Did you see those Malaysian fences at the KL Grand Prix and the STC Equestrian Championships?  Everyone seemed taken by them, including course designer Frank Rothenberger. 

Did you know that they were made in Malaysia by the Equestrian.Com.My/Transtheme team of Natasha Mustapha and Peter Abisheganaden?   The many compliments we have had on the showjumping fences we have made have convinced us to write a story on what we do, and how we have done it.  It’s a story about turning our interests into a business.  It’s a story about Malaysia Boleh!  Here’s Peter’s story of how they got into designing and making feature fences.

Two years ago I was approached by Lorna Fisher at the Selangor Turf Club to course design for the National Horse Show 2002.  I agreed and was soon dreaming up features for the derby course.  I plunged and plundered the Hickstead website and read any material I could on derbies.  Paul Weier helped with videos of famous derbies and as a source of inspiration.  He later visited the derby course to give us his comments.  He inspired the above ground coffin or what we call the devil’s dyke.

In the course of dreaming up landscape features, we all said “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could have some Malaysian-themed fences on this derby course.”  Almost all the jump-sets that have been created or imported have a generic European look to them.

We wanted something that says, “This is Malaysia.” 

I am blessed with a wife, Natasha, who is a talented artist and someone as interested as me in producing fences that reflect Malaysiana.  We all came up with ideas, and Natasha converted these ideas into drawings.   Paul Weier again guided with advice, steering us away from the complicated and making simplicity an essence of the designs, not only in the creative ideas but in the functionality of the fences.   All designs are “drawn” on computer using Adobe Illustrator, then shown to the clients in hard copy or on computer.   They can be e-mailed to overseas clients. 

We produced a first collection of about 10 designs, 7 of which were selected by the Selangor Turf Club, our first clients, for the National Horse Show 2002.  

It was, and remains, a creative endeavour.  We wanted fences that could show the variety of life, the multi-cultural and multi-ethnic diversity that is Malaysia.  

Coming up with designs was one thing.  Coming up with the fences was quite another.  Technically I had no doubts that we could produce showjumping fences that would satisfy the FEI requirements.  What we wanted were fences that were visually stunning. 

The Pasu and Rafflesia that were produced for the National Horse Show 2002 were the first few fences that used a technique that we knew about and had adapted from the theatre - using polystyrene to create shapes before multi-coating with polyurethane to harden the surface.   This technique creates a hard P.U. ‘skin’ that protects the polystyrene and allows the material to be painted. 

Easier said than done, of course.  It’s not something that we do in our backyard.  Having created the vision of these fences, we then turned them over to the artists to produce.  If you have seen the Hibiscus fence that was commissioned by Asiapromote for Tourism Malaysia, it’s a fine example of the detailed work that goes into this technique.  The P.U. coating and painting doesn’t make the fence.  It’s the design and the artist’s interpretation that do.    And for that reason we try to work with only the best theatre prop-designers in Malaysia.   David Wong has a team of workers that usually do just theatre props and national day floats.  We’ve been working with him for the last two years in creating showjumping fences.

We’ve now created fences for the National Horse Show 2002, STC Equestrian Championships 2003 and the CSI***** KL Grand Prix. 

Some of the more creative ideas have resulted in fences like the more challenging 3-dimensional fences such as the Pasu, Keris, Bunga Raya, Eau Claire and Seahorses.  Perhaps the most challenging fence to be made was the 3.5 m Twin Towers that was commissioned for the KL Grand Prix.  It had to be cut and placed layer-by-layer, storey-by-storey. 

 Of course we do the ‘flat’ designs that are more stereotypical of showjumping fences.  Even then we try to come up with designs that catch the eye, such as the Butterflies, Rafflesia, Orchid, and Water Wheels.  Sometimes we are able to use a sponsor’s logo in a 2-d design such as the Kris International fence that was made for the KL Grand Prix.

Everything is proudly made in Malaysia, including the cups and keyhole strips.  Only when working for the KL Grand Prix did we use Caro’s keyhole strips so that all the fences at the KL Grand Prix would work on the same keyhole system. 

The only imported materials that we use are pine poles so that the weight of poles is restricted to 12 kg or less, and FEI approved safety cups, which must be used for holding the back rails of oxers.

The best compliment came from KL Grand Prix course designer Frank Rothenberger.  He runs Caro, the foremost company in the world in manufacturing showjumping fences.  Frank was pleased enough in our work that he asked if we might make some for his company.  That’s the best endorsement we can have.