Hot on the heels of a horse training enterprise

by Ruwanthi Abeyakoon 

HORSE TRAINER: She has entered a male domain establishing herself as a horse trainer. She casts her spell over the horses and ponies that come her way, training them and guiding them. She has been named after a racehorse, destined to build her career and life around horses. Horse trainer, Charminstar Pereira runs her enterprise in Nuwara Eliya.

"Charminstar is a North Indian horse. My mother and my uncle had named me after this horse. When I was two years old I was put on a horse. When I was four years I started learning about horses," she said.

Her passion for horses finally turned into a business. "When I was small I used to watch a gentleman ride his horse every morning while having my milk. I developed my interest and later it helped me earn a living," Pereira said.

She has been in this enterprise for thirty years. "I was involved in race courses since 1976. I bought the first pony in 1977 for my daughter Shalini. She is also interested in horses.

I regularly visit the stables and spend most of my time there. I decided to get my licence in horse training and I got it in 1993," she explained.

"I got my own stable in 1991."

Pereira has gone places with her training during the past years. "There are different classes in horse races and I have won all categories including Mayor's Cup in 1998. In 2003 I trained a horse called Stormpast which had never won a race before and won the first place," she said.

"I love the animals very much and I take a lot of trouble to train them. I work hard to produce good results.

My achievements are based on sheer hard work. Many owners keep their horses under my care because of my hard work.

I trained the horses for the Suranjith Premadasa Riding School also," Pereira added. She finds training a horse similar to training an athlete.

"You have to do fitness programmes, give the horse lots of oats, vitamins and fresh water.

You have to work hard to keep the horse in good health. You should never use drugs. It will only kill the animal. You have to get the potential of your horse," she said.

"Improving my business and being in the business was not easy. There were lots of obstacles. But I strongly moved forward. I got a lot of support from Bajrang, a top Indian rider and Selvaratnam family who trains the horses for the royal family in Dubai.

My friends helped me when I had barriers on my way," Pereira explained. She said that Thaura, Wild Fire, Stormpast and Crusader are some of the best horses she has trained. "I am very much attached to these animals. I talk to them and don't tolerate anyone being nasty and hard on animals."

"It is sad that racing has come down in Sri Lanka. Owners don't want to invest because they are not sure of the future. I hope that things will turn out well in the future to expand my business and to develop this field in Sri Lanka," she added.