The first edition of the Eastern Himalayan Ride, an International Endurance meet was fagged off by Dr TR Barbora, Principal Assam Medical Collage on 22nd January 2010. The event was organised by Equestrian Federation of Assam, under the aegis of Equestrian Federation of India, with participation from five Nations, namely USA, Argentina, Switzerland, UK and India.
The Ride, which started on the Banks of the mighty Brahmaputra River, against the backdrop of the Himalayan ranges, is an initiative of Equestrian Federation of Assam, to develop and promote Equestrian sports in general and Endurance Riding in particular in the North East or the Eastern Himalayan sub Region of India.
It may be recalled that in 2003, the first ever CEI* International Endurance Championship held in India was at Dibrugarh, which was also hosted by Equestrian Federation of Assam under the aegis of the National Federation. The international Endurance community was highly impressed by the Upper Assam landscape dotted with tea plantations and interspersed with paddy fields and the track laid partly along the beach of the Brahmaputra and partly through the sylvan surroundings of tea plantations. Ever since Dibrugarh is being developed as a hub of Endurance sport.
The special feature of the first Eastern Himalayan Ride was the presence of a galaxy of International Endurance's 'Who's who' from various parts of the world. Mr Ian Willams, the Head of the Endurance Department of the Federation Equestre' Internationale based in Losanne in Switzerland, attended the event as the President of the Ground Jury and oversaw the technical conduct of the event. He was highly satisfied with the arrangements and felt that it was comparable with events held anywhere in the world.
Apart from eminent army veterinarians from various parts of India, Dr Rod Fisher, a well-known Equine Sports Veterinarian, acted as the Foreign Veterinary delegate and the President of the Veterinary Commission.
Ms Alice Proust from France was another eminent presence as a jury member.
Lt Gen. J.K. Srivastava, AVSM, Vice President (Tech), Equestrian Federation of India and Director General, Remount Veterinary Corps of the Indian Army presided over the glittering concluding session and gave away the trophies and certificates.
