World jumping meet from today

The South Indian leg of FEI World Jumping Challenge will kick-off on Friday at the Equestrian Centre for Excellence (ECE) here.

The event will be held on three dates (December 2, 4 and 11) and will serve as a qualification for the World Show Jumping Finals next year.

“There will be three categories -- Category A (130cm), Category B (120cm) and Category C (110cm) — that individuals will particpate in but only Category A results will be considered by the FEI (Federation Equestre Internationale), after which riders will be given a world ranking,” Nitin Gupta, head coach and Director of ECE, said.

“The course will include 12 jumps of the same construction and placement and the riders will be judged on the timing they clock,” he said.

ECE’s Rushil Patel, who had paricipated in the world event earlier this year and finished 14th, will be missing from action this time but other leading riders, including Keavaan Setalvad, Jibran Khan and Rishabh Mehta, along with Gupta himself, will be vying for a slot in the finals.

Explaining the format, Gupta said, “There will be six rounds in each category and the riders will go through this routine twice through the course of a day. The 130 cm will feature eight riders, the 120cm will have nine and the 110cm will see more participation with a total of 32 riders.”

The FEI picks the top two riders from ten zones (betweeen eight and 10 countries feature in each zone) around the world to participate in the world finals.

The North Indian leg of the event will be held simultaneously in New Delhi.