INTREPID riders from the Davao Horse Club made waves in the 4th season of the Governor’s Cup: A Horse Show and Competition held in Mandaue City last January 28 to 30 which was jointly hosted by Governor Gwen Garcia of the Province of Cebu and the Cebu Horsemen’s Association.
Two riders from Davao, George Walter Misa and Andrew Tan, placed second in Class A and Class B, respectively, of the Show Jumping event in a field dominated by Cebuano riders.
In Day 2, Misa again placed second and the Silver Buckle that went with it in the Obstacle Race and third place in the Barrel Race, both in the Expert Division.
In the Auxiliary Division, groom Celso Dial, from the stable of Davao horseman Bienvenido “Nonoy” Aznar, placed second in the Barrel Race while groom Ronaldo Gonzaga from the GW Misa Stables was second in the Obstacle Race and third in the Barrel Race.
In the Halter Show event (exhibiting the horse by hand in front of the panel of judges) horse YBok owned by Andrew Tan was declared the Grand Champion.
On opening day, the participating contingents from Cebu, Bohol, Dapitan, Cagayan de Oro, Malaybalay and Impasugong (both from Bukidnon), and Davao paraded with their horses led by the charming Governor Gwen herself, and followed by horse-drawn tartanillas representing all towns in the province of Cebu, colorfully dressed-up in what their respective municipalities are famous for, such as their crafts and major trade or products like fishing (even a church tower), followed by the opening ceremonies.
A drum and bugle corps along with cadets bearing flags and banners gamely plodded through the muddy trail to the grand stage, unmindful of the damage to their white gala and shiny black shoes. Who cared? The grand spectacle and show was on.
The Awards Night was held at the Cebu International Convention Center where a spectacular fireworks display brought to an end this year’s edition of the grandest annual horse event in the whole of Cebu, and possibly, in the whole of the Visayas.
Francis R. Ledesma, president of the Davao Horse Club, led the Davao contingent, the largest visiting contingent at the competition. Cebu was first in the year for the annual competition circuit of the Philippine Horsemen’s Federation. Davao is the next host and its 13th Davao Horse Show abd Competition is slated on April 29, 30 and May 1, 2011 at the Davao Crocodile Park.
