Konsentrado ang EquestrianPH sa hinuhubog na young riders

Ipagpapatuloy ng Equestrian Philippines ang kanilang papel sa pagpapaunlad ng sport bagama’t may iba pang national sports association ang kinikilala ng Philippine Olympic Committee (POC). Konsentrado ang EquestrianPH para sa pagtuklas at tamang training ng bagong riders na huhubugin upang maging katulad nina International Champions Toni Leviste, Joker Arroyo at Colin Syquia.

Ayon kay EquestrianPH president Carissa Coscolluela, maraming bata at talented riders ang kayang kumatawan sa bansa sa susunod na panahon sa kabila ng kontrobersiya na bumalot sa sport ng nakaraang mga taon. “We established EquestrianPH in 2018 because we want to continue the initiatives we started so that the sport can continue to grow,” ayon kay Coscolluela sa 57th “Usapang Sports” ng Tabloids Organization in Philippine Sports (TOPS) sa National Press Club sa Intramuros, Manila noong Huwebes. “Marami na rin kaming initiatives na ginagawa for the sport.

Two years ago, Toni, Joker and I then decided to formalize out effort and put it under one umbrella which you all know now as EquestrianPH,” dagdag ni Coscolluela sa lingguhang weekly public service program na suportado ng Philippine Sports Commission, NPC, PAGCOR at Community Basketball Association.

Aminado si Coscolluela na ang problema na rin sa liderato ang nakaapekto sa sport. “That’s why we put this group together. Kalimutan na natin kung ano ang ginagawa nila at hindi nila ginagawa. That’s not our problem. We want to give the (equestrian) community what the community deserves to have in terms of development program and competition.”

Parehong sinabi nina Coscolluela at Arroyo na ang pag-organisa ng iba pang aktibidad para sa sport ang magbibigay atraksiyon para sa mas marami pang batang riders na lalahok sa event at mahubog ang kanilang galing, “We can have more riders competing at international level.

“Right now, we only have only a handful of riders who can qualify to the regional championships, like the Asian Games and the SEA Games. Soon, magre-retire mga ‘yan. So there’s a need to develop feed riders in the training pool.”

Idinagdag ni Arroyo na nag-organisa na rin ang EquestrianPH ng ilang serye ng kumpetisyon at nakapag-training ng marami pang bagong riders. “It’s the first time in the country in over a decade that we have a full-blown championship series wherein we invited riders from all over the country and they were able to compete in a series of competitions where they can get points towards championship titles. That’s really how you breed champions by encouraging them to start early and train early.”

Isa sa talented young riders ay si Paola Lorenzo, 20-anyos na Management Engineering student ng Ateneo de Manila, na siyang naging overall champion sa EquestrianPH, para sa showjumping competition maging si 13-year-old Selel Francais.

Sinabi nina Coscolluela at Arroyo na sa nagdaang indoor championship series ay umusbong ang mga outstanding champions na sina Lara Zobel, Nicole Camcam, Alex Ynares-Villalon, Minxie Romualdez, Nikki Aboitiz, at Anda Lagdameo.