Mikee in Jodhpur splendor

Cojuangco-Jaworski

I ALWAYS WANTED to be like Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski. I mean she has almost everything. She grew up rich and privilege. Manor-born. Who wouldn't want to be manor born? She's smart (Ateneo- AB Psychology) and gorgeous. But most of all, she oozes kindness. Her simple smile can illuminate a room. Not all people are blessed with such sparkling presence.

"She was born with all the good fairies gazing over her crib," paraphrasing Candice Bergen for In-Style magazine, speaking about Gwyneth Paltrow. But unlike the Gwyneth Paltrows of this world who exude sophistication beyond the reach of the "masang Pinoy," Mikaela Maria Antonia, the third daughter of high-profile politicians only brims with simplicity.

Mikee, the pride and joy of Peping and Ting-ting Cojuangco began riding at the age of 10. Although she already wanted to learn two years earlier at eight, her parents were kind of adamant against her starting early. She launched a career in equestrian competitions right away, acquiring a first international experience at 16 in 1990 in Shizuoka, Japan where she placed third in individual show jumping.

Equestrian (eventing) has three phases: dressage, cross-country and show jumping. I love watching dressage the most. Getting into the beat of the hypnotic rhythm of the rider and the horse is awe-inspiring. Cross-country is an exhaustive endurance race to the finish. While show jumping offers obstacles, pretty-looking ones like a pond or a stack of hays, the rider is judged by the clock and the penalties incurred.

Obviously, Mikee is a show-jumper. Our entire Philippine team at the Asiad, were, I believe, show jumpers; Daniella Cojuangco, Paola Cojuangco, Michelle Cojuangco-Barrera and Toni Leviste. Yes, they've got nice family names. As Pinoys, we're a bit conscientious with surnames. But equestrian is an expensive sport. Money is the bottom line. A horse is an expensive commodityAmore extravagant than most cars. If one competes in equestrian events, the rider has to shoulder everything - grooming, travel, food. One could have sponsors, if enterprising enough, but that will only cover a slice of the pie.

What was great with Mikee was that she was able to parlay and segue both her horsemanship and showbiz career for five years (1994-99) in awesome strides. We all know she stopped acting when she got married in '99 but still it was a dynamic five years. Being in showbiz helped finance some of her events abroad and how she was able to sustain that disciplined lifestyle is quite mind-numbing.

The elegant equestrienne did about nine movies, breaking ground with Forever with Aga Muhlach in 1994 until her last film Kasangga...Kahit Kelan with Cesar Montano in 1998. There was another movie with Aga and Onemig Bondoc in '97 and with Bong Revilla, also about the same year. But I managed to see DO RE MI with Regine Velasquez and Nag-iisang Ikaw with Kempee De Leon and Matthew Mendoza. As an actress, Mikee wasn't particularly that brilliant, she wasn't over the top either. But she was Viva Film's major star not because she was a Cojuangco but because she has beguiled the nation with her effervescent smile in that Swatch commercial.

From 1995-1999, Mikee also got to star in her own drama anthology named after her, produced by Viva Television on GMA. "Mikee" was reformatted to a sitcom in early '99, and after tying the knot with Dudut became a "Lovingly Yours, Helen," of sorts, dubbed "Dear Mikee." Usually only big stars command their own anthology cum sitcom or variety show, the likes of Sharon Cuneta and Maricel Soriano. In a way, she was like Kris Aquino. Like her cousin, the family name and connections are mere appetizers, the real deal was the screen presence.

To give way to married life, Mikee took a sabbatical both from competitions and acting in 2000 to care for her growing family, her eldest son Robbie, as well as being wife to Dudut. She was shooting commercials and magazine covers but not much appearances in the showbiz circuit. She went back into competition in 2001 prior to the birth of her second son Rafael Joseph.

Before the Asiad, Mikee wasn't really the star equestrienne of the team. In my observations, she was always in the shadows of Denise Cojuangco and Toni Leviste. In fact, it was Toni who represented the Philippines in the Sydney Olympics. She was in a way, overlooked as a contender. Her triumph came as a huge surprise considering the strong field and the Asian Games being such huge event. Somehow the equestrian gods smiled broadly at our Mikee.

A Cojuangco or not, Mikee toiled hard to be a champion rider, more than worthy to carry flag and country. Everyday, she got up before 5AM, driving in the countryside to tend to her horses, riding them, walking them around the paddocks, feeding, scooping hay from the pile, sweeping the manure. Such is the disciplined grounding of a rider. In a way, all our equestriennes were actually and equally stunners, not just Mikee. *

Back to top

Next: Sports bits