A Civilian In A Military Sport: Shashank Kataria And The Quiet Shift In Indian Equestrian

Last Updated:December 11, 2025, 07:00 IST

India’s standout medal haul ae FEI Asian Championships marks a turning point for Indian equestrian sport and for Shashank Kataria, a rider shaped by an unconventional pathway.

Shashank Singh Kataria discovered the sport only a few years back. (Special Arrangement)

Indian equestrian sport has rarely felt as alive as it did after the FEI Asian Championships in Pattaya last week, where the contingent comprising Ashish Limaye, Shruti Vora, Shashank Singh Kataria, Shashank Kanumuri, Divyakriti Singh, and Gaurav Pundir returned a record haul of five medals.

The medals were important, but the performance also highlighted the quiet progress the country has been making in the sport. Among the riders who reflected that shift was 21-year-old Shashank Singh Kataria, a civilian athlete who discovered the sport only a few years ago and worked his way into the national setup.

His sixth-place finish on championship debut became a small but clear marker of how India’s depth is beginning to grow and how its riders are gradually finding their place in a competitive Asian field. He was part of the team’s silver medal alongside teammates Limaye and Kanumuri. In Eventing, Limaye won an individual gold medal, while in Dressage, Vora emerged as India’s standout performer, earning three silver medals.

Kataria’s emergence, though, is closely tied to India’s broader evolution. For the Australia-based athlete, such a performance on his first major assignment underscored how quickly standards are shifting within the sport. “The sport is on the rise in India," he tells News18 Sports in an exclusive conversation. “There’s a lot of competition… so many horses being imported, so many riders going to Europe, Australia and New Zealand trying to ride for the country."

The result for Kataria, as much as it was about a personal milestone, was also part of a longer pathway. “Winning this medal has only put more pressure on us to be even better in the future," he says. “The next performance needs to be better than this."

A Championship That Signals Progress

India’s results in Pattaya came after a challenging Asian Games cycle, and the riders were conscious of how much a strong showing could change perceptions. For Kataria, the performance felt like a turning point. “This whole championship has proven to the world that India is a superpower in the sport and we will grow and become better," he asserts, not as a bold claim, but as an acknowledgment of the groundwork that has quietly accelerated in recent years.

“Winning this medal makes our statement more credible," he goes on to say, adding, “It proves we can perform at the Asian stage. In the future… we will prove this at World Championship level and the Olympic level."

A Civilian Navigating A Long-Standing Structure

Kataria’s entry into the sport was unusual in a country where the military historically shaped equestrian training and competitive structure. His first ride came on the advice of an orthopaedic doctor trying to address his knee alignment. “The first time I sat on a horse, I felt like, ‘This is my calling,’" Kataria remembers.

“Six years ago, I sat on a horse for the first time and I thought, ‘I want to do this, and I will get fit for this. I will lose weight. I will study harder so that my parents let me do this.’ There was a time when I was studying ten to twelve hours a day, riding another six hours, and not sleeping properly," Kataria speaks of the passion that kept him going. “It was all for the sport and for studying so that my parents would allow me to continue."

A series of mentors – beginning with Captain Sunil Kumar in India, then Pietro Grandis in Europe, and now Christopher Height and Samantha Cesnik in Australia – helped shape his technical foundation. “They’re my managers, my coaches, my everything back in Australia," he says.

Pattaya, notably, marked the first time India fielded an all-civilian eventing team at a major championship. Kataria sees it as a natural progression. “It is an athlete’s sport. Whoever is at the top of the merit list deserves to go to the Championships and the Games.

“This has predominantly been a military-dominated sport in India, but that’s changing, because there are a lot of civilians now. This was the first time at a major championship that there was an all-civilian team at the Asian Championship. The Federation as well as the Sports Authority have made sure of that and they’ve done a really, really good job," adds Kataria.

Bullseye: The Unlikely Partner

If Kataria’s rise seems unconventional, his partnership with Bullseye is even more so. “He’s an ex-racehorse who was fairly inexperienced when I got him," he explains. An injury kept Kataria out of the saddle for the first four months after bringing Bullseye home, giving them only about eight months of combined work before the Asian Championships.

Bullseye’s competitive record hardly signalled championship potential. “He did not have a very good record in show jumping and dressage," Kataria says. “He’d only done one two-star at international level and finished second-last or third-last."

Still, something about the horse convinced Kataria immediately. “I thought, ‘This is the horse,’" he recalls. Budget constraints meant he could not pursue a proven, high-performance mount, so he committed to developing talent instead of buying certainty. “You can either buy a very good horse with a big record or put in a lot of hard work with a horse that has the talent," he says. “I chose the second option."

The results have validated that choice. Bullseye has been consistent in cross-country, shown steady improvement in dressage, and thrives over fences. The bond between them has grown just as quickly. “It’s a brotherhood partnership. He looks after me, I look after him."

Why The World Remains His Training Ground

Kataria’s decision to train abroad was never about preference; it was about access. “India is a really good country for the sport to start in," he says. “However, we lack a lot of international competition." While India hosts a handful of FEI events each year, Europe and Australia offer far more, allowing riders to compete, fail, improve and repeat in quicker cycles.

“The thing is, if you’re the best in the room, you’re not in the right place," he says. “You need to get out of your comfort zone and compete with the best in the world."

Kataria believes the next decade could see India build a stronger domestic circuit. “Maybe in the next ten to twelve years we’ll have many more international competitions in India."

The Long View: Los Angeles

Everything, however, ties back to one long-term goal. “Ultimately, the main goal is the LA Olympics," Kataria says. If his competitive plans 2026 unfold as expected, he aims to complete his qualification next year.

“We will work day in and day out to achieve it," he says. With sustained support from the federation and the Sports Authority of India, he believes India has the foundation to aim for an Olympic team presence — something that once felt beyond reach.

For Kataria, Pattaya was less a breakthrough moment and more a confirmation of direction: a young rider finding consistency, a horse proving its potential, and a sport discovering a steadier footing in Asia.

“We’re Indians and we’re really good at this sport," he says. “This medal proves it. And now we have to keep proving it – on bigger stages, at higher levels, against the best in the world."

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