Sultan Terengganu Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin joins the national endurance team in a training session in preparation for the SEA Games 2017 at the Terengganu International Endurance Park (TIEP) track in Setiu August 16, 2017. — Bernama pic

SETIU, Aug 19 — Terengganu Sultan, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin will go down in SEA Games history as the first Sultan to participate in the SEA Games and probably win a medal as he joins local and foreign participants in the SEA Games (KL2017) Endurance race which offers two gold medals.

Endurance which features five countries offers two gold medals in individual and team events.

In the 80km event, the Sultan and the rest of the participants will be flagged at 3am and expected to complete the race by 5pm.

All five riders representing the country are from the east coast states, four from Terengganu — Muhammad Fuad Hashim, Mohd Bulkhari Rozali, Mohd Adhwa Embong, Azizatul Asma Abdullah while Mohd Yusran Yusuf is from Kelantan.

Malaysian team manager Malaysia Che Mat Din Ismail said Sultan Mizan’s participation was not only a historic moment for the state of Terengganu, for the SEA Games as well since this was the first time a Sultan is participating in an Endurance race.

Sultan Mizan will be riding on his horse Rtes Annaversary, Muhammad Fuad (Mora Makaka, Mohd Adhwa (Mora Franka), Mohd Bulkhari (JQ Tuan Junior), Mohd Yusran (Castlebar Twilight) and Azizatul Asma (Mora Tishaka).

Apart from Sultan Mizan, petite Azizatul Asma, 21, is expected to be the focus of the competition since she becomes the first woman to compete in an Endurance event of the SEA Games although the event is normally dominated by men.

Azizatul will be riding her horse Mora Tishaka that won third place at the 120km Endurance race of the 2013 FEI World Endurance For Young Riders and Junior in Uruguay.

Meanwhile, the President of ‘Veterinary Delegate’ Prof Madya Datuk Dr Bashir Ahmad Fateh Mohamed said 25 horses from five countries had passed the first phase of inspection at the Terengganu International Endurance Park (TIEP), here today.

“The 25 horses are from Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia and Brunei. This is however, the first of check up on the horses because after finishing every loop, the horses must attend an inspection to determine if they can continue the race,” he told Bernama, here today. — Bernama