Shillong, Nov 20: The two-day 1st Shillong Horse Shown & Regional Equestrian League concluded at Polo Ground here today.
Riders and horses took part in dressage (a series of predetermined movements), showjumping (leaping over sets of fences, pictured), tent pegging (where the rider attempts to spear a small target while at full pace on horseback) and hacks (where horses are marked on quality and manners).
Participating riders came from Assam Rifles, Assam Police, NCC cadets, Assam Valley School, Equestrian Federation of Assam and North Eastern Police Academy.
It was the tent pegging and showjumping events of the second day that really caught the imagination of those watching, with the magnificent horses running at full tilt in the former and leaping over obstacles in the latter (although sometimes the horses wouldn’t jump. Watch the video below for that). Children and parents were keen to have a photograph taken beside the horses and it appeared that many were enthralled by the event.
According to the Equestrian Association of Meghalaya (EAM), which organised the event, horse shows have been held in the state before, but this is the first held by a state body. Previous events included the Junior National Equestrian Championships & International Young Riders Championships in 1996 and an All India Police Equestrian Meet organised by the Assam Rifles.
Polo was also held in Shillong, hence the name of the neighbourhood, but that sport is a thing of the past.
The EAM was formed in the June, in preparation for the 2022 National Games, and has become recognised by the Meghalaya State Olympic Association and Equestrian Federation of India.
Full results (name of rider, name of horse):
Open jumping: 1st Angad Singh Sekhon, Brave Heart; 2nd Dhrub Choudhury, Corleon; 3rd Jintu Moni Chetry, Derititto
Open dressage: 1st Hav Lakhbir Singh, Red Rum; 2nd Lt Col Saurabh Aithmian, Hercules; 3rd RFN Sunil, Tanaji
Open tent pegging: 1st RFC BR Jena, Tornado; 2nd RFN Dinesh Karlekar, Rampage; 3rd RFN Santosh Kumar Das, Pathfinder
Open jumping top score: 1st Sidhanth Kabra, Paras; 2nd Abdullah Ashraf, Thunderbolt; 3rd Lt Col Saurabh Aithmian, Pawan Putra
Open hacks: 1st RFN Anil Kumar, Red Rum; 2nd Nammier Ahmed, Maharana; 2nd RFN Prathivya Shukla, Mastani; 2nd Angad Singh Sekhon, Brave Heart; 3rd Abdullah Ashraf, Pickpocket; 3rd Dhrub Choudhury, True Genius
Junior jumping: 1st Angad Singh Sekhon, Brave Heart; 2nd Dhrub Choudhury, Corleon; 3rd Abdullah Ashraf, Thunderbolt
Junior dressage: 1st Abhinav Gautam, Danube Valley; 2nd Dhrub Choudhury, Pickpocket; 3rd Angad Singh Sekhon, Brave Heart
Children 1 showjumping: 1st Arjun Aryan Chaliah, Brave Heart; 2nd Arman Abdullah, Thunderbolt; 3rd Keshav Mour, Danube Valley
Children 1 dressage: 1st Arman Abdullah, Maharana; 2nd Kavya Bagrodia, True Genius; 3rd Arjun Aryan Chaliah, Danube Valley
Children 2 showjumping: 1st Karmik Bam, Thunderbolt; 2nd Anikaith Anant Joshi, Brave Heart; 3rd Prashuk Jain, Luckey
Children 2 dressage: 1st Anikaith Anant Joshi, Maharana; 2nd Karmik Bam, Braveheart
(TSR photo)