13th September 2018 07:15:13 Hours
The first-ever equestrian sports festival in Sri Lanka organized by the Equestrian Section of the Sri Lanka Military Academy (SLMA) in liaison with the Sri Lanka Equestrian Association (SLEA) was held on 26th August 2018 at the Polo Grounds, Diyatalawa. The occasion was graced by the Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake as the Chief Guest, Commander Security Force Headquarters (Cen), senior officers of tri-forces and the police, the President of SLEA, Mr. Suranjith Premadasa and his officials, officers and families of SLMA and a large number of equestrian sports fans from around the country.
The Commandant of SLMA, Brigadier Priyantha Senaratne delivered the welcome address and expressed his pleasure to the Chief Guest and all equestrian enthusiasts for being present to witness the inaugural equestrian festival in the country.
The festival consisted of four events; Show Jumping, Barrel Racing, Driving and Tent Pegging and the competitors represented members from equestrian clubs and individual riders. The trophies and certificates were awarded by the Chief Guest, Commander SF HQ (Cen), Commandant SLMA and President SLEA to the following competitors:
SHOW JUMPING
1st Place Lance Bombardier Shantha Nawarathne
2nd Place Private Menaka Dhanthasinghe
3rd Place Captain Nalin Samarakoon
4th Place Private Buddika Abewickrama
5th Place Lance Corporal Udaya Priyankara Lakmal
BARREL RACING
1st Place Mr. WIU Dimbulkumbura
2nd Place Lance Corporal Madushanka
3rd Place Mr. Ravindu Fernando
4th Place Mr. RT De Silva
5th Place Mr. Suranjith Premadasa
DRIVING
1st Place Mr. WIU Dimbulkumbura
2nd Place Mr. Subramani Shashikumar
3rd Place Mr. Suranjith Premadasa
TENT PEGGING
1st Place Captain Asanga Jayalath
2nd Place Private Menuka Dhanthasinghe
3rd Place Lance Bombardier Shantha Nawarathne
4th Place Private Jagath Priyankara
5th Place Lance Bombardier Sanjeewa Priyantha
The festival surely turned a new chapter in the history of Sri Lankan sports and the organizing committee headed by the Chief Instructor of the Military Training Wing of SLMA, Colonel Nilantha Premaratne and the Officer in Charge of the Equestrian Section, Major Rohana Udarataga are very confident that the festival will continue to be an annual feature in the events calendar of SLMA.
