Trail Ride @ ESAR Bukit Beruntung

Last Sunday, I have a trail ride with ESAR Bukit Beruntung. This time we went out in a group of 4 riders. Boy (ESAR operator), Abang Iskandar, his son Opie and myself.

Trail Ride @ ESAR Bukit Beruntung

Abang Iskandar is a very seasoned rider. He has been training endurance horses and riders for a decade and he even ride 120km himself!

Opie is a really talented kid. He is only 9 years old and he is already a solid rider. Abang Iskandar put Opie on horses as early as age of 2! In fact, he wasn’t riding for fun; he was helping his dad to train a new horse.

The 2 horses Abang Iskandar and Opie riding have been together for a long time. They always stick together even in the trail. Lizaz, the horse that I was riding seemed a little tired, probably was exhausted from previous day training.

You can see the video that we first canter our way to the entrance of the trail. Then, we spent most of our time cantering in the trail. Although it was a lot of slow canter, it was pretty satisfying.

It took about 1 hour to complete the trail, across 17 KM. The outride fee was RM120.

Please contact Boy (018-918 8871) if you would like to do a similar trail ride with ESAR Bukit Beruntung. You can also find out more about Empayar Sunnah Archery and Riding Club in the previous post with more details.

You can check out Empayar Sunnah Archery and Riding Club Facebook page for more updated activities. 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.

Until next time!

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.

Empayar Sunnah Archery and Riding Club stable
Empayar Sunnah Archery and Riding Club stable

The Horses

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

IMG_20160814_102004

IMG_20160814_102040

IMG_20160814_102025

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
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
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
Downhill slope

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.

Canter around hill
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 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.

Green view
Green view.

Vegetable Farm @ Bukit Beruntung

We slowly canter passed a vegetable farm.

Slow canter pass vegetable farm
Slow canter pass vegetable farm.

We canter passed more farm path.

Farm path
Farm path.

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

Inside vegetable farm
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
Boy explains type of vegetable.

We exit the farm after a short break from cantering.

Take a turn to exit farm
Take a turn to exit farm

Back into Trail

We get back into the green.

Get back into 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
Fast canter down.

We met some kids doing jungle trekking in the trail.

Kids 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 train horses.
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
Boy gets back on horse.

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.

Boy explains riding level
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 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.

IMG_20160814_102103

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 😉

IMG_20160814_102114

The gears are organized neatly in the office.

IMG_20160814_102127

Student having riding lesson in the arena.

student-having-sesson

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.

IMG_20160814_101822

 

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.