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Auroville Horse Tournament,
27-28-29, September 2003

The Auroville Horse Tournament 2003, or in short AHT, was organised by the Red Earth Riding School, Auroville (RERS), which is managed by Aurovilians Eric, Katelijne and Jacqueline. RERS is located on the Tindivanam-Pondicherry road, next to the Auroville Police Station.

RERS has 23 horses, and Eric gives daily riding classes in dressage and jumping at different levels to anyone who loves horses and wants to learn riding or participate in competitions. Eric, Katelijne and their four sons left Belgium a few years ago to join Auroville. They come from a background of horse breeding and show jumping, and Eric's sister is a member of the national riding team in Belgium.

The South Indian Equestrian Association

The south Indian Equestrian Association was created in 2001 to bring together and support the equestrian sport in south India. Members of the association include all of the riding schools in South India such as; Red Earth Riding School in Auroville, The Embassy Riding School in Bangalore, the Chennai Equestrian Academy, along with many others.

Formerly horse riding in south India had been dominated by the Military and the Police Academy. The SIEA was created to bring up the level of riding in South India, to make it a sport available to civilians and to encourage woman and children to participate.

"It's so nice to see upcoming equestrian world in the South. On the national and international level we are doing very well, especially, our young riders who have real opportunity to excel in the future," says Mr. Kishore Futani the Secretary of the South Indian Equestrian Association.

Program

Dressage

Dressage was adapted from the military training exercises to build obedience and suppleness in the horse. The object of dressage is to enable the horse to keep his natural balance while performing precise maneuvers. Competitive dressage is designed to show the controlled elegance and harmony between the horse and rider.

Show jumping
Show jumping is a combination of the horse and the rider tested and various conditions over a course of obstacles. The test in intended to demonstrate the horses energy, power and skills, while jumping a controlled time tested course of intricate jumps. There are affix things that equals the beauty and thrill of watching a horse and rider soar over a marked course of fences ranging from 75 cm to 2 m.

Tent Pegging
The art of tent pegging originated in India 500 years ago. The story most associated with its origins comes from the of the soldiers who charged the enemy camps at the crack of dawn and removed the pegs that held the enemy tents in place with the tip of their lances. Later the Cavalier Regiment adopted it as a sport.
These days that rider uses either a sword or a lance and charges full gallop across the arena and attempts to pick up 4 cm wooden pegs stuck into the ground. This can be done individual or in teams.

See also: Persian Sky

See also: RERS

Contact:  Eric and Katalejne, phone: 9843017543

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