The 9th Annual Clark Horsefest

CLARK FREEPORT ZONE, PAMPANGA – The celebration of the 9th annual Clark Horse Festival started on Saturday, November 18, 2017 at El Kabayo.

Aside from the magnificent display of horses and riders, the two-day event also included an entry parade of different horses around Clark, and activities such as obstacle course, barrel racing, harness or Tilbury racing, quadrille exhibition, assorted mounted games, and many more.

There were also the exhibition of “iron horses and ponies” which were big motorcycles and mopeds or motorbikes. This aimed to promote the motorcycle event called the MadDog Poker Run.

El Kabayo With A Cause

According to El Kabayo owner, Sheriff Gabby La O that aside from the display of horses and the promotion of motorbikes, the event also aims to raise awareness on the welfare of the animals.

“Taking care of horses is a full time activity, we have to care for them, maintain (them), (there are) ups and downs… We’re always learning, and that’s something that people should know when it comes to taking care of animals.” said La O.

La O also said that the Horsefest has always been dedicated to their advocacy of helping kids with special needs, through the so called “Hippo Therapy.

The “Hippo Therapy” is a physical, occupational, or speech and language therapy treatment strategy that utilizes equine movement, which literally means “treatment with the help of a horse.”

The said event was attended by students under special education of Angeles Elementary School.

According to Ms. Melodia P. Defin of Angeles Elementary School-SPED Center, they also take the event as an opportunity to showcase the products of their students who are dealing with autism, blindness, and those who are intellectually disabled and deaf.

“We bring them here (because) we find it very effective for them, interacting with the horses and playing with nature.” said Defin.

Riders from Aurora, Masbate, Baguio City and Australia have also joined the event.

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About Trojan Santiago

Trojan Santiago hails from the summer capital of the Philippines, Baguio City. He is a graduate of Bachelor of Arts in Communications, an aspiring film- director and a pop culture enthusiast. He received various academic recognitions during his college years in film criticism and magazine production. He now works as a social media specialist/ journalist at Klipp TV.