Chennai holds National Equestrian Championship

Several ace horse riders from India and abroad have congregated in Chennai to showcase their skills astride at the ongoing fortnight long National Equestrian Championship-2007 here.

By Jaikumar

Chennai, Dec.20 : Several ace horse riders from India and abroad have congregated in Chennai to showcase their skills astride at the ongoing fortnight long National Equestrian Championship-2007 here.

Thirty three national teams from across the country along with the teams from Australia, Japan, Singapore and Turkey are participating in this championship.

Hosted by the Indian Army's Officers' Training Academy (OTA), the premier competition and the events are being held at the Mohite Stadium located in OTA's camp.

Show jumping, dressage and tent pegging are the events in which the participants are displaying equestrian skills.

According to the participants, OTA has very good facilities for horse riders like excellent stables and courses.

"The training facilities in this college are very good. They have various courses for our training," said Suvidhar Bhagivrath, a participant.

The national championship commenced from December 14. It will last till December 30.

Participants in the age group from 10 to 21 years are participating in the junior category.

This edition of the tournament has Aliya Dasgupta as the lone woman participant.

"It's the only sport in the whole world where men and women are competing at the same level. So it's really important for women to come up and play it on the same field. But as you can see, this is the highest level in this show and I'm the only girl competing, which is a little sad," said Aliya Dasgupta, the woman equestrian.

The prize money for this year's competition is nearly rupees ten lakhs (about one million).

Though there is controversy over the exact date horses were domesticated and when they were first ridden, indirect evidence suggests that horses were ridden long before they were driven. The best estimate is that people rode around 4,500 B.C.

Equestrianism refers to the skill of riding or driving horses which includes both use of horses for practical, working purposes as well as recreational activities and competitive sports.

ANI