A big boost to equestrian sports

February 04, 2016 12:00 am | Updated 05:35 am IST - HYDERABAD:

Capt. Arti Rawat showing her skills in the preliminary event of the National Show Jumping at Hyderabad Polo and Riding Club at Aziznagar on Wednesday.— PHOTO: V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM

Capt. Arti Rawat showing her skills in the preliminary event of the National Show Jumping at Hyderabad Polo and Riding Club at Aziznagar on Wednesday.— PHOTO: V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM

For a select Hyderabadis, who assembled at the Hyderabad Polo and Riding Club at Aziznagar on Wednesday, the sight of Capt. Arti Rawat (along with Veerendra Khaja) showcasing her skills in the first-ever national show jumping event at the venue would be something to remember for a long time.

With the Telangana Government Advisor B.V. Papa Rao, who is also the president of the Telangana State Equestrian Association (TESA), ensuring that the government backed his efforts by way of sprucing up the venue and putting in place what the Equestrian Federation of India secretary-general R.K. Swain termed as ‘fabulous’, the equestrian sports lovers are in for some pleasant surprises in the days to come.

“I can tell you that Hyderabad will be one of the hubs of equestrian sports in the days to come. When there was a bid by both Bhopal and Hyderabad to host this nationals and after due evaluation, we decided to give the chance to the latter with the specific objective of putting up a new venue on the equestrian national calendar,” Mr. Swain commented after the preliminary event on Wednesday. “And, I tell you, the commitment of the team officials led by Mr. Rao was commendable and now you see a quality venue for these kinds of competitions,” he added.

“The whole idea of hosting this national is to give the Telangana riders a feel of what it means to be in a competition at this level and also popularise the sport. We have already started coaching camps for the talent in and around Hyderabad and would initiate measures to take it to the districts,” Mr. Rao remarked. “Yes, it is still looked up as an elitist sport, but with the help of the government and by involving Army units, we would like to take the sport to those who love it, but cannot afford it,” he explained. “Our target is to host as many events as possible in Hyderabad and see that at least a few Telangana riders represent India in international meets,” the TESA president said.

For his part, Mr. Swain welcomed the emergence of a new facility on the EFI calendar and felt it to be a good augury. “More the merrier is our philosophy. I can assure you that this is going to be one of the major equestrian venues in future,” he signed off.

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