope you have enjoyed a virtual tour to the Royal Stables, Christiansborg Palace, Denmark!

MM2020 Horse Adventure

MM2020 Horse Adventure is located in Putrajaya Equestrian Park. They have an active Facebook page, unfortunately they do not have a website. The following information is collected through my personal riding sessions with them in Putrajaya Equestrian Park.

This is a photo of the office. It is a little hard to notice if you do not intentionally look for it. Once you parked your car, walk through the entrance and turn left. You will find the office at the end of the walkway.

Upon reaching, you will likely find the friendly administrator, Athirah working at her desk:

I have been with another riding school prior to switching to MM2020 Horse Adventure. I have to give acknowledgement to Athirah that she has been pretty helpful and attentive to my needs. I’m happy to recommend anyone to ride with MM2020 Horse Adventure. I truly believe she has gone the extra miles to help me in many occasions. Thanks Athirah!

Athirah & Daniel - escorted hacking — A photo of Athirah and myself went out for escorted hacking accompanied by Wan

This is a trail ride video:

You can check out more of the videos here >> Canter in Putrajaya Equestrian Park (riding school)

Here is a beautiful photo of the facility:

MM2020 Horse Adventure - Putrajaya Equestrian Park — MM2020 Horse Adventure – Putrajaya Equestrian Park

You can book a session for your wedding photo shooting as well:

Wedding Photoshoot @ MM2020 Horse Adventure

MM2020 Horse Adventure Activities and Lessons:

MM2020HorseAdventure Riding / Lessons Packages — MM2020 Horse Adventure Riding / Lessons Packages

If you are new to riding, you are recommended to sign up the Combo package to practice to be reasonably comfortable in riding different horses.

Another impressive service provided by MM2020 Horse Adventure is they provide helmet for student to use, at no cost. This is really thoughtful because most new riders have yet to decide whether riding is really the sport for them. Spending RM200-RM300 for a helmet to “try out” a sport is obviously a little high up front cost. The free helmet provided by MM2020 Horse Adventure is really handy for students’ first few sessions. If the students have decided to be more serious with horse riding, the student can buy a personal helmet at the shop next door.

Wan, the instructor @ MM2020 Horse Adventure — Wan, the instructor

MM2020HorseAdventure instructor, Wan. He is an experienced horse riding instructor. He has been riding horses since young age. I have met several instructors throughout my riding lessons. I believe instructors who have high expectation of you and are hard on you are good instructors. It really is for your own good. They will pinpoint the smallest mistakes you are making while riding, again and again, to ensure you have the right posture and right habit while riding. Wan is definitely one of such instructors. He is a tough coach during lessons but he is also a really nice guy when you chat with him privately. While Wan is away, other guys (Sam and Anil) working at the saddle can also coach and watch you riding at the paddock and polo field.

Here are some details about the facilities available in Putrajaya Equestrian Park.

Riding School Paddocks

2 x Sand Paddock 20m x 60m
1 x Lunging Sand Paddock 15m in diameter

Practice/Grazing Paddocks

1 x Sand Paddock 40m x 60m
1 x Grass Paddock 40m x 90m

In other words, this venue is meant for serious business.

This is one of the paddocks available in Putrajaya Equestrian Park. Students learn to trot and canter within the compound during lessons. The lessons are done under instructor’s supervision. It is a good idea for student to practice in paddock to build up skill and confidence before heading to more challenging rides. In fact, the following paddock is the place where I spent a lot of my lesson sessions practicing trot and canter.

Last thought…

Don’t be surprise if you happen to meet Tun Mahathir in the facility because MM2020 Horse Adventure is founded by Tun Mahathir.

From left: Dato Mukhriz, Tun Mahathir and SM Hashim on horses

I have yet to meet any of them personally in the facility. But I would imagine it will be totally awesome if I get to ride with them one day!

Rayo MM2020 Horse Adventure — Rayo saying goodbye!

Overall, It has been a pleasant experience to ride with MM2020 Horse Adventure. Most horses are easy to ride. The lesson fee is affordable and reasonable. The staffs are friendly. I’m happy to recommend anyone who want to try out horse riding to give them a visit. Oh… and don’t forget to try out the Joyride for RM10 if you are visiting for the first time. You get to ride on a horse walking around the stable for few minutes guided by the staff. The last I heard from Athirah they are moving to Paya Indah Wetlands, Dengkil. However, I have yet to get any notification they have moved. Until next time!

Hacking at Putrajaya Equestrian Park (outride)

Dengkil is sitting right next to Putrajaya Equestrian Park. If you request for an escorted hacking session, the following is the place you will be riding at.

On that day I went out with Wan (the instructor), Athirah (administrator for riding school) and her friend. I was about 10 minutes late but they were kind enough to wait for me.

In the following you can see we ride through some pretty breathe-taking views. We ride inside a palm oil field and we were also riding along a lake.