Experienced Shoorendran happy he’s able to ride Verena in bid for SEA Games victory

More miles, more confidence: N. Shoorendran is aiming to ride with renewed purpose at Thailand SEA Games.

PETALING JAYA: National equestrian rider N. Shoorendran is galloping into the Thailand SEA Games with renewed confidence.

The 28-year-old showjumping rider feels better equipped for a podium finish after gaining valuable experience in recent competitions.

Shoorendran, who is based in Europe, feels he is in a better position to make an impact compared to his debut in the Myanmar edition 12 years ago where he competed on a borrowed horse.

Equestrian is making a return to the SEA Games roster after it was last held in Kuala Lumpur in the 2017 edition.

Hosts Thailand have included the full programme for equestrian comprising showjumping, dressage and eventing.

“The experience was different in my first SEA Games as I rode on a borrowed horse,” recalled Shoorendran.

“Unfortunately, I missed the next two SEA Games in Singapore (2015) and Kuala Lumpur (2017), so this is going to be my second appearance next month.

“I will be bringing my own horse Verena to compete this time. She is nine this year and will go into the conditioning phase after we compete in one more tournament next week.

“I’m very excited to ride for the country again and aiming for my first podium.

“I’m making the long trip from Europe to Thailand to do well in the individual and also the team event,” said Shoorendran, who works as a horse trainer in Luxembourg.

Shoorendran represented Malaysia in showjumping event at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou where his participation as the only representative was made possible through sponsorship after The Star highlighted his struggles for financial aid.

“I learned a lot from the Asian Games two years ago but the big difference at the SEA Games is that we have a solid team across all three disciplines.

Besides Shoorendran, the other riders picked for the showjumping discipline are Arysha Haya Kanda, Adam Hariz Kamaludin, Norrine Ira Dewal and reserve rider Shahrizal Mohamed.

The riders selected for dressage are Diani Lee Cheng Ni, Megan Ding, Quek Sue Yian and Amira Syahirah Mohd Zulkefli.

For eventing, the riders selected are Joshua Teo, Tiffani Tong, Ahmad Imtaz Amir Hamzah and Donna Tayak.

“It’s a balanced team of experience and young talents, so it’s important that we are able to fight for medals in any discipline as this edition serves as the stepping stone for the next SEA Games, which takes place in Malaysia,” said Shoorendran.

At the Myanmar SEA Games in 2013, Shoorendran came in fifth in the individual showjumping and missed out on a medal after Malaysia finished fourth in the team event.

Equestrian contributed six gold medals for Malaysia when the sport was last included at the SEA Games in 2017.