Gujarat’s first 10-day horse fair taking place at Amod – a village near Mahudi – has 700 horses on display. The equestrian beauty pageant is one of the prime attractions at the fair
Elitist lifestyle includes riding and rearing a horse. The country’s biggest buyer state of the horses is Gujarat, a state known for its affluence and lavish lifestyle. Although Gujarat being the biggest market, country’s biggest horse fairs have been taking place at Pushkar (Rajasthan), Mukpsar (Punjab) and Sarankheda (Maharashtra) since years.
“The state’s first 10-day equestrian fair taking place in city from February 15 to 25 which is organised by Equestrian Association and All India Marwari Horse Society in association with state’s tourism and animal husbandry departments,” said Virendra Kankariya, president of the association and vice-president of the society’s west zone.
The fair has more than 700 horses on display. These horses are of Marwari, Sindhi and kanthiawadi genres. Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) has sanctioned the National Endurance Workshop to take place during the horse fair, which will begin on February 21 and end on 23. More than 82 horses and 54 teams across the country are to participate at the workshop.
More than 1.5 lakh visitors are expected to visit this fair taking place at Ambod village near Mahudi which is about 18 km away from Gandhinagar. Visitors from across the country including Gujarat, Punjab, Maharashtra and Rajasthan have confirmed to visit the fair.
“Amod is known as mini Pawagrah and is often frequented by religious tourist,” said Kankariya. “Along with the fair, we have organised folk music programmes and ritualistic (havan) celebrations to entertain guests in the evenings. “We have also added typical ‘mela’ feel to the fair by adding entertainment rides, biking adventures, all-terrain vehicle rides,” he added.
Gujarat’s each village has about 30-40 horses. Kankaria informed that state’s some pockets like Dholka’s Rajoda has 200; Palanpur’s Mudetha has 400 while Amdavad’s Thaltej has 150 horses. The attraction at the fair is the equestrian beauty pageant taking place on February 24. The entries will be judged by setting Marwari horses as an ideal.
Marwari Characteristics
The Marwari horse averages between 15 and 16 hands (60-64 inches, 152-163 cm). The colours of Marwari horses are black, dark bay, bay, chestnut, palomino, and buckskin, piebald, skewbald and grey. Inward curving ears, touching at the tips with a straight facial profile is considered beautiful. Neck is slender running into pronounced withers and the chest is deep. The shoulders are fairly straight and the back is lengthy. The croup is pronounced and the tail is set high. Legs are slender with well-formed hooves.
