Hyderabad Polo and Riding Club to host first National Qualifier of 2026 season

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Polo & Riding Club (HPRC) will host the first-ever National Qualifier (NQ) of the 2026 season anywhere in the country, running from August 12 to 14 at the Club’s grounds in Gandipet.

The event is organised by HPRC in association with the Telangana State Equestrian Association (TSEA), under the aegis of the Equestrian
Federation of India (EFI).

The National Qualifier is a mandatory step for equestrians under the age of 21 across the country: every rider in this age group must
qualify through an NQ to become eligible to compete at the Junior National Equestrian Championships (JNEC).

The Qualifier will be conducted across Dressage and Show Jumping, spanning four age categories — Children II, Children I, Junior, and
Young Rider — as per EFI’s National Qualifier Guidelines for JNEC 2026.

The event has drawn 81 entries across the four categories, with 36 horses fielded by major equestrian clubs from across Hyderabad. HPRC
itself has returned the highest entry count of any participating club, fielding 42 entries from 16 riders and 18 horses.

“Hosting the first National Qualifier of the season is both an honour and a responsibility,” said Mr. Chaitania Kumar, President, HPRC.
“It reflects the standard our grounds and our riders have set over the past year, and it gives our own young equestrians a home-ground
opportunity to take their first step toward the Junior Nationals.

We’re proud to see 16 of our own riders and 18 of our horses among the entries, and we look forward to welcoming clubs from across the region for what promises to be a keenly contested three days,” he said.

The National Qualifier will be followed immediately by the 2nd HPRC Equestrian Challenge, running from 14th to 16th August 2026 at the same venue — giving Hyderabad’s equestrian community back-to-back competitive action across a five-day window.