A galloping success for Kabayo Festival in Cebu

Ten years ago, a group of animal lovers and sports-minded individuals bonded together to form an exclusive club called the Cebu Equine Owners, Breeders and Sportsmen Association (CEOBSA) with Anton Quisumbing as its president. Founding members included Noel Basubas, Lourdes Manulat, Dr. Candido Aviles, Fred Veloso, ranchers Monching Cabahug and Ramon Jarque, architect Tessie Javier and Dr. Marlou Causin.

The club’s vision and goals are simple. Care for the horses and improve on the skills of horsemen and horses through games, races, and competitions. However, the most notable effect of the various horse sports is the systematic development of horse breeds, with improvements to the horse in refinement, intelligence, and beauty, coupled with the astounding sophistication of improvement in the communication between man and horse — a direct result of all forms of equestrian sports. CEOBSA has spearheaded the Kabayo Festival, a horse show and competition, for the past two years with the cooperation of  Mandaue City and the Department of Tourism. However with added full support and involvement of the Cebu provincial government, the event this year has taken on a new name, The Governor’s Cup.

The opening ceremonies started with a horse parade with no less than Governor Gwen Garcia and Mandaue Mayor Jonas Cortes leading the horsemen to the North Reclamation Area where the competition was slated. The horses came in different shapes and sizes, from small ponies to large riding horses like morgans and quarter horses. Even the locally drawn tartanillas were impressive in their colorful decorations.

The activities had various competitions: jumping, barrel racing, obstacle, and oval races with different categories in men’s, ladies’, and mixed divisions, with participants coming from Masbate, Dumaguete, Ormoc, Cagayan de Oro, Malaybalay, and Impasugong in Bukidnon, Davao and Cebu’s two component cities, Naga and Talisay, and the towns of Minglanilla and Borbon.

Winners in the obstacle race were Kobi Tan of Davao, Class A; RJ Landingin of Malaybalay, Class B; Dean Manuel Gonzales of Davao, Royal Men’s level; Jun Dumaquita of Malaybalay, auxiliary; and Annie Lawrence of CEOBSA in the Royal Hara category.

In the barrel race, winners from different categories included Mike Siao of Cagayan de Oro, Kimrel Deiparine of Malaybalay, Bukidnon, Jun Miñoza of CEOBSA, Kobi Tan and Ronaldo Gonzaga of Davao and Alisa Lawrence of CEOBSA.

The show jumping competition had Edward Espeleta of CEOBSA and Kobi Tan of Davao as winners while the obstacle race had six champions namely once again Kobi Tan and Manuel Gonzales of Davao, RJ Landingin, Jun Dumaquita and Dexter Undas of Malaybalay, Bukidnon and Annie Lawrence of CEOBSA.

The Governor’s Cup Trophy went to Davao which garnered the most awards in the different competitions.

Governor Garcia also engaged the assistance of cities and towns of Cebu that featured local products such as fresh vegetables, produce, handicrafts, and handwoven ornaments.

The well-organized and well attended three-day event is indicative of more successful horse shows and competitions in the years to come.