Three-way tie in show jumping

Dewan, Mehta, Rezwan clear 1.75M to share top spoils in 4 Bar

In an exhillarating display of show jumping, three riders could not be separated in the 4 Bar event at the Equestrain Championship held at the Equestrian Centre for Excellence (ECE) here on Friday.

Lt Col Sandeep Dewan, astride Almost Heaven, and crowd favourites from ECE — Faiz Rezwan, guiding Hugo, and Rishabh Mehta, piloting Caprice, put on a fabulous show for the small audience that had gathered, clearing the bar everytime it was raised.

For the uninitiated, in the 4 Bar event, a rider will have to clear four hurdles in increasing order of height in the first round. The first hurdle will be of one metre while the next three will increase by 10 cm or more. Every successful completion of a round will lead to an increase in height for all the four hurdles in the next round.
The event began with a field of 14 riders competiting for top honours in an adrenaline-rushing spectacle.

Highfield Equestrian Centre’s (HEC) Dewan, who along with Rezwan was participating with two horses, kick-started proceedings as he cleared the course with great ease.
Next up, Rezwan, egged on by the crowd, had no difficulty and finished his four jumps in a jiffy while his club-mate Mehta faced no difficulties.

The star of the show, though, was 18-year-old Shambavi Ajila (ECE) who was the only female rider in the fray. She put on a classy show amid strong competitors -- National champion Rushil Patel and the high-ranking Keevan Setalvaad.

There were 12 riders that made it to round two where the ante was upped, and with little breathing period between rounds, it was going to get taxing for riders and horses. Three riders were eliminated in the second round, the shock omission being Dewan, who was penalised eight points with his second ride (Frenchman).

Another rider to miss out was Keevan, who withdrew before the round began. The height of the final jump was set at 1.45M at the start of the third round, where the first jump had been eliminated and riders had to negotiate only three obstacles. Only six riders made it through to the fourth round, at which point the bar was raised to a daunting 1.60 metres.

The top three riders seemed unfazed and progressed with ease but Zoe pulled out at the second jump to end Shambavi’s fine effort. Rezwan too made an exit, though he stayed in the competiton by virtue of progressing with his second ride.

In round five, the bar was set at a dizzying 1.75 metres. Lt Col Dewan began the proceedings, like every other round, and overcame a slight hiccup on the second and third jump to advance.

Rezwan also had a nervy run but that did not stop him from completing his routine. Mehta was the most impressive of the lot with a clear run but ECE’s Yash Nensee, astride Zala, was knocked out of the reckoning and finished fourth.

While there was a provision for an extra round, International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) norms suggest that it is up to the riders to take the call and in this case, the top-three decided to share the spoils.  With a gold in the 4 Bar, Mehta made it two golds on the day, adding to his 100 cm winning effort. Pranav Khare also grabbed a double on the opening day after triumphing in the 60-70 cm event in the Open and Children’s categories.

Results: Children category: Pranay Khare (Dark Fantasy, ECE) 1; Akhilan (Soul Mountain, Jain International Residential School) 2.

Open category: 60-70 cm rider: Pranay Khare (Dark Fantasy, ECE) 1; Jibran Khan (South Cleo, ECE), 2; Akhilan (Soul Mountain, Jain International Residential School) 3. 100 cm rider: Rishabh Mehta (Bruckner, ECE) 1; Chetan Reddy (Cleo, Embassy International RC) 2; Zahan Setalvad (Erocia, Team Marcotte) 3. 4 bar rider: Rishabh Mehta (Caprice, ECE), Lt Col Sandeep Dewan (Almost Heaven, HEC), Faiz Rezwan (Hugo, ECE), 1; Yash Nensee (Zala, ECE) 4.