Riding high At the army?s historic annual Delhi Horse Show, skill and training mix with hats and champagne

Dressed in a fitted plain shirt, white breeches and riding boots, 17-year-old Jitender Singh mounts the horse in one swift move, patting its forehead every now and then. “Ali Baba, go…” he whispers before entering the arena for the “young rider’s puissance”, a high jump competition. Within the next few minutes, Ali Baba, a majestic stallion, makes four brilliant metre-high jumps and his rider is cleared to the next round. Singh is one of the 600 riders participating in the Anand Delhi Horse Show (DHS) 2012, organised by the Army Polo Club and Riding Club. This afternoon, the atmosphere at the Army Equestrian Centre in Delhi Cantonment is reminiscent of a bygone era. From the stands, army families cheer on the riders; the men — almost inconspicuous in their branded sunglasses and polo shirts — discuss the technique in the horses’ jumps. “Relaxed jump”, “Too rushed”, “There’s no rhythm between the rider and the horse”, they remark. Champagne is guzzled from flutes. Unfazed by the harsh sun, the women look up from under their straw hats and applaud the children who are participating in various events. Click here for Cloud Computing Also Read Related Stories News Now - Thomas Cook to sponsor 'The Baroda Cup' In the “play-off zone”, young riders warm up for the competition with their horses trotting along. While the riders arrived from Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and other cities a day before DHS, the horses have been training for about 10 days. “We have brought in 700 horses from the paramilitary forces, the police, schools and army clubs,” says a proud Major Rohit Dagar with a smile. He is secretary of the Army Polo Club and Riding Club, an officer of 61 Cavalry, and a proficient rider. He received the Best Senior Rider trophy from Army Chief General V K Singh — who also happens to be the president of the APRC — for his performance during DHS last year. In another arena, dressage is under way. This is a competitive horse training with programmed rides called “tests” that riders must memorise. “Dressage helps to develop a horse’s athletic ability and willingness to perform,” says Adhiraj Mukerji, 21, winner of the Young Rider Dressage. Though the horse’s response to the skilled rider appears effortless, the event requires great discipline. It is also called “horse’s ballet”. History is visible in various aspects of DHS. One of the military’s older traditions, DHS dates back to the British Raj, when the British Indian Army launched the show as a grand social event at Rajpath, then called Kingsway. After Independence, the venue was shifted to the Red Fort. Even then, DHS attracted the cream of Delhi society and Indian royalty. Hawkers from Chandni Chowk would set up shop near the venue. Men participated in most of the events, while women were mostly seen at dressage. Since then, DHS has been shifted from one venue to another because of infrastructure issues — from the Jaipur Polo Ground to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium to the Army Equestrian Centre, where it has remained since 2002. DHS enjoys ample sponsor support. Apart from automotive parts manufacturer Anand, one also finds billboards of luxury brands Jaguar and Hermès on the grounds. With no hawkers in sight now, it is a formally catered affair. The “jump show” requires great skill and coordination with your horse, says Fouda Mirza, 20, a rider from Bangalore. His own mare — Polina — was brought in from his hometown. “But I am not riding her today,” he admits. Which is why, he says, he faced four penalties and didn’t clear the round. The jumps include puissance, where the rider is required to jump a wall, a test of his horse’s power and capability. In Six Bars, the rider must face six vertical obstacles with the height raised after every successful jump. The rules are strict, too. If a rider misses the jump due to a “temperamental” horse, termed as First Refusal, he faces a penalty. On Second Refusal, however, he is eliminated. If the rider knocks down any of the obstacles during the jump, he faces more penalties. After the event, some riders grunt, and some cuss. Others hug their coaches. The horses simply rest. They’ve had a long week.