Summer events: Horses dance, race at tourism festival

Riders given traditional turbans as a token of appreciation.


Kashif Zafar July 09, 2012

BAHAWALPUR:


A dancing horses festival was held in Laal Sohanra National Park on Sunday.


The event, organised by the Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab (TDCP), was attended by a large audience amidst heat.

As many as 18 horses were presented in the festival. They had been brought from across the district.

TDCP Manager Shahid Mahmood told The Express Tribune that many more entries had been received for participation in the event, but only the best performers were chosen. The event is held every year, he said.

Divisional Forest Officer Mian Fida Hussain was the chief guest. He inaugurated the event that began with the regional dances to the beat of drums, followed by camel dance that was largely appreciated.

Rana Basharat Ali’s horse, Chaand, of 35-BC near Laal Sohanra, won the first place. It was presented the best-dance-of-the-event award. Malik Daado Guddan’s horse, Jalo, came second.

Ali told The Express Tribune that he had trained the horse with great care. He said it took years to teach the animal dance steps. He said he was certain that Chaand would win.

“I have spent more money and time on my horse than my children,” he said.

A horse race was also arranged at the event. It was won by Syed Muhammad Abbas Shah’s horse, Raju, of Dera Nawab Sahab.

Shah claimed that his horse was also the strongest among the competitive horses. He said he had spent a lot of time training it.

“I used to take it to the empty grounds and practice racing on regular basis,” he said.

As a token of appreciation, traditional turbans were distributed among the riders.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 10th, 2012.

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