Mumbai's Inaara Luthria dazzles at National Dressage trials

MUMBAI: Mumbai's Inaara Mehta Luthria stole the limelight at the Selection Trial held at Bengaluru on Wednesday. The trials were organised by the Equestrian Federation of India ( EFI ) for selecting the Indian Team for the Under-21 World Dressage Challenge to be held later.

Inaara, the 14-year-old rider from the Amateur Riders' Club, excelled and topped among under-21 competitors registering an impressive score of 79.530 astride Dasha Deluxe to steal the show among 18 best riders from across South India.

Another Amature Riders' Club rider, 12-year-old Anaya Vazirani , one of the youngest in the competition, secured second position with a score of 75.405 while riding Ferry.

"I couldn't believe the results. For me it was just great to participate with such fabulous riders, many of whom are much older and far more experienced than me in international competitions. I worked extremely hard with my coaches Hriday Chheda who coached me online from France, and Bobin Tshering who was with me on the ground. I'm ecstatic and humbled at the same time," Inaara later said.

Equestrian sport in India is on the rise following Anush Agarwalla's qualification for the Paris Olympics where he became the first rider to represent India at the Olympics in the individual Dressage competition.