Fifteen-year-old Tiyasha Vathul, astride her horse, leaps over a multi-coloured hurdle in a show of absolute control and poise. Sporting a helmet, riding boots, gloves and a coat, the Junior National Equestrian Championship Winner 2019 is effortlessly in control of her horse at the grounds of the Chennai Equitation Centre. She is one among the top riders from South India who will attend the Chennai Horse Show-CEC SAK Equestrian Championships this weekend, that invites people across the city to familiarise themselves with the sport that is often considered as ‘niche’ or inaccessible.
Spread over three days, the show will have a mix of competitions and other entertaining events aimed at the non-rider fraternity. This is the first time that Chennai Equitation Centre (CEC) is hosting an event in their home ground, located at Sholinganallur. “All the big shows have been happening at Bengaluru since the past two or three years. We usually take our horses there. But this year, we thought we should bring it to Chennai,” says Isabelle Futnani, part of the organising team at CEC, who is an international dressage rider and coach herself.
Riders and their horses from Bengaluru, Puducherry, Coimbatore, Hyderabad and elsewhere will be competing. Some of the names to look out for are Nitin Gupta (National Champion 2019) and Rishab Mehta (three times National FEI World Jumping Challenge Winner) from Bengaluru’s Club URB, Issac Koshy (National rider) from Madras School of Equitation. From CEC, Tiyasha, along with Bharat Manoharan, Aditya Krishna and Pradhyutha will compete.
- Pas-Deux-Run Dressage Open:
- It will have a team consisting of one rider and one runner who are required to complete a dressage test together. The performance will be judged on synchronicity, accuracy and impulsion.
- Jump-Ride-Run 100 cm Open
- This event is an obstacle course divided in three sections for a team comprising three people — jumping a 100-cm high hurdle with the horse, riding a bike through an obstacle course and running through an obstacle course.
- Fancy Dress competition
- This will see the rider (below 18 years of age) and horse sporting matching outfits and decorations, followed by a ramp walk.
- Pony-Riders-Fun Event
- This is for pony-riders who will be led by a groom. They have to complete a number of challenges on the course and show their coordination skills. Participants from outside are given a chance to compete on ponies from CEC.
From the many curated events, says Isabelle, seven events have been designed around show jumping, in which the horses and riders are required to jump (usually within a time limit) over a series of obstacles. There are also events designed for children below the age of 12.
“We have people joining from the Army and police along with their horses. They will be competing with teenagers and other men and women in the same categories. The competitions are all about how well you have put your skills in place. It has very little to do with physical strength. It is mostly about your focus,” says Isabelle.
The main show will include the three events for competition: Eventing, Dressage and Jumping. For this, riders from across the city are welcome to register. “So far, 50 horses will compete from CEC and an additional 50 horses have registered from outside the club,” she says.
The Chennai Horse Show will remain a free event, in an attempt to encourage people to cultivate interest in the sport. “It’s still a very small community. And many people have a lot of misconceptions about the animal and the sport. So we expect that when people see children doing the sport effortlessly, it will generate a lot of interest among the crowds. They are also welcome to interact with the horses and familiarise,” says Isabelle adding that this year, a footfall of 200 to 300 is expected.
Chennai Horse Show will be held from March 6 to March 8 at Chennai Equitation Centre, Sholinganallur. VIP and family tickets at allevents.in