AN equestrian competition will be held from January 2 to 4 at the National Sports Complex in North Dagon township in Yangon, organised by the Myanmar Equestrian Federation under the Ministry of Sport in collaboration with the Yangon Equestrian and Country Club.

Federation president U Nyein Kyaw said the competition is scheduled to coincide with the 61st anniversary of Indepen-dence Day on January 4, and was also aimed at promoting equestrian sports.

He said more than 40 horses from Sagaing, Mandalay, Magwe, Ayeyarwady, Bago and Yangon divisions were expected to participate in the competition, for which there will be no entry fees.

There will be four events during the three days of competition: two endurance races (divided based on the height of the horses), a rhythmic riding event and a jumping contest. Each event will start at 8am.

U Nyein Kyaw said a total of K3.5 million in prizes will be awarded for the two endurance races, while K1 million will be given for rhythmic riding and K600,000 for jumping, divided among first, second and third places.

“The endurance races can be judged according to international equestrian rules, but the others will be judged using home rules because our horses and riders are not up to international standards,” he said.

He said it was important to raise the standard of equestrian sports in Myanmar because the ASEAN Equestrian Federation was working towards getting such events added to the Southeast Asia Games.

“For the time being, the ASEAN Equestrian Federation is focusing on raising the level of the sport in Myanmar and Cambodia to the international level, while also working to get equestrian events added to the SEA Games,” U Nyein Kyaw said.

He added that the development of the sport in Myanmar would also boost local horse breeding standards and encourage more people to get involved with the healthy activity of riding horses.

The Yangon Equestrian and Country Club was established in 1974, while the Myanmar Equestrian Federation was formed in 1991.