<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt22 <NOBR>
</NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>8:24 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>17647.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD>Horse play
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>Singaporeans are owning horses, and many of these owners are women </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Yusuf Abdol Hamid
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Tending to their horse takes a lot of time and effort, but 18-year-old twins Yang Huichun (left) amd Yang Huiyu are glad to do it. --ST PHOTOS: YUSUF ABDOL HAMID
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Forget hanging out at malls or tracking down the latest food fad - some Singapore girls and women have a hobby that is hot to trot: horsing around with their own equines.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story -->Twin Passion
At an age when many teenagers like to shop and chill out at Orchard Road in their free time, the 18-year-old Yang twins head to the stables to tend to their four-footed pal, a chestnut mare called Liberty.
'I hardly have a social life, but I need to care for my horse,' says Huiyu, who is pursuing an International Baccalaureate at Anglo-Chinese School (Independent).
Equine stress-relief
After spending time with her horses, Ms Soh Wei Chi can feel her stress melting away.
Oskar's like a boyfriend
Oskar may tower over Dr Roshni Selvam, but his gentle nature won her heart over.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>A check with horse clubs here shows that Singaporeans are swelling the ranks of horse owners, with the majority of them being females.
Around 30 to 40 per cent of leisure horse owners at the Bukit Timah Saddle Club are Singaporean, and this number is almost entirely made up of female professionals, says its honorary secretary, Ms Mel Burr.
The club, established in 1951, says that 70 out of 100 horses at its stables are privately owned.
Overall, horse-riding clubs here have 160 owners who own horses for leisure, LifeStyle found. Some own their equines for leisure, others are for competitions such as show-jumping, which are held throughout the region.
Horse owner Roshni Selvam, 33, a horse veterinarian, says horse ownership in Singapore is predominantly female because she thinks 'women are more in tune with their feelings, which is important in building a relationship with the horses'.
Other female horse lovers point to how the hobby is good for human relationships, too.
A mutual love for horses has strengthened the marriage of housewife Angie Tan and her 46-year-old German husband of 16 years.
Ms Tan, 44, began riding six years ago. She and her husband, a managing director of a machinery company, bought themselves a horse each from Germany three years ago.
She visits her chestnut mare, 10-year-old Symphony, every morning before dawn with her husband, who tends to his eight-year-old dark brown horse, Vesuv.
'Mentally, we're at peace because it's just the two of us in the dark, and it's so quiet and peaceful early in the morning,' she says.
Despite being at the stables every day, the couple - who have no children - have separate personal lessons but make it a point to ride together on the long grassy trails at least once a week.
The Saddle Club offers its 240 members facilities such as paddocks and trails for their horses to graze and roam, and arenas for practising showjumping or 'dressage', a French term which means training the horse.
Also located at Bukit Timah is Horse City, a public riding centre which houses around 150 horses, mostly used by the school for lessons.
According to Mrs Mani Shanker, director of Horse City, three out of the five privately owned horses in its stables belong to Singaporeans, who are also all female.
Over at the Singapore Polo Club, which was founded in 1881 and has 1,200 members, 93 of the 152 horses in the club stables are privately owned.
Mr Torrey J. Dorsey, general manager at the Singapore Polo Club, says Singaporean owners account for about 55 per cent, and are mostly 35 to 50 years old.
According to him, more women own horses for general riding, while men mostly own the animal for playing polo.
He says: 'By nature, riding, which involves dressage and show jumping, is more elegant, and may suit women, but polo is far more aggressive and much faster.'
Owning a horse, which has a lifespan of up to 20 years, is not for the commitment-phobic.
'Horses enjoy a relationship with their owners, and the average owner at our club comes at least once a day to spend time with them,' says Ms Burr from the Saddle Club.
Nor is it for those without deep pockets.
The costs of buying and upkeeping these large animals can range from a nominal amount for retired racehorses to millions of dollars for high-pedigree breeds.
Prospective owners usually check with the clubs first for a listing of local horses available for sale.
Otherwise, Ms Burr says that most people look to countries such as Australia, Denmark and Germany because of their long history in breeding and training horses. Transporting the animals to Singapore can cost about $10,000.
Like humans, horses have passports as well.
According to Mr Dorsey, horses purchased abroad do not need to be registered but owners keep a 'horse passport' for identification and vaccination records.
Once purchased, the basic requirements include a livery stable for the horse to stay in, with a groom to clean and feed it daily. Stables here offer livery charges between $700 and $1,500 a month.
There is also the cost of belonging to the clubs. A Polo Club membership, for example, costs about $10,000 to $11,000 on the secondary market. Horse City does not charge a membership fee.
But high costs are not keeping keen horse lovers away.
As Ms Tan, of the horse-loving husband and wife team, points out: 'Horses play a big role in our marriage because we spend a lot of time together doing horse-related activities. A lot of couples in Singapore don't share the same interests and end up doing different things.'
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>Singaporeans are owning horses, and many of these owners are women </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Yusuf Abdol Hamid
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Tending to their horse takes a lot of time and effort, but 18-year-old twins Yang Huichun (left) amd Yang Huiyu are glad to do it. --ST PHOTOS: YUSUF ABDOL HAMID
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Forget hanging out at malls or tracking down the latest food fad - some Singapore girls and women have a hobby that is hot to trot: horsing around with their own equines.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story -->Twin Passion
At an age when many teenagers like to shop and chill out at Orchard Road in their free time, the 18-year-old Yang twins head to the stables to tend to their four-footed pal, a chestnut mare called Liberty.
'I hardly have a social life, but I need to care for my horse,' says Huiyu, who is pursuing an International Baccalaureate at Anglo-Chinese School (Independent).
Equine stress-relief
After spending time with her horses, Ms Soh Wei Chi can feel her stress melting away.
Oskar's like a boyfriend
Oskar may tower over Dr Roshni Selvam, but his gentle nature won her heart over.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>A check with horse clubs here shows that Singaporeans are swelling the ranks of horse owners, with the majority of them being females.
Around 30 to 40 per cent of leisure horse owners at the Bukit Timah Saddle Club are Singaporean, and this number is almost entirely made up of female professionals, says its honorary secretary, Ms Mel Burr.
The club, established in 1951, says that 70 out of 100 horses at its stables are privately owned.
Overall, horse-riding clubs here have 160 owners who own horses for leisure, LifeStyle found. Some own their equines for leisure, others are for competitions such as show-jumping, which are held throughout the region.
Horse owner Roshni Selvam, 33, a horse veterinarian, says horse ownership in Singapore is predominantly female because she thinks 'women are more in tune with their feelings, which is important in building a relationship with the horses'.
Other female horse lovers point to how the hobby is good for human relationships, too.
A mutual love for horses has strengthened the marriage of housewife Angie Tan and her 46-year-old German husband of 16 years.
Ms Tan, 44, began riding six years ago. She and her husband, a managing director of a machinery company, bought themselves a horse each from Germany three years ago.
She visits her chestnut mare, 10-year-old Symphony, every morning before dawn with her husband, who tends to his eight-year-old dark brown horse, Vesuv.
'Mentally, we're at peace because it's just the two of us in the dark, and it's so quiet and peaceful early in the morning,' she says.
Despite being at the stables every day, the couple - who have no children - have separate personal lessons but make it a point to ride together on the long grassy trails at least once a week.
The Saddle Club offers its 240 members facilities such as paddocks and trails for their horses to graze and roam, and arenas for practising showjumping or 'dressage', a French term which means training the horse.
Also located at Bukit Timah is Horse City, a public riding centre which houses around 150 horses, mostly used by the school for lessons.
According to Mrs Mani Shanker, director of Horse City, three out of the five privately owned horses in its stables belong to Singaporeans, who are also all female.
Over at the Singapore Polo Club, which was founded in 1881 and has 1,200 members, 93 of the 152 horses in the club stables are privately owned.
Mr Torrey J. Dorsey, general manager at the Singapore Polo Club, says Singaporean owners account for about 55 per cent, and are mostly 35 to 50 years old.
According to him, more women own horses for general riding, while men mostly own the animal for playing polo.
He says: 'By nature, riding, which involves dressage and show jumping, is more elegant, and may suit women, but polo is far more aggressive and much faster.'
Owning a horse, which has a lifespan of up to 20 years, is not for the commitment-phobic.
'Horses enjoy a relationship with their owners, and the average owner at our club comes at least once a day to spend time with them,' says Ms Burr from the Saddle Club.
Nor is it for those without deep pockets.
The costs of buying and upkeeping these large animals can range from a nominal amount for retired racehorses to millions of dollars for high-pedigree breeds.
Prospective owners usually check with the clubs first for a listing of local horses available for sale.
Otherwise, Ms Burr says that most people look to countries such as Australia, Denmark and Germany because of their long history in breeding and training horses. Transporting the animals to Singapore can cost about $10,000.
Like humans, horses have passports as well.
According to Mr Dorsey, horses purchased abroad do not need to be registered but owners keep a 'horse passport' for identification and vaccination records.
Once purchased, the basic requirements include a livery stable for the horse to stay in, with a groom to clean and feed it daily. Stables here offer livery charges between $700 and $1,500 a month.
There is also the cost of belonging to the clubs. A Polo Club membership, for example, costs about $10,000 to $11,000 on the secondary market. Horse City does not charge a membership fee.
But high costs are not keeping keen horse lovers away.
As Ms Tan, of the horse-loving husband and wife team, points out: 'Horses play a big role in our marriage because we spend a lot of time together doing horse-related activities. A lot of couples in Singapore don't share the same interests and end up doing different things.'
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