There was a surprise during the 2016 Cinta Indonesia Open (CIO) equestrian championship. Billy Ramandey from West Papua competed professionally for the first time and accomplished a prominent achievement. He made history at a very young age, 16 years old, as the first equestrian athlete – the first rider – from the Papua Island.
Billy Ramandey and His Dream
Billy Ramandey is a son from Jayapura, the capital of Papua province. His father is Zeth Ramandey and his mother is Sami Ningsih. All of his family live in Jayapura.
In 2014, young Ramandey left West Papua to pursue his childhood dream – becoming an equestrian athlete. Supported by the West Papua government (and Freeport), he went to Java Island and enrolled the APM Team in Tangerang, Banten.
APM Equestrian Center is one of the riding horse schools in Indonesia. Young Ramandey, together with his other six riders (four male and two female) from Papua, became the first generation to study there.
In addition to learning equestrian agility, young Ramandey has determined to stay and finish his study in APM High School. Recently he has the goal of joining the National Sports Games (PON XX) that happens to be held in his homeland.
His other dream is to be the first West Papua athlete who can achieve a gold medal in that national sports event.
It is worth talking about the 2016 Cinta Indonesia Open (CIO) Championship since it has an impactful meaning to Billy Ramandey’s professional career.
The Cinta Indonesia Open (CIO) Championship
First held in 2007, Cinta Indonesia Open (CIO) is a prestigious equestrian championship at the national level. It is an inter-school competition, an important event for young equestrian athletes.
The purpose of the CIO is a medium to find the next young seeds for this horse riding sport. The following action will be coaching for future national riders. Therefore, this tournament calls for the early-age riders from primary, junior high, and senior high schools.
All the contestants will compete in about thirty (30) classes in Dressage (matching riding) and Jumping (jumping over obstacles). Of course, they will participate within each of their levels.
Since the CIO’s first establishment, the participants of this event, especially among the students of this school, have increased in number from year to year.
Billy Ramandey and the 2016 CIO
The 2016 Cinta Indonesia Open (CIO) championship marked Billy Ramandey’s professional career as an equestrian athlete. This competition took place from 11 to November 2016. The event venue was Adria Pratama Mulya (APM) Equestrian Center in Tapos Village, Tigaraksa, Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia.
In this tournament, the 16-year-old Billy came out as one of the champions in the Dressage category of Walk-Trot class Inter-High School. He made astounding history as the first equestrian athlete, the first generation rider from West Papua.
The Adria Pratama Mulya (APM) Equestrian Center
As previously mentioned, Billy Ramandey is one of the seven children from West Papua who has been pursuing education in Adria Pratama Mulya (APM) Equestrian Center. They are the first generation of equestrian athletes from Papua land.
APM is the only school in Indonesia that has intra-curricular equestrian included in the official national curriculum. Based in Tangerang-Banten, it also provides boarding-school service to its students and athletes.
Established in 2008, APM Equestrian Center has its professional coaches and skilled instructors to deliver the lesson following each rider’s ability. They provide dressage and jumping lessons for all levels, from beginner (first time) to advanced show riders.
Billy Ramandey and APM Equestrian Center
West Papua and Freeport have sponsored the indigenous children to have the chance of learning equestrian sports to APM. The first generation has been studying there since 2014.
Billy Ramandey was in 11th grade of APM High School when he won the 2016 CIO Championship.
He said that he wants to stay at the APM Club even after he graduated from high school. In addition to his parents’ wish, he also wants to deepen his knowledge and improve his skills. He hopes he can present something to his homeland, West Papua, as an equestrian athlete.
