Uganda Sports Press Association (Uspa) journalists participated in a media clinic at the Flametree Stables Riding School, Kijabiijo Village in Gayaza last Saturday. PHOTO BY MAKHTUM MUZIRANSA
In Summary
EQUESTRIAN. Flametree is owned by Miranda Bowser, who started the facility to just create an environment where her daughter would ride horses, upon relocating to Uganda from England years ago.
Kampala. Some 8km from Gayaza town along Kayunga Road, a van carrying really anxious journalists including this writer branches left to a narrow murram road.
The first sight is of three men and a woman sipping local brew from a pot at a nearby verandah on the hot Saturday afternoon. Further ahead, hens are seen freely moving in and out of another house.
Their neighourhood has sweet potato gardens, banana plantations and houses under construction. This depiction of Kijabijo Village is one of a really remote area. Here, it is now difficult to imagine there is a sports facility in the vicinity.
By the time we arrive at our destination – Flametree Stables Riding School – after 200m, decibels have dipped fast to nearly dead silence, akin to a cemetery.
“Horses hate noise,” clad in a green t-shirt, boots and a cowboy cap, Flametree instructor John Kinyua tells us upon arrival. “We are happy to see you here,” he adds.
Only the heavy wind through the woodland and horses’ neighs could be heard. This is one of the over eight homes for the budding sport of equestrian in Uganda.
Flametree is owned by Miranda Bowser, who started the facility to just create an environment where her daughter would ride horses upon relocating to Uganda from England several years back.
Flametree is surrounded by some 60 Flame and 100 Cassia trees, 36 horses, 14 of them being mares (female) are housed in stables split into wooden paddocks. “In many stables, mares are preferred because when they retire, it is easy to have breeding,” Kinyua explains.
For about 40 minutes, Kinyua tutored over 30 scribes about horse breeds, their injuries as well as technicalities of equestrian disciplines dressage, show jumping and cross-country. But, the eagerness to take horse rides hardly left anyone’s face. “Safety first is our message here for everyone new to horses,” the Nairobi-bred lad stressed.
“Using body language, talk to them in a friendly way. Do not shout at them. Talk to them through touching,” he said as we gathered closer to them.
The visitors, including this writer, were put into groups of eight. They would be guided by several instructors onto the backs of the available horses for rides.
“Horses can kick, they can bite. But we do tame them here to see that they are well schooled and tamed well to all ages,” Kinyua warned.
“If you are around it, let the horse be aware. If you are behind, it will kick you because that is a blind spot. When around it, make sure you touch them and be friendly. Do not do abrupt things to the horse.”
With a helmet on, one climbs up via a nearby tyre pile elevation to the top. For a good ride, the choice of horse must correspond with one’s height. This writer got the brown horse named Doctor Dolittle.
As legs hover on either ends of the loin, feet well gripped into the stirrup iron, one must take up a right posture before palms hold grip of the snaffle reins.
After pulling or snapping, the snaffle reins towards oneself, the horse begins to locomote. The faster and more the jerking, the quicker it goes. Must be thrilling, right?
“You imagine if it runs away when you have just taken the seat up there,” scribe Raymond James Ssekandi jokes. “For the first timers, it is a big challenge.”
Unlike many, Ssekandi first had a horse ride in 2007 while on a work trip in Johannesburg, South Africa. “The longer you keep taking a ride, the more you get comfortable and used.”
But what would it take for one to have a horse? “Horses are very expensive to maintain. To buy a good horse, you may need about $2000-3000 (Shs6-10m) to get a second hand horse,” added Kinyua, who learnt how to ride in 1995.
The major aim of this short trip was to raise awareness of this horse riding sport to these scribes under the journalists’ body Uganda Sports Press Association (Uspa). “Through the media, we want to grow the equestrian fraternity in Uganda,” Kenneth Opedun said. He is the first boss of the Uganda Equestrian Association (UEA), the newest member under the Uganda Olympic Committee (UOC) belt.
“Recently, we successfully formed UEA and special thanks to UOC boss William Blick,” Opedun said. “We needed to prepare first. We already have athletes (horse and the rider) who are ready for international competitions,” he added.
About 10 athletes are based at Flametree, 17 in Jinja, Western Uganda got 20 and property mogul Sudhir Ruparelia’s Commonwealth Resort Munyonyo has got a quartet ready for competitions.
There is no chance that Uganda will be represented in equestrian at the Rio Olympics in August but the plans for having a maiden appearance at the quadrennial Games are on course.
“Recently, we have been going to Kenya, winning tournaments and returning home with the medals under the Kenya Equestrian Federation,” Opedun noted.
Adding: “Now that we have our own body, we sought out at the International Federation for Equestrian Sports to participate as Uganda and we are now good to go.”
LESSONS AT FLAMETREE STABLES
Best age to start:
2-3 years & 5 years
Standard:
Groups of four for 45 minutes
Cost:
Shs45,000 – 55,000 (Group) & Shs80,000 – 90,000 (Private lesson)
Pony ride:
Around the stables (Shs35,000 for 30minutes)
Special:
The fares are more expensive on weekends and public holidays.
EQUESTRIAN DISCIPLINES
Dressage: Showing how well obedient a horse is with instructed movement from one marker to another.
Best breeds: Fresian, Thoroughbred and American Quarter
Show jumping: Scoring points after jumping over 12-14 (standard) barricades under the pre-novices (40-50cm), novices, intermediates and open levels at a particular speed. If you knock a jump, you score -4 and if you go fast, there are time penalties
You are only allowed only three stops. So its better to knock and not to stop.
Best breeds: Warmbloods eg. Selle Francais, Trakehner, Hanoverian, Irish sport horse, Wurttenburger, Oldenburg, Danish Warmblood, Dutch Warmblood and Belgian Warmblood.
Cross-country: Is all about covering a distance in optimum time.
Most common horse injuries
Tendon damages, dislocations and bruises.
dkyeyune@ug.nationmedia.com
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