Jitu Virwani of Embassy International Riding School & Lara Becker from Germany set up Sportshorse Studbook (India) the first and only warmblood studbook in India.
At last year ́s Asian Games held in Incheon, South Korea, India had a team in all equestrian disciplines – show jumping, dressage and eventing. Equestrian in India is clearly growing and the number of registered sport horses and riders is constantly increasing. At the moment, approximately 300 riders and 4278 horses are registered with the Equestrian Federation of India. Even the number of private riding clubs in India is growing and many sport horses from Europe were imported to India in the last few years.
There is a clear need for top quality warmblood horses which is compounded by the stringent policies and cost factor involved in importing horses from Europe. To address this need, Jitu Virwani, the founder of the Embassy International Riding School (EIRS) and Chairman & Managing Director of the leading real estate firm, Embassy Group and Lara Becker from Germany started to breed sport horses in India. Both warmblood mares which are imported from Europe and thoroughbred mares which have proven their skill in equestrian are used for breeding.
At the EIRS, the Westphalian warmblood stallion Bianco is used for breeding and the semen of this stallion is sold all over India. The breeding program has been set up in Bangalore since the climate is suitable for breeding. Last year ́s foal auction held at the Embassy International Riding School was a big success. The first warmblood foals ever born in India were sold for an average price of 12 lakhs.
In addition, there are a few other warmblood breeders and stud farm owners who are keen on investing in warmblood breeding. Currently there are four privately owned warmblood stallions used for sport horse breeding.
To support and promote the breeding of warmbloods in India, Jitu Virwani and Lara Becker have set up the Sporthorse Studbook (India) LLP which is the first and only warmblood studbook in India.
The studbook will offer breeding consultancy, register warmblood foals and issue passports for the foals which are born in India. Under the aegis of Sporthorse Studbook, events like foal championships and auctions, mare registration events, stallion approvals and breeding workshops will be held in India. The studbook will also issue a quarterly studbook magazine the `Equestrian Times’.