break and got into serious riding only two years ago at the jnec she won individual bronze and team silver in dressage in the children ii category age 10 to 12 it was my first nationals gushes tasha and adds i love to be around horses feeding and grooming them its not just about riding but i love connecting with the animal its bonding with the animal without any words a holistic development is the focus according to all of them i think ive got that sense of responsibility to wake up at 5am get ready and also brush my horse and be there in time for the class patience is another virtue that ive developed while riding horses riding needs as much patience as it is fun says 13yearold aadya esha who won the team gold in dressage team gold in show jumping and an individual bronze in the show jumping accumulator event at the jnecisabelle hasleder who has been training a few of the youngsters says we went with seven students for the jnec and came back with six medals so they have all been doing really well our youngest competitors were 12 years old and that is actually very promising were getting younger competitors than previous yearswhile competing in the sport is one part of it theres so much that kids can take with them for a lifetime says isabelle things like life and leadership skills emotional intelligence are developed through the sport dressage is like dancing with the horse and a lot depends on how well you can practise the steps with your horse and show jumping is like getting over obstacles so these are very wellsuited for children starting from the age of fivekishore futnani of cec says it is also proven to be a great therapy for the differently abled its called hippotherapy in greek the word hippo means a horse unfortunately we dont have trained hippotherapists for anyone simply riding a horse is good therapy according to isabelle there has also been an upswing in interest in equestrian sports among many in chennai since the start of the pandemic weve been seeing more people showing interest in the sport these days parents and some schools in chennai are very supportive of children taking up activities outside the academic curriculum there are schools that give special benefits to kids who go for these national events shares isabelle