Junior Equestrian Nationals in Delhi from December 20, but challenges and questions galore

NEW DELHI: The world has started moving again, and so has sport. Taking cue from that, the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) is going to hold the Junior National Equestrian Championships (JNEC) from December 20 to 30 in Delhi. But as one would expect in the prevailing circumstances of a pandemic and farmers' protest in the national capital, the decision comes with a lot of challenges. Though the EFI assures it has taken all the measures to get everyone on board, some of the stakeholders feel otherwise.
Delhi remains one of the places most severely hit by Covid-19 in India.In the middle of that, protesting farmers at most of Delhi's borders with adjoining states has made entering the capital a tough task. On top of that, the logistical requirements of the sport of equestrian, particularly movement of the horses, requires utmost care and attention.
The EFI received numerous requests to either postpone or relocate the JNEC, but the federation stuck to its decision of going ahead with the tournament with all the precautions.
"You can't change or split the venue. Recently we had the FAI Jumping World Challenge, before that we had the Dressage World Challenge. So tournaments are taking place with all the precautions," said Colonel Jaiveer Singh, the EFI secretary general, talking to Timesofindia.com.
There are a total of 153 entries of athletes who have qualified for the event. These are divided into four categories -- Children 2 (10 to 12 years), Children 1 (12 to 14), juniors (14 to 18) and young riders (16 to 21).
One of the members of a state association had even written to the EFI to consider holding the JNEC at a later date.
"I had personally sent a mail to the EFI, that under these conditions (pandemic and farmers' protest) you may consider postponing the JNEC," the member told Timesofindia.com on the condition of anonymity.
"First, we are putting children at risk; and the other thing is horses, there will be a lot of difficulty coming into Delhi. Ultimately, you are moving horses in trucks. If a truck gets stuck in a traffic jam, there is no way a chap can unload a horse and move it to safety. They get agitated," the state association member added.
"The sad part is you don't even get a reply (to the mail)."
Col Jaiveer, however, said that it's a voluntary decision of an individual to participate or not. "One has to make a decision, we are not forcing anyone," he said.
As of Thursday, almost all the horses have reached the venue and are stabled.
The federation, on its part, said that it had provided letters to those who requested for it, for a safe passage into Delhi. But a parent of one of the participants had a story of hardship to tell.
"We have come at such a short notice," said the parent. "With this agitation (farmers' protest) as well, we were literally stuck on the highway and not allowed to move. This was happening at most of the entries into Delhi.
"The moment you stop the vehicle, the horses start getting agitated. Then we were diverted to a village road. Such huge vehicles start rocking (on uneven tracks), and the horses are not used to that kind of torture," the parent added.
While this parent agreed that "one has to take into consideration all the safety (precautions) and get on with it", lack of preparation and facilities irritated most who started arriving at the venue from the beginning of this week.
"When you look at the facilities in Bengaluru, you just drive in over there. You want grass, feed, everything is available. All that at a price, of course, but at least it's provided. We have come in here, and on the second day we are just about getting electricity and all that in the stable for the animals," said the parent.
"They (EFI) hadn't even set up a show office at the camp. It's very difficult for people coming from out of town. We had to go all the way to the EFI office. There was no office in the camp. Then we have this Covid issue."
Col Jaiveer said that there are bound to be challenges in these unprecedented times of a pandemic, as most of the industries are facing. The need, he said, was to tide over these challenges, put the safety measures in place and play the sport.
"We have a very comprehensive Covid protocol in place, which we had issued in June to all the organising centres who organise shows and all the clubs for training and conduct of events," said the EFI general secretary.
"The schedule of events we have planned in such a fashion that on the 20th, 21st and 22nd (of December), we will finish with two categories, i.e., Children 1 and Children 2. In the next three days, we will finish the junior division. Thereafter, we will finish the young riders' category. So everything is well spaced out depending on the number of children qualified to participate so that they don't have to stay in Delhi for very long," Col Jaiveer said explaining the layout of the tournament.
The state association member, however, questioned how effectively the Covid-safety measures could be put in place for a large gathering.
"It's okay to issue instructions but how are you going to maintain social distancing in the arena? You can ask for a Covid-negative certificate, but when you move around Delhi, what is the guarantee that you won't pick up an infection?" he asked.
Col Jaiveer said the federation will "regulate" everything to ensure utmost safety.
"The statutory limitations stipulated by the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) and the local administration are in place. We are going to regulate all the athletes and their support staff in such a fashion that there are very few people inside (the venue)," said Col Jaiveer. "There are no spectators permitted. One parent of the child is allowed and, of course, the groom. If there is a coach, then the parent is not permitted," he added.
The JNEC runs from December 20 to 30.