Around 120 horse enthusiasts participated at the recently held fifth annual Hyderabad Horse Show. Organised by the Hyderabad Polo and Riding Club, this year not only saw a rise in the number of participants but several kids were seen queuing up to polo. It’s interesting to see how these young kids are leaving behind their videogames to learn something that is closer to nature.
Khader Siddiqui, the Principal of Hyderabad Polo and Riding Club (HPRC), says, “After seeing a demand pouring in from different age groups, we are one of the only horse riding clubs in Hyderabad which has ventured into Polo riding as well. When we started our club in 2005, we only had 80 members and now the number has multiplied to 800. Of these, 300 are active members. It’s good to see that more and more children are coming forward to learn the nuances of the sport.”
Nine-year-old Tia C. Kumar started to learn horse riding a year ago and now she is the winner in the children’s category —hacks. “I love horses and that was the reason I took up riding,” says Tia. Even 16-year-old Vishal Singh shares his passion for horses. “Both my father and grandfather are horse enthusiasts. I started pursuing it professionally when I was in Class III and have been participating actively in different events for the past four years.” The mantra to make it big in the horse riding circuit is to start learning it early, which the city kids are doing. Naren Venkat, now 13-years-old, started his training when he was just six. “I have always loved horses and recently I have ventured into Polo as well,” he says.
Industry insiders feel that the future of horse riding in Hyderabad is bright and that’s the reason behind why horse riding schools are popping up everywhere. “People find the game very interesting as it involves two minds to work in perfect correlation. One of the rider and other of the horse’s. In two years, it will be one of the major sports in the state,” feels Reaz Ahmed, Secretary, HPRC.
