When Coach Imtaz posted on his Facebook page three days ago that the Perak Turf Club was going to close its equestrian centre, most of the equestrian industry here was very sad, but to be honest, not many were surprised. The writing had been on the wall. The Covid-19 pandemic will be blamed, but in truth it was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Imtaz is quoted in Twenty-Two 13 as saying, “We were told two months ago about the pending closure as funds are low, made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic. I put in a proposal to run the centre but it was rejected as the club said they didn’t want to rent the space to individuals. I then put in another proposal under the Perak Equestrian Association but that too was rejected,” said Imtaz.
A Perak Turf Club insider told me that the riding school had been losing over RM500,000 annually, for some years. Living on the largess of a turf club is done at your own peril, when we all know that the Malaysian racing has been scraping the bottom of the barrel for many years.
The Totalisator Board (Lembaga Totalisator Malaysia) may fund equestrian sports to some extent, but it is generally not money that trickles down to the clubs or associations.
While large lump sums are spent on the National Horse Show, the legacy it leaves is questionable.
In any case, living from National Horse Show to National Horse Show when it is allocated on a rotational basis, is not a sustainable business model for any equestrian centre.
In its heyday, the The Perak Turf Club Equestrian Centre hosted FEI CSI-W World Cups, 1* Eventing, Show Jumping Derbies, great National Horse Shows, and much more.
PBITG has heard that Imtaz and friends may be moving to the National Stud Farm to set up their riding school there. We hope they will be successful in this move.
