Equestrian Kavya Gopal aims for higher laurels after winning Junior National Championship

Kavya Gopal is one of the most promising equestrians to look forward to in the future. The young and versatile equestrian triumphed in the Young Rider dressage category by winning individual gold and team gold with a score of 73.34 at the recently concluded Junior National Equestrian Championship (JNEC).

Kavya Gopal is a member of the Chennai Equitation Center (CEC), where she rides every day. Kavya Gopal and her horses Supreme Quest and Sechs Richtige have forged a winning combination along with celebrated coach Isabelle.

At the recently concluded Junior National Equestrian Championship at the Amateur Riders Club in Mumbai, Kavya Gopal and her horse Sechs Richtige emerged victorious.

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Speaking to Sportskeeda, Kavya Gopal rated the Junior National Equestrian Championship highly and said her focus was on winning the gold medal.

"This JNEC was very special as I won both an individual and team gold medal in Dressage. It was all about bagging the gold medal. I believed in myself, my horse and my coach and was completely focused on performing my best test ever, giving it everything I had," she said.

Horse is as important as the rider in equestrian

Kavya Gopal said bonding with her horse was instrumental in her win. The young equestrian spent a lot of time with Sechs Richtige and clocked a lot of saddle hours, which played a huge part in the competition.

"The main progress was that the bonding with my horse was so perfect that we were just on a flow together, so inseparable once we connected. I had more saddle hours with Sechs Richtige and the longevity of bonding played a big part," she explained.

Elaborating more on how she developed effective communication with Sechs Richtige, Kavya Gopal said spending time with the horse and understanding their needs go a long way in developing a good bond.

"It's all about pulsing the body language which is a magical, non-verbal communion with the horse. This is attained by spending ample time with the horse and doing everything that makes him happy. Regular massaging and treating his taste buds will definitely aid in a faster connection," she said.

Kavya Gopal credits coach and aims higher

Kavya Gopal credits her coach, Isabelle, for her triumph. According to the young equestrain, her coach had handheld and groomed her into a better rider and also trained her horse to build an amazing partnership.

The equestrain from Chennai said her coach had guided her through learning from her past failures, shaped her to be a mentally stronger person and built her confidence, and held her in high esteem.

"My coach is a blessing who's always been with us. Nothing would have been possible without the unconditional guidance and support of Isabelle. Her relentless effort of constantly fine-tuning my mistakes during every practice and ensuring that I get it perfectly right was a big impact to scale up my score. She always pushes me to bring out my best," she said.

After dominating the junior category, Kavya Gopal has now set sights on international equestrain competitions to prove herself on the world stage.

"My aim now is to stay focused and learn higher levels of dressage and compete in international equestrian tournaments in higher categories like Prix St George," she said.