The Cross Country test proved too much for Rakesh Kumar (on Absolute Sally) and Ashish Malik (Veni Vedi Vici) on the second day of the FEI CCI2*-L competition in the Maarsbergen Horse Trial 2023 in the Netherlands on Friday. They flipped from being the best of the five combinations featuring Indian riders overnight to the bottom of the pile.
The Rakesh Kumar-Absolute Sally combine retired during the Cross Country test, set across nearly 4km to be completed in 7 minutes 34 seconds to avoid time penalties. The Ashish Malik-Veni Vedi Vici combine picking up a whopping 34.8 penalties after taking 9 minutes and a second to cross the finish line.
They were among four combinations, featuring Indian riders, who went above the 43 penalties, set as the Minimum Eligibility Requirement by the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) for the Asian Games Eventing probables. Apurva Dabhade and Valtho des Peupliers, who had the best Cross Country run of the five pairs, need a clear round in Jumping tomorrow to attain the MER.
Interestingly, Chirag Khandal had teamed up with Veni Vedi Vici and secured just 32.4 and 33.6 penalties in two CCI2*-L events last year. Due to a strange turn of events, with EFI not helping his cause, Chirag Khandal was denied use of the horse when the owner decided to lease it to Ashish Malik last month rather than let the Indian teenager resume his partnership till the Asian Games.
It remains to be seen how the EFI, any Committee of Experts that it appoints and any Coach it may have engaged till the Asian Games, deal with the situation arising from the fact that only Apurva Dabhade (Valtho des Peupliers) are left with the possibility to attaining the MER to make the team. The MER for individual event in Asian Games has been pegged at 34.
EFI’s action will be watched with close interest since it had insisted that Gaurav Pundir, a Dressage rider who, like the Eventing riders, had taken part in trials in India secure his MER in the first event that he competed in Europe. It is a well-known fact that it takes the best riders time to strike a good understanding with unfamiliar mounts.
For long, Equestrian circles have been speculating that the only reason EFI facilitated Rakesh Kumar and Ashish Malik, both part of the silver medal winning Asian Games team in 2018, to travel to Europe along with Apurav Dabhade, Vikas Kumar and Raju Singh was to ensure that they would be part of the final team despite finishing lower in the pecking order in the trials.
In fact, Apurva Dabhade had written to the Federation to keep things simple and have only four riders, including Ashish Limaye, in Europe to ensure camaraderie within the team. But the EFI mandarins preferred to ignore that suggestion after they got the then Athletes Commission Chairperson Vanita Malhotra to suggest that riders with even 1 MER could be sent to Europe.
The scores (Indians only, with mounts in bracket, Dressage, Cross-Country, Total points):
Apurva Dabhade (Valtho des Peupliers) 39.0, 2.4, 41.4; Vikas Kumar (Noreway Harry) 39.2, 16.0, 55.2; Raju Singh (Louk) 41.3, 20.0, 61.3; Ashish Malik (Veni Vedi Vici) 37.8, 34.8, 72.6; Rakesh Kumar (Absolute Sally) 35.7, RET.
Photo: Courtesy Maarsbergen Horse Trials 2023
Black sheep is available in every department so India can’t win any prize in any any events