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| Singapore News // Thursday, October 2, 2008 |
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Singapore Turf Club building largest public riding facility, targeting school kids
Ong Dai Lin
dailin@mediacorp.com.sg
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. SHE was bitten by the horse-riding bug when she first rode one four years ago. But the cost has kept Rachel Wee from taking up riding lessons.
. Come next September, she could well be among the initial batch of school kids getting regular riding lessons in a proposed tie-up between the Singapore Turf Club Riding Centre and some 30 primary and secondary schools.
. Billed as the largest public ridingfacility, the centre, to be built at a cost of$24.5 million, is particularly keen on targeting children aged 8 to 18, with 45-minute lessons ranging between $15 and $75. Other riding centres here charge between $80 and $120 on average for a similar session.
. Rachel, now 14, is excited at the prospect of taking up horse riding at the centre, which will offer a 40-week structured programme and will be open every day of the week from 7am to 9pm.
. Said the Northlight School student: “I’ve wanted to learn horse riding since Primary 5. But I didn’t continue because the lessons were expensive, so this is a good opportunity for me.”
. Situated next to the Singapore Racecourse at Kranji, the riding centre is the size of eight football fields.
. It will have two world-class ridingarenas and a viewing gallery that canaccommodate up to 250 people, an administration building with classrooms, a cafe as well as a shop selling riding equipment.
. During the first year, the riding centre will have 40 trained ponies and horses. Six riding instructors will be recruited, with the chief being a certified British Horse Society Instructor from England.
. Shuqun Secondary is one of the schools interested in sending its pupils to thecentre, said Mr Adrian Tan, head of department Normal (Technical), at the school.
. “This programme is not only about horse riding but also offers an opportunity for us to interact with the students and teach them life skills like resilience and perseverance,” he said.
. The school will consider subsidising 90 per cent of the fees, he added, with pupils having the option of paying the rest through Edusave.
. Speaking at its inauguration yesterday, Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport Lim Hwee Hua, said the riding centre will be a place where youth can interact with each other and learn important life skills for character and confidence building.
. The centre will also be the venue for the equestrian events during the 2010 Singapore Youth Olympic Games.
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