Auroville (Tamil Nadu), Jan 17 : The National Equestrian Championship (Dressage) conducted by Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) scheduled from January 17 to 26 will kick off on Thursday in Auroville. The prestigious event will mark the beginning of the Equestrian season as around 100 riders from across India will compete for medals in individual and team events The anticipation for the championship is at an all time high following India's highly successful campaign at the Hangzhou Asian Games, where both gold and bronze medals came in the dressage events. 'We have received a good number of entries for the Championship. The interest in sport has grown over the years and the medals won in Hangzhou have only added to the excitement and expectations,' said Jaiveer Singh Secretary General, Equestrian Federation of India (EFI). 'The championship will be held at the Red Earth Riding School and we will have a very experienced jury for scoring, including a 5-star FEI judge. The championship will conclude on January 26,' he added. There will be seven stages - preliminary, elementary, medium, advanced medium, advanced, Prix St George and Intermediate - I. The scoring would be done on a scale of 1 to 10. Romanov Yuri, a 5-star Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) judge, from Russia is among the six judges to assess the riders. The dressage event has always interested the viewers where the rider and his horse exhibit pre-determined and well-rehearsed movements. The rider-horse combo performs in an arena of 20m x 60m, bordered by a low rail which the horse must stay within. The arena has 12 lettered markers placed symmetrically indicating where the movements are to start and where the changes to pace are to occur and where the movements will end. /IANS