W Lamatty named best rider at National Equestrian Championship

The National Equestrian Championship (Tent Pegging), which began on February 15, concluded today with the Assam Rifles team emerging as the overall best team. W Lamatty, an experienced rider from Assam Rifles, was named the best rider of the championship and won a gold medal for his exceptional performance.

Lamatty (42), who started learning horse riding after joining the army, shared his journey with The Tribune, saying, “When I was learning horse riding, I fell from the horse 50-60 times. Now, it feels great to win the gold medal as the best rider.” Lamatty had previously participated in the National Equestrian Championship held in Jalandhar in 2017 but didn’t win any medals as he was new to the game. This time, his horse, Monark, played a crucial role in his success. Lamatty mentioned that he had been training with Monark for about six months before the event.

“It is a technical game. One must know how to keep the horses calm and cool. This is the most important thing,” he added.

While the host team, Punjab Armed Police (PAP), did not secure any medals, the riders showcased strong performances throughout the event. During the closing ceremony, Chief guest ADGP MF Farooqui took the salute during a grand march past by the equestrian players representing various teams in the championship.

DIG PAP Inderbir Singh congratulated all the participants and expressed gratitude to the judges. The chief guest, ADGP Farooqui, honoured the winning riders by presenting them with prizes. In his address, he expressed immense pride in hosting the event. The jury members for the championship were Col SS Solanky, Ahmad Afsar, Dr Athar Afsar and Quasim Beg.