Pony boys with horse-riding tourists in Baguio City. Photographed by Arthur Allad-iw, InterAksyon.com
InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
The online news portal of TV5
Baguio City - Tourists riding horses around Wright Park and its environs is a classic sight in this city of Pines, dubbed the Summer Capital of the country. The "business" of offering horse rides to visitors started in the 1950s by an Ibaloi-Kankanaey and has flourished up to this day.
The lush pine-covered areas and the nippy weather make horse-riding a not-to-be-missed experience, especially for tourists and out-of-towners who've come to Baguio to enjoy a cool respite.
Much of the pleasant experience has to do with the friendly pony boys, who care for these animals and try their best to cater to the enjoyment of tourists. There's a fairly wide mix of these pony boys – from sprightly boys to veterans, many if whom, unbeknownst to outsiders, actually belong to prominent indigenous families here, as this writer has learned.
The practice of offering horse rides to visitors started at the Wright Park area after World War II. It was introduced by Scott Madon Sr., who hails from a prominent Ibaloi and Kankanaey clan. Scott is no longer around today, but his son, Scott Jr. was kind enough to share stories with InterAksyon.com and March Fianza, also an Ibaloi and a fellow journalist, relaxing one afternoon near the Wright Park corral.
"When my father was starting out, there were plenty of horses, to feed and take care of, as Wright Park is very near Camp John Hay, which was an American rest-and-recreation military facility – it actually evolved into an air base: Camp John Hay Air Base – because the Loakan air field was practically adjacent to the property," Scott Jr. began.
The horse-riding treats were offered initially around Wright Park, which was adjacent to members and guests of the high-heeled Baguio Country Club, where a well-maintained golf course and recreation complex surrounded by lush pine stands had been established right next to Camp John Hay.
The "business" at Wright Park gradually became so well-known that, at one time, it maintained in its outlying stables and corrals as many as 200 horses for the enjoyment of riders, As business grew, more and more enterprising individuals joined up without Scott Madon posing objections. The more, the merrier, as they say.
George Lim, who does business in the area, pointed out that, nowadays, there are about 60 horses offered for the Camp John Hay area, and another 20 horses at the Country Club.
The pony boys at Wright Park say the among most frequented "routes" are the trails around the Beckel-Ambuclao Road, popularly dubbed as Marlboro Country, for obvious reasons, alluding to the evocative cowboy scenery associated with the cigarette commercial. Other routes include Mines View, Country Club and nearby Pacdal.
These areas are all within a two-hour leisurely ride from Wright Park, where tall and old pine trees and the cool weather help to impart the feeling of not being in hot and tropical Philippines,particularly during the "ber" months.
For equally enjoyable but longer jaunts, Madon Jr. pointed out, trips may be arranged to reach as far as Loakan Airport (two-hour itinerary) and the so-called Japanese Trail (three hours), Green Valley (four hours), and Mount Santo Tomas in Cabuyao, Tuba (five hours).
Other destinations, like Mount Pulag, may be discussed or negotiated by special arrangement.
Most neophyte riders, however, tend to confine their riding within the vicinity of Wright Park and the well-known Mansion House – the so-called Summer Malacañang where the President customarily spends a few days each summer away from the hustle and bustle of Manila.
The going charge per hour at Wright Park presently averages PhP 300, which is also the same rate at the Country Club area. It can be higher by P70 at the Camp John Hay area.
A so-called "double-ride," or, say, a kid with a companion on the same horse, fetches an additional payment of P50 per hour at Camp John Hay, but there is no additional payment at Wright Park.
A guide may be arranged for at least five riders, also to be paid P300 per hour, at Wright Park. Depending on negotiation, riders can have more guides who will each be paid P300 per hour.
With as many as 200 horses at Wright Park, prospective riders can choose their horses.
The horse-riding business contributes more than a modest level of revenue to the city coffers, through taxes paid, mainly, not just from the rides but also from ancillary business activity of the souvenir shops and eateries.
An officer of the Wright Park Pony Boys Association, George Lim disclosed that they pay for business permits to the city government and a horse owner pays P500 per horse a year. So, with the 200 horses, an amount of P100,000 is generated from the business permits for horses alone at Wright Park.
"Dayta ti contribution me iti local a gobyerno (This the revenue contribution to the local government)," explained Lim. They also pay for other fees like veterinarian fee and barangay fee, among others.
Some horses can be hired for as long as eight hours a day, depending on the wishes or request of tourists.
The tourism being seasonal in nature, business slackens during the non-peak spells, and it would be good if the local government can find solutions to the fluctuation in the livelihood prospects of those directly affected and also their dependent families.
"It's not sunshine all the time," Scott Madon smiled and shrugged.
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| The pony boys |
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| Some of the 200 horses for hire are presented at the stable. |
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