About 60 horses and their riders will take the field to showcase their equestrian skills at the Auroville Horse Tournament (AHT) 2020, hosted by the Red Earth Riding School (RERS) in Auroville, starting on Friday.
The three-day event will feature international and national riders from clubs across South India in dressage and show jumping, Jacqueline Kapur, founder of RERS, told a press conference on Thursday.
The RERS is part of the South India Equestrian Association, an affiliate of the Equestrian Federation of India.
The teams hail from Bengaluru, Chennai, Udhagamandalam, Coimbatore, Ambur and Puducherry.
Riders will demonstrate their precision and finesse by executing complex dressage moves involving figures, transitions and lateral movements and jumping hurdles with varying heights ranging from the introductory 60 cm course to the 130 cm course.
The bar will literally be raised for show jumpers on Day Two.
The weekend will culminate with a 105 cm and 120-130 cm course in the morning and a fast-paced 85 cm relay for the young and adult riders and a four-bar jumping event where the heights will be phasedly increased by round until the winner is the last man standing.
If classical dressage is to develop through standardised progressive training methods, a horse’s natural ability to perform, show jumping packs drama as it involves clearing an obstacle course of fences and walls. The stamina, speed and flexibility of the horse come under test along with the relationship between rider and the beast. Competition rankings are determined by a combination of fewer faults and overall speed in round completion. Three-day eventing is another category of the equestrian sport.
“Interestingly enough, the three disciplines of dressage, show jumping and three-day eventing are the only Olympic sports in which men and women compete with each other on equal terms,” Ms. Jacqueline said.
The jumping events will be overseen by Lt. General R. K. Swamy, while dressage rounds will be scored by international judge Col. Sunil Shivdas.
Two-decade wait
Supported by the Embassy Group, the event will have a star attraction in rider Fouaad Mirza (Bengaluru), who has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics this year, ending a two-decade wait for an equestrian qualifier from the country on the world stage.
Arrangements are in place at RERS campus to house the horses with extra stables built.
Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi is among the dignitaries expected to attend the event.