Cojuangco sisters make riding look easy

In an unprecedented sister act, teenaged equestriennes Danielle and Paola Cojuangco swept the Grand Prix events at the Premier Cup on the Bukit Kiara polo grounds in Malaysia recently to emerge among Asia’s rising stars in showjumping.

Danielle, 17, and Paola, 16, took eight placings apiece in dominating the Premier Cup whose entries listed Southeast Asian (SEA) Games four-gold winner Qabil Ambak and at least 10 other Asian Games hopefuls.

Danielle topped a field of 14 riders to capture the Grand Prix (1.3 meters) title on Ascot T, an 8-year-old Dutch-French warmblood while Paola bested 18 contenders for the Little Grand Prix (1.15 meters) title on 13-year-old thoroughbred Just William.

The battlefield was a tough 12-fence course designed by New Zealander Trevor Gregory. But the Cojuangco sisters had little difficulty conquering the track.

The Premier Cup was the first of five shows lined up for Filipino riders training for the Asian Games in Busan on Sept. 29-Oct. 14.

Only four riders will comprise the national squad competing for team and individual honors at the Asiad. The candidates are Mikey Cojuangco Jaworski, Toni Leviste, Sydney-based Michelle Cojuangco Barrera, Paola Zobel, and Danielle. Toni and Michelle are now in Europe preparing for Busan. Michelle is a first cousin of Danielle and Paola. Michelle’s mother Tina is the sister of Danielle’s and Paola’s father Mark, a Pangasinan congressman. Michelle, Danielle, and Paola are granddaughters of San Miguel Corp. chairman Eduardo and Gretchen Cojuangco.

Danielle, a finals qualifier at the SEA Games last year, and Paola took their first riding lessons when they were six at the Manila Polo Club. Their aunt Janine Santos and Denise Yabut were instrumental in teaching them the ropes, or the reins, at an early age.

"It was love at first sight," chorused Danielle and Paola of their fatal attraction to horses. Their grandfather is a breeder of horses and a horse-lover himself. So is their father Mark who grew up riding and playing in stables.

Every day for the last 10 years, the sisters spend at least three hours around horses. They shovel sawdust, sweep the poop, clean the stables, feed, bathe and of course, ride the horses.

"We don’t mind getting dirty," said the sisters. "After school, we go straight to the stables. The work that we do — cleaning, sweeping, feeding, and all that — is our exercise. Some people think riding’s easy — that we just ride in circles. But a good rider is when you think he or she isn’t doing a thing on a horse. That’s hard to do."

Both Danielle and Paola are honor students. You can tell from the way they speak. They’re bright, determined, and articulate. Danielle is a fourth year high school student at Woodrose and Paola is a junior in the same Alabang school. Danielle’s favorite subjects are math and art while Paola likes history and literature.

After graduation, Danielle said she’s thinking of enrolling at a design school in New York — hopefully, close to a track where she can continue riding. Paola hasn’t decided on what to take up in college. But one thing’s sure, life will never be complete for Danielle and Paola without horses.

Is there pressure on the sisters to excel?

"None at all," said Danielle. "Our lolo (Mr. Eduardo Cojuangco) and ‘ta (short for abuelita — grandmother — or Mrs. Gretchen Cojuangco) are so supportive of us. Win or lose, they’re always encouraging us to improve, to do better, to ride the best we can."

Paola said they’ve had their share of falls. "Sometimes, when I don’t get the distance between my horse and the hurdle, I just close my eyes and freeze," she said. "Of course, you try to be safe and that’s why you train hard and long. Accidents will happen. But that shouldn’t be in the back of your mind. You can’t be conservative on a horse and you can’t be reckless, too."

In the Philippines, the equestrian community counts on only about 50 serious riders. There are less than 10 shows a year, spread over three weekends, and the public outside of Metro Manila is hardly exposed to the sport — except for rare exhibitions in Subic and Los Baños. So training overseas is a must. Danielle and Paola are lucky that every summer, they’re exposed to competitions in Australia.

There is absolutely no trace of sibling rivalry between the sisters. They’re like two peas in a pod.

"Paola has all the basics intact and only needs more time and mileage to go to the next level," said Danielle. "She made her mark at the Premier Cup with eight placings."

Paola described Danielle as a perfectionist. "I feed off her," said the younger Cojuangco. "Danielle’s very persevering. If I have a problem, she’s the first person I go to. She nags me when I don’t train hard or long enough. And she can’t sleep when there’s go there’s something not right at the stables or with the horses. That’s how she is. My goal is to be able to compete at Danielle’s level where the obstacles are higher."

Danielle singled out her Australian coach Chris Chugg and the world’s No. 1 rider Ludger Beerbaum of Germany as her role models. She also pointed to the Arab bronze medallist at the Sydney Olympics because he proved an Asian can win in a Europe-dominated sport.

Paola said she has no one idol and tries to learn from the good points of every rider.

Doting mother Kimi couldn’t be prouder of her daughters and more thankful to her parents-in-law for their support. Aside from being champion equestriennes, the sisters are responsible students. When they skip classes to compete abroad, Danielle and Paola are expected to catch up on their schoolwork — and that hasn’t been a problem, said Kimi.

Danielle and Paola owe a lot to their aunt Janine Santos and "riding mom" Mitos Belofsky, too. "We’d be lost without them," Danielle said. "It’s Janine who spends hours taking care of my horse Able Agent at the B.F. stables when I’m not around. And Tita Mitos looks after us from the federation viewpoint."

Able Agent, a Dutch warmblood, was injured due to faulty handling by an airline loader and couldn’t make the trip to Malaysia for the Premier Cup. The horse is now fighting for its life. Danielle, who has trained four years on the World Cup-caliber horse, was forced to compete on Ascot T, her second choice, and a borrowed horse Boy Toy. Luckily, Able Agent’s absence failed to derail Danielle on her path to the Grand Prix title.

Will their love affair with horses endure? Danielle and Paola nodded. "It’s a forever thing," they said.