Dajara 4 is Mirza’s running mate in Oly

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Dajara 4 will be Fouaad Mirna’s running mate in Tokyo. Dajara 4, a nine year-old German Holsteiner warm blood, has been with Mirza for the last couple of years. “She is a very nice and pretty horse and I am sure she will bring this sport enough attention,” Mirza, India’s lone equestrian athlete at the upcoming Games, said during a virtual press conference.

“It was a very tough decision to make. Both horses (Seigneur Medicott was the other option) are very good and I am very lucky.”  Dajara was preferred mainly because of her prowess in show-jumping, an area where Medicott isn’t the best. “At the Olympics, we have two rounds of show-jumping after cross country. It is probably Medicott’s weak link, that was basically the main reason why we decided to take Dajara,”Mirza explained. 

The seasoned Medicott who was with Mirza when he won two silver medals at the Asian Games in 2018 is more experienced and a better traveller but the Germany-based Mirza explained they have made sufficient arrangements to take care of that.

“There are things we can do to make her more comfortable during travel,” the 29-year-old said. “The company that’s taking care of logistics (transporting the horse from Europe to Japan) have done it for a few Olympics, so they know what to do.

They are experienced in this field. We have told them a list of things that we would like them to do. For example, we have requested she fly with a friend… a horse that isn’t as anxious as she so she feels more comfortable during the process.”

Full story: newindianexpress.com