LAHORE: President Mamnoon Husain on Thursday inaugurated the National Horse and Cattle Show, that staged a comeback in the city after 11 years at the Fortress Stadium.

Though the attendance remained thin in the morning on a working day while the sky was overcast and it drizzled intermittently, a good number of visitors came to watch a variety of segments held in the evening.

Since the security had been beefed up jointly by the army and police in and around the venue, visitors were frisked at four spots before they entered the stadium.

Take a look: Horse and Cattle Show stages comeback

“Holding such a colourful festival sends a message that the people of Pakistan were not afraid of cowardly acts of terrorists. Happy faces of people present in the show give a message of unity and solidarity of the nation against terrorism,” the president said after he inaugurated the event.

He said the government had launched 15 mega projects for power generation that would surely help us get rid of the loadshedding forever. The government’s economic development road map, in collaboration with China, would certainly change economic condition of the region in general and Pakistan in particular, he added.

“I think the Horse and Cattle Show which will be held after three years will be much different from this one, as the people will have more smiles because of massive reduction in loadshedding by then,” the president added.

The day one of the show brought various items, including traditional cavalcade and exhibition of animals on track, tent pegging, horse riding, dog race, PT show, national songs and military parade etc.

As soon as the president inaugurated the show, the national anthem was played by the army band. The event began after a group of Achison College horse riders formally sought permission from the president in this regard. National songs were sung jointly by a group of students and singers.

Unity dance presented jointly by the children from Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Gilgit Baltistan was widely appreciated. The dancing children also formed national flag by synchronising. “It is really an amazing event after a long time. The government must hold it on regular basis,” Akhtar, a participant commented while talking to Dawn.

Another segment that received much appreciation was exhibition of rare breeds of buffalo, cow, goat and sheep etc. The owners paraded their beautifully decorated cattle in front of the audience and won applause. Sahiwal cow breed, which are famous for their milk capacity, received huge appreciation from the people. The owners had brought their presentable livestock from far-flung areas, including Muzaffargarh, Khanewal, Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Sargodha.

Colorful floats representing culture and history of Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab, KP and Gilgit-Baltistan were another attraction that was aimed at promoting unity, brotherhood and solidarity in the country. Dancers clad in traditional attires of various areas of the country gave mesmerizing performances on the floats.

While a Pakistan Rangers contingent passed parading in front of the audience they chanted Pakistan Zindabad. Two squads of Pakistan Rangers riding motorcycles and horses performed wonderful stunts. Tent-pegging and horse dance were also among various interesting segments.

In the evening, the people enjoyed Tattoo Show comprising armed forces’ parade, a grand fireworks show and some other segments.

Published in Dawn March 6th, 2015

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