Dehradun: Horse-riding competition will be held in the 38th National Games after a gap of 14 years. In the National Games 2011, the horse-riding competition was last held in Jamshedpur (Jharkhand). This will be a good opportunity for the horse riders of Uttarakhand to participate in the National Games 2025.
The National Games 2025, which will be hosted by Uttarakhand, may begin in the last week of January 2025. Special secretary Amit Sinha told reporters that preparations for hosting the National Games 2025 are almost complete. “The decision to include horse-riding in the medal competition aims to inspire the youths,” Sinha said. According to him, the horse riding arena is prepared on the sports college campus.
Use of the horses of Police department in this competition
The horses, owned by the police department, will be also used in the horse-riding competition. The sports department will sign a memorandum with the police department for this purpose. Currently, there are 20 horses kept on the premises of Dehradun Police Line. Special Secretary Sinha said it will be a good opportunity for the police department to use its horses. These horses are trained for riding.
The horse riders from Uttarakhand will participate in this event
As per the sports department, 400 horse-riders are expected to come to Uttarakhand for this event. About 200 horses will participate in it. However, Uttarakhand is still to decide the number of its players for this competition. The horse-riders from Uttarakhand, who will participate in the National Games 2025, will be selected by the state federation. The federation is likely to announce a date for the beginning of its camp.
Dressage, Show Jumping, and Cross-Country will be three main events
Three main events of horse-riding competition in the National Games 2025 will be Dressage, Show Jumping, and Cross-country. In Dressage, the horse and riders will perform a sequence of movements on the flat to demonstrate their graceful partnership.
The Dressage event is a test of speed, coordination and patience between horse and riders. The test determines the command of riders over the horse. Show jumping involves the goal to navigate a course of jumps and obstacles in the arena with speed and accuracy. Cross-country is a challenging discipline that involves riding over natural obstacles and jumps across different terrains.
