A first: Horse show to begin at Mullanpur club tomorrow

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 27

For the first time in the region, Chandigarh Horse Show will be organised from October 29 to 31 at a Mullanpur-based equestrian club, “The Ranch”.

In one of its kind, the event will be a vanity fair with an aim to promote equestrian sports. Among the 150 participants, Olympian Imtiaz Anees, who competed in the individual event at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and finished 23rd overall, will also be making his presence. Dilpreet Sidhu, executive leader of Chandigarh Horse Show, said the event would be inaugurated by UT SSP Kuldeep Chahal.

On the last day of the show, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and DGP Punjab Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota will honour the winners. Show jumping and tent pegging events will be organised as per the guidelines of the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI).

“As many 21 events, including tent pegging, show jumping and six-bars, will be organised. A total of 150 riders from across the nation have confirmed their entries so far. In addition, the event is being organised under the aegis of the EFI and the winners will carry forward the rankings obtained here to future tournaments,” said Sidhu.

He said: “The winner of each event will be awarded Rs10,000, while the runners-up will get Rs6,000 and the second runners-up will purse Rs4,000.”

Gursher Dhillon, chief coordinator at “The Ranch”, said the main objective of the show was to promote equestrian sport among people of all age groups.

“Horse riding as a sport has a lot of reach in the western countries, but it still needs to be promoted to that level in India,” said Dhillon.

Meanwhile, teams from the Indian Navy, Chandigarh Police, Haryana Police, Gurgaon Horse Club, PAP Punjab, Budda Dal School, Patiala, YPS, Patiala, Vardhinand Horse Academy and others will participate in the show. The show will offer a carnival experience through food stalls, games for kids, horse riding and others.