Chennai’s junior horse riders rake in national medals

Chennai-based equestrian Kavya Gopal leads the city’s ride to success at the Junior National Equestrian Championship, with two gold medals

Kavya Gopal, 20 years old, made Chennai proud by securing an individual gold as well as a team gold medal at the Junior National Equestrian Championship (JNEC) in Mumbai, with a groundbreaking score of 73.3475. She leads a pack of successful Chennai riders, who added to the city’s tally with a host of gold, silver and bronze medals.

While Kavya’s individual gold medal was in the Young Rider Dressage category, her gold in Team Dressage was won along with Ariana Dhond, Tiyasha Vathul and Vibhu Rastogi. Other winners from Chennai are Tasha N — individual bronze and team silver in dressage (children II category); Samanna Everra — team gold in dressage and team bronze in show jumping (children I category); and Muzzamil M — team gold in dressage and show jumping (children II category).

After three years of taking part in every JNEC, Kavya finally clinched her first-ever silver medal (team) in 2020. She made a powerful comeback for this year’s JNEC with more rigorous training and an unyielding attitude. The 2021 edition took place in Mumbai from December 17 to December 30, with riders from all parts of the country accompanied by their best horses.