Benua Equestrian Stables is a private stable located in UPM. There are 2 stables in UPM, one runs by the university and the other (Benua) is privately owned.
I get the meet the owner during last year endurance competition and I have been putting off to visit his stable.
UPM is located next to MAEPS but the riding track is not identical. MAEPS offers into-the-forest track while UPM has well-maintained farm track.
The track in UPM has plenty of clear path for cantering.
In the track, if you do slow canter on open area and trot and walk on down slope, you will complete the track in approximately 45 minutes.
Taking break half way into the ride with my horse, Mufasa, a really light endurance horse.
Mufasa is back from our ride and cooling down. I could see her body was steaming a little the moment the groom removed the saddle.
The groom, Eddie was showering Mufasa after my ride.
A couple of other horses outside their stables.
Getting ready for flat work.
The open area in the compound.
Banner inside the office. You can tell Benua Equestrian Stables offers wide range of riding activities.
The office is elegantly decorated.
Hall of fame!
A few more frames exhibiting horse info-graphics.
A little coffee table in the office for the staffs and visitors to relax and chat.
The front entrance of the management office is cozily decorated and looks welcoming.
Benua Equestrian Stables
Signage in front of the management office.
Benua Equestrian Stables pick-up truck for taking horses out for competition.
The arena within Benua Equestrian Stables compound. Large enough for trainers to coach students for various types of lesson.
There is also a much bigger arena above while is within UPM stables. Both UPM and Benua Equestrian Stables are using the big arena during my visit.
Kids having their riding lesson in the big arena.
This is the location of Benua Equestrian Stables.
If you would like to visit, please contact Chris at +6011-23464152.
Countryside Stables Penang is located in Balik Pulau, Penang (Pulau Pinang), approximately 30km from George Town.
You will be passing through some small roads and village area. For the distance of 30km, it will take you about 30-40 minutes coming from George Town in early morning.
Upon arrival, you will see the grand entrance.
There was no out ride activity in Countryside Stable Penang. I went there for an hour of riding in the big arena. The entrance fee for Malaysian adult is RM10 and RM15 for non-Malaysian adult.
The riding fee and lesson fee is the same. RM80 for 30 minutes or RM120 for 60 minutes. I opted for 60 minutes to ride in the arena.
Upon entering, you will see a tastefully decorated signage.
Countryside Stables Penang
The colorful decoration gives a Thai-ish sense of design.
There are many ponies being stationed at the front part of the stables. That definitely get the kids excited during their visit.
Of course, there are also bigger horses and a lot of them look totally stunning!
This is Frankie. The groom got Frankie for me for my ride in the arena.
Frankie used to be a jumping horse and he is now being used for schooling.
The groom got me to ride inside the ring for 15 minutes to assess my riding level before allowing me get into their big arena.
I walk for a couple of circles and spent the remaining time trotting inside while chatting with the staff, Ganesan who is a really friendly guy.
Posing with Frankie, after the warm up and before entering to arena.
Frankie has been an energetic boy in the big arena.
I didn’t need to use my whip. Gentle squeeze on the leg and a few kissing sound could get Frankie transition into trotting and cantering the the arena.
There is also an indoor arena. This is wonderful as even during rainy days students can continue their lessons.
An open area for visitors and students to chill out.
The staff was kind enough to turn on the fan for me while I went in to take a seat.
Some carriages on display.
This is the location to Countryside Stables Penang. If you would like to ride here, please contact Wan, 012-4080678 for more information.
My hacking buddy, Suki Low whom I met in GHRCtexted me out of nowhere “U keen on jumping?”. Jumping has always been at the back of my mind. I have always been impressed by how professional show jumpers elegantly cantering and jumping over tall fences. Throughout all my visits to different stables, I particularly like AS Equestrian Center when I went hacking with Aqil few months back. I replied, “Yup, let’s give it a try!”
Sunday, we met up in AS Equestrian Center for our first jumping lesson. Well, it was my first jumping lesson but not for Suki. She was jumping back in Netherlands 20 years ago. In one jump, her pony (1.35m tall) and her were jumping an oxer of 1.10m got his belly stuck in mid air. He felt down, rolled over her and the obstacle collapsed. You can imagine it was quite a chaos. Since then, she has lost her confidence in jumping and has not been jumping. Last Sunday was her first jump since 20 years!
Aqil started the lesson by explaining the basics of the equipment.
Aqil got Marco for Suki to ride on to warm up.
Aqil got me another horse, Nixs Bahamdan to warm up. A fairly tall and slightly slim dark brown horse.
While trotting at one particular corner, he consistently likes to start cantering. Probably due to his previous training that got him cantering at that corner.
Then, Aqil taught us about sitting 2-point to get ready for our jump.
Here go Suki’s first jump on Marco!
Suki made a turn at the corner and go for another jump.
She continues to go on for another 10-15 jumps throughout the lesson.
We exchanged horses. Suki definitely looked super happy for making so many jumps after 20 years!
First I trot on Marco for a round or two. Then, Aqil arranged the jumping pole for me to trot over. Next, he made a low barrier for me to jump over.
Here goes my virgin jump!
And another jump…
The poles are there to make sure we pass through the yellow section to stay in the middle.
At one jump, Suki was walking across the landing area. I was shouting “Horse coming!” to make sure she knows I was approaching.
Aqil was explaining a similar experience he had while he was training in Europe doing a 1.6m jump. There was a person standing and chatting right in the middle while Aqil was approaching fast. The horse was too fast to stop. Since he knew his horse could jump over that person, so he jumped!
After a jump, Aqil coached me on what could be improved further.
Aqil showed me I was hunching my back.
Aqil showed me I should be straightening my back instead while jumping.
People say horse is the reflection of the rider. I didn’t really quite understand that until I do jumping.
Obviously, I was a little unsure and worried in my first few jumps. When Aqil asked me if I was scared, I acted and responded confidently that I was not. However, Marco could picked up such subtle hint and amplified the emotion by 10 times. This is a time when Marco moved away from the jumping poles while I was approaching with an unsure emotion. A little worry on the rider has such an impact on the horse.
To be fair, I’m sure Marco is a very well trained horse for jumping. If it’s not for such a well trained horse, I wouldn’t be able to make so many jumps in my first lesson. Well, instead of saying I learn jumping, I should say Marco taught me how to jump.
Aqil was taking a photo of my jump. How thoughtful!
After making about 10-15 jumps, we slow walk to let Marco rest.
Final Thoughts
Jumping is not as hard as I initially thought. I often see people falling off from horses on YouTube videos. That gave me really bad impression how dangerous jumping could be. Well I’m not saying jumping is not dangerous, it is just not as bad as I initially thought. In fact, throughout our jumps in our first lesson, none of us felt down.
Big part of the reason for such a satisfying and pleasant jumping lesson has to do with Aqil and Marco. First, Aqil is a very experienced jumper himself and he still actively jumps. He breaks down the transition so seamlessly to the point it felt so natural for us to jump 80 cm at the end of our first lesson. Second, Marco is a fantastic jumping horse. Like I said earlier, instead of claiming I’m learning how to jump, the more accurate way to say is Marco was teaching me how to jump.
Obviously, our hands might not be in the right position, our heels might not be pointing down, our back were hunching (okay probably just me) and I’m sure there are still a lot to improve. But the important thing is we did jump. A lot of jumps!
Frankly, I did not have much expectation before stepping in. It took me a long time to trot steadily and to canter when I first started learning horse riding. I thought jumping is going to be another steep learning curve. However, it was surprisingly easy with the right coach and the right horse. Thanks Aqil! Thanks Marco! Also thanks Suki for giving me a kick to get me started in jumping!
It was a really pleasant jumping lesson, really looking forward for my next lesson!
If you want to learn jumping, I highly recommend you to visit AS Equestrian Center. The fee is pretty affordable at RM80/lesson. Give Aqil (017-620 0027) a call and he will he happy to assist you further.
Here is the location. Please note that the location in Waze is incorrect.
MAEPS (Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang) is located in Serdang, approximately 30KM from KL city center.
I went to MAEPS for a ride on Kolonel Fakharuzi’s recommendation whom I met in Unit Ekuin UPM few weeks back. He is one of the guys who helping running the stable operation in MAEPS. Last week, he was out of town so he got his partner, En. Faud to take care of my riding arrangement.
MAEPS is a massively huge place. The stable in MAEPS takes a little effort to find. Make sure you check out the map at the end of the article to get there easily.
After circling around for 10 minutes and asking 3 different people, I finally arrived the stable.
Stable in MAEPS
There was a stable management course going on. The staff was explaining the importance of horseshoe the participants.
This handsome young man is Aziq, son of En. Faud. Aziq brought me out for the trail ride later on. Aziq is only 17 years old but he is already a solid rider. He has been riding for many years. He is now actively training for endurance competition and he even trains horses for other private owners.
I got my horse, Rohill for my trail ride. Although Rohill is a schooling horse, he is surprisingly responsive. I could easily pop him into trot and canter without using a whip. With a whip, a light tap on his shoulder will get him to canter really fast.
I brought Rohill into the arena to warm up while waiting for Aziq to get ready. The arena is pretty big to the point there are another 2 smaller circles within the big arena for other riders to train.
Riding in MAEPS arena
I was trotting and cantering in the arena for about 15 minutes to warm up Rohill.
Shortly after, Aziq and I left the arena to head to the trail.
Trail at MAEPS
Here is a video of my ride inside the arena and at the trail.
We walked on tar road and passed by a pineapple farm.
Aziq got back up on his horse after he got down to open the gate to trail entrance.
We started trotting at the entrance of the trail.
One thing you can be assured is to get a good view of greenery and wide clear sky in MAEPS.
The trail has swallow trace.
You can also spot a lot of trees along the trail although they are not big enough to provide shade.
There are plenty of hilly path where you can canter up comfortably.
Overall Riding Experience
The track in MAEPS is not particularly long. If you are new to trail riding, this will definitely be a good start. I spent most of the time trotting. I did not get a lot of chance to canter because there are plenty of turns I was not familiar with. Once you are familiar with the turns, it will be a really good place to test your cantering skill. Also, we took the shorter trail because the night before was raining hence we could not go to another trail which is supposed to be more challenging. I will definitely go back for another ride to try out another trail. The fee is affordably at RM80/hour.
If you want to ride in MAEPS, feel free to call up En. Faud (019-2770449)
Vistapolo Equestrian is located in Kota Kemuning, Shah Alam, approximately 40km from KL city center.
I typically go for a trail ride on Sunday morning because the traffic is super clear. It took me less than 1 hour to arrive Vistapolo Equestrian from Kajang.
The Stable in Vistapolo Equestrian
The stable in Vistapolo Equestrian is surprisingly big. The stable operation is built on top of a big piece of land. There are enough boxes to home 40 horses, although currently they only have 18 horses in the stable for various activities.
Vistapolo Equestrian StableHorses in Vistapolo Equestrian Stable
When I arrived, Fendi came to greet me and got me to wait for a while, while he prepares the horses.
Fendi preparing Ashante, a beautiful white horse although might get scared easily.
Another groomer was preparing my horse, Lym, a solid endurance horse which has completed 80KM.
Lym is one of the best horses I have ridden so far. He is super responsive to my signal. I didn’t even need to carry a whip during the trail ride. One light touch on the leg will get him into trotting. Releasing the reins a little and few more kisses sound will get him into slow canter. From there, all I have to do is to hold him back from cantering too fast. Totally awesome horse!
Trail Ride
Here is a trail ride video with Fendi.
Another groomer, Doha followed us along on a bike. He asked for my phone to capture some really fantastic video and photos along our ride. Thanks Doha!
We head out to the trail passing a long stretch of tar road. Of course we try to walk on grass whenever possible.
The entrance of the trail.
We passed by a lake on our way in.
Fendi trotting in front and I followed closely behind.
We make an entry to the long stretch of red earth path.
I shifted gear into canter to overtake Fendi. Yeeeeeehar~
From there on, it is a fairly long stretch of path for me to canter on. If you are into cantering, this is the best place I have visited so far for cantering. I probably spent 10-15 minutes non stop cantering on this path.
We took a break to let the horses walk. In this stretch of the path, I have a good long chat with Fendi on endurance competition.
We move on to canter on the remaining path
At the end of this path we passed by RimBayu project by IJM.
RimBayu project by IJM
After that we walked along a tar road to get back to stable
Back to Stable
We head back to stable in about 1 hour time.
Kak Nuri walking her horse.
Kak Nuri from Vistapolo Equestrian
The hospitality of Vistapolo Equestrian totally impressed me. The staffs even brought nasi lemak and drinks for the riders. This is the first stable I have encountered that serve refreshment. Although the refreshment doesn’t cost a lot of money, it’s the thought that counts!
Kak Nuri was cutting cake for me. Thanks Kak Nuri!
This stable really gives a sense of belonging with the warm hospitality.
The horses took a shower after the trail ride.
Further Details
These are the activities offered by Vistapolo Equestrian.
Unit Ekuin UPM is the stable for University Putra Malaysia, located in Serdang, Selangor.
Unit Ekuin UPM sits on 4 hectares of land. It consists of two stables that can comfortably home 47 horses. There is a 150 ft x 20 ft sand paddock of international standard. The most exciting part is the riding trail that run across a 160-hectare grazing field, with a 30 km riding track in the farm area.
There is a round paddock for students to develop their basic riding skills.
The student in his 3rd lesson practice trotting without holding reins.
The bigger paddock for students to practice trot, canter and various riding activities.
A big white board for scheduling the horses activity.
I went there on a Sunday morning. Haji Kordi is the trail leader for Sunday; while Mr. Azmi is the trail leader for Saturday.
The groomer helped me to get my horse ready. We chatted a little on preparing the horse. I got a beautiful horse name Bucky.
Naughty Bucky likes to bite. Sometimes biting people when they go near him. The staff put a small warning signboard on his stable to warn people that Bucky might bite.
I brought Bucky into the big paddock to warm up. Perhaps Bucky has been serving as school horse for far too long, he was not very responsive to the my leg, sound and even light tap with whip.
Later I found out that Bucky is one of those difficult horses to ride in Unit Ekuin UPM, especially inside paddock. However, he does follow another horse that is in front of him to trot and canter. So I guess Bucky is more likely to be a follower horse.
In the paddock, Haji Kordi adjusts the stirrup for me. Thanks Haji!
We have a round of warm up in the paddock. There is another student practicing in the big paddock. I took the opportunity to get Bucky to walk behind the student’s horse while she trots so that Bucky starts trotting 😛
Lt Kol Fakharuzi, a retired army (with his private horse, I Told You in Unit Ekuin UPM) gathered us in the paddock to give us a short briefing after the warm up.
This is the first time I had a briefing before heading out to trail ride. He told us the do’s and don’ts while in the trail. He even put us into a sequence labelled us as Rider 1, 2, 3, 4 and reminded us not to cut queue. It sounded exactly like when I was serving in National Service.
Shortly after the briefing, we head out to the entrance of the trail.
Trail Ride in Unit Ekuin UPM
Haji Kordi leads the way. He was riding on Arjuna, an elegant Arabian. A breed that dominates endurance riding. However Arjuna was a little scared in the trail as I noticed he abruptly avoids objects on the ground and stopped several times while trotting. It takes a skillful horseman like Haji Kordi to handle Arjuna.
We passed by a lake in UPM. The highway on the right is SILK highway, the highway where I occasionally drive by to notice the wide hilly field in UPM.
Haji Kordi trots on the really clean trail and I follow behind.
Haji Kordi opens gate for us that leads us deeper into the trail.
Haji Kordi trots into an uneven narrow path to get into the hill.
We canter our way up the hill. Yeeehar~
I overtake Haji Kordi while cantering up, then Lt Kol Fakharuzi overtake me on his I Told You. It was amazingly fun racing on the hill!
Gazing down the wide green field from the hill. I’m guessing that is the highest point in UPM. It was a little hazy on the Sunday morning else the view is going to be more magnificent.
Back on the track. I was able to canter on this clear path.
Overall Experience
The trail in UPM has a few highlights. The top of the hill where we canter up is one, where we can appreciate the far reach greenery. There is a deer farm and a cow farm along the trail as well.
The trail in UPM is clean and flat. Not a lot of trees which means we did not have to avoid tree branches all the time. We could do a good mix of trotting and some canter. Well, actually there were a lot of clear path where we could canter however Haji Kordi was leading the trail ride trotting most of the time as we have one rider falling behind.
UPM claims to have a track of 30 km however our ride was only slightly more than 8 km. If you are a more serious rider looking for something more challenging, you might feel like just getting started and then whoops… you are back to stable already.
Back to Stable
Arjuna, the gray Arabian is taking a rest to dry his sweat.
The groomer, instructor and Lt Kol Fakharuzi are chilling out in front of the stable.
Other Information
The list of activity offered by Unit Ekuin UPM and the fee are published in their webpage. Have fun!
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.
Empayar Sunnah Archery and Riding Club stable
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.
Canter up steep uphill.
While we were walking, Boy kept me company by sharing his experience in this trail. He always has a big smile on his face.
Boy kept me company while walking.
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.
Downhill slope
Boy leads the way cantering on open ground!
Boy leads on cantering.
Boy signals me to turn right on the junction.
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.
Canter around hill.
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 directions from the hill.
Another view on top of the hill.
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.
Lizaz leads the way going down.
We walk passed narrow path with little beautiful flowers on the sides.
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.
Green view.
Vegetable Farm @ Bukit Beruntung
We slowly canter passed a vegetable farm.
Slow canter pass vegetable farm.
We canter passed more farm path.
Farm path.
We walked into vegetable farm area to check out the farm up close.
Inside vegetable farm.
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.
Boy explains type of vegetable.
We exit the farm after a short break from cantering.
Take a turn to exit farm
Back into Trail
We get back into the green.
Get back into 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.
Fast canter down.
We met some kids doing jungle trekking in the trail.
Kids 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 trains horses.
Boy get back on Faraz after he came down picking up my whip. Thanks Boy!
Boy gets back on horse.
On our way going out of the 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.
Boy explains riding level.
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 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.
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.
Gombak Horse Riding Club
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
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.
Stage for students who need a little help getting on horses.A first-time student posing on Francis Express.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 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).
AS Equestrian Centre – Lenggeng, Negeri Sembilan
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 grooming Marco
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.
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.
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.
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!
