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AKARTA: The 2011 Pazia Equestrian Grand Prix National Championships are set to start on Thursday, featuring 98 national athletes and 160 horses.

The four-day event is part of the Indonesian team’s preparation for the upcoming Southeast Asian SEA Games to be held at the Games’ venue in Arthayasa Stables & Country Club in Depok, West Java.

“We are very proud to host the event, which hopefully could help the country in grooming our athletes for the prestigious SEA Games,” organizer Rafiq Radinal said in a statement sent to The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

National athletes scheduled for the event include Resi Radinal and Laras Gading, among others.

Besides featuring competition, the event will also host equestrian education, including a seminar dedicated to the officers and athletes of the Games, exhibition and entertainment.

Organizer Yuliasiane Sulistyawati hoped the public would come and see the tournament. “People can come to understand what kind of sport equestrian is,” she said.

In addition to announcing the event, the organizers also held a horse parade on Sunday, featuring nine national equestrian athletes, young celebrity Nabila Syakib, who is also a horse rider, and 10 members of the Indonesian Cavalry Police.

The parade went around the Senayan area in Central Jakarta in order to help Jakartans become more familiar with the sport. — JP