BENGALURU: Winning two silver medals at the 2018 Asian Games was a welcome change despite the fact that the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) didn’t want to send a team to the quadrennial event. Although the troubled path for equestrian athletes is far from over, considering that EFI is facing derecognition by the Indian Olympic Association for not complying with the sports code, they can now rely on horses bred in India to save massive expenses.
“The Equestrian Federation is inefficient and we lost total support from the government. If the import duty is not lowered, then it is difficult to import horses in the country and the condition of Gelding is horrible in India. In spite of the gelding test done in Europe, the Indian government insists on the test of horses for one month in India. During this period, the horses are poorly looked after,” said Lt Colonel Sandeep Dewan, who runs the Nilgiris Equestrian Centre in Tamil Nadu.
The horses required for international event costs anywhere between 100,000-300,000 euros, making it almost impossible for an individual rider to pursue the sport. In addition, riders are required to pay 42 per cent import duty and keep the horses quarantined for a month, making the costs go higher. The poor quarantine facility in the country also leaves the animal in bad health conditions and needs veterinary attention, increasing the costs further. Ashish Limaye, a young rider-cum-instructor at the Embassy International Riding School (EIRS), believes breeding sports horses in the country is the solution.
“It is not only expensive but a painful process to buy horses. The procedure to procure licence is a big hassle. You are not even allowed to resell horses, which is a big nuisance. So, if we get horses which are bred in India, it becomes easier,” says the 25-year-old, who secured the first place in the open category in the 10th Equestrian Premier League (EPL) which concluded at the EIRS during the weekend.
There is hope for the equestrian athletes though. EIRS, Bengaluru, has extended their support, breeding warm-blood horses (European horses used for top-level equestrian events) at their centre. Silva Storai, EIRS director, who also oversees the breeding programme, emphasised the importance of a horse breeding programme.
“The duty on importing equestrian horses is a huge stopper along with a hefty amount for the licence, coupled with pathetic quarantine process in which you have a chance of losing the horse due to pathetic conditions,” Storai says, adding, “We breed the mare horses with imported stallions resulting in the progeny acquiring the same blood-line as the European breeds. We started the programme five years ago and not only do we use the stallions to breed, but also the progeny, which are four-year-olds.”
Right now, EIRS breeds around 4-5 horses a year and doesn’t suffice to hundreds of equestrian athletes in the country. But Limaye believes it is going to be helpful once the number of breeders increases.
“We have had horses bred at the EIRS and three of them are doing really well. If this continues, we won’t need to import horses. But, the breeding industry is still at an early stage so success rate is still low,” says Limaye.