As we continue our profile of young sportspersons in the Children's Day Special series, it is now the turn of Moksh Kothari, who has been making an impact in the dressage event of Equestrian.

The 18-year-old Mumbaikar has created an impression with his fine performances at dressage events since 2021.

In 2021, he had clinched the first and third place in the individual junior dressage, team gold in junior dressage and team gold in junior show jumping at the JNEC.

The Podar World College student was the winner of the FEI World Dressage Challenge in the Youth Category nationally, ranked 12th globally.

He was again at it in 2022 where he bagged the team gold in the young riders dressage at JNEC and silver medal in the prelim category at NEC.

The year 2023 saw him taking things a notch up when he emerged the winner of the FEI World Dressage Challenge nationally in the Advanced category, ranked fifth globally.

This year he was striving even harder to make a mark and did so with elan after he won the advanced category at NEC with a score of above 71 percent. Moksh finished second in the CDI international event in Bangalore.

Summing up what Dressage means to him, Moksh felt it was a medium to achieve perfection and liberation at once.

"Dressage, to me, is both a pursuit of perfection and an escape, where every level achieved and score surpassed brings new growth and focus with my horse. I've always looked up to Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, whose harmonious connection with her horses inspires me—I’ve watched countless videos of her, learning valuable lessons in every movement. Outside of the sport, my parents have been my unwavering support, especially through the sport’s ups and downs."

Moksh gave the credit for a large part of his success to his family for their unconditional support, his coaches and his horse.

" Without the continual support of my parents, it would be impossible for me to pursue this sport at the levels I wish to. I am very grateful to them for this support, not only financially, but also emotional support, since it isn’t always easy to deal with the low points you’d face in this sport. I am also incredibly grateful for my coaches, Nadia Haridass and Hriday Chhedda, who have instilled in me the skills I need to perform at my best and my horse Go For It TC who has always been the main source of my motivation."

Juggling academics and sports is never easy and Moksh gave a sneak peek into how he managed that challenge.

"During school I always planned my week or even weeks in advance, to ensure I had enough time to fulfil all my academic, extracurricular and athletic commitments. I firmly believe planning ahead can make juggling academics, training and any other extracurricular activities possible,'' he added.