At the peak of the pandemic, a young Shubh Chowdhari went along with his father to the Chennai Riding School in Velachery. “The idea was to try different sports and we were thinking about multiple sports like archery,” he tells CE.
But his father, who looks after multiple businesses, initially wanted to get into horse riding, but could not. “He decided to take me for a trial class and I fell in love with the sport...I love animals in general,” he adds.
What started out as a fun weekend recreational activity, turned into a career path for Shubh. Since then, there was no looking back. The 16-year-old is frontrunner to be part of the equestrian team for the upcoming Youth Olympics in Dakar. In the past year, he has put on impressive shows across three Olympic categories — dressage, show jumping, and 3-day eventing. “The Youth Olympics is just another competition. Yes, it’s a good title, but then I have my eyes set on bigger events in the future like the Asian Games or the Olympics or the World Championships. I’m more excited for that, but Youth Olympics is something that will help me step up to that,” he shares.
Shubh’s main horse, Foggy Bottom, is an Irish Warmblood brought from Denmark. “He was about 12 when we got him to India. He was already competing at the higher levels in Denmark with a rider who outgrew him and needed better, different kind of horses. It was honestly a really good time for me to buy him,” he recounts. “He’s just a horse that keeps to himself. He’s very affectionate; he knows his job and is a superstar.” His other horses are Freezing Rain and Darcy.
The teenage rider, who studies in Bengaluru, trains under various coaches, including former Olympian Imtiaz Anees. After learning the basics under retired Navy Commander Amit Meni, Shubh travelled across the world to get trained under renowned names like show-jumper Anna Lindberg of Portugal and US-based event-rider Sarah Kozemplik. But it is Imtiaz that Shubh feels he has gained a lot under. “Imtiaz is more like a mentor and a person who is guiding me in this sport and in this industry. He’s been with me throughout my entire riding journey,” he explains.
Imtiaz, in his book Riding Free: My Olympic Journey, has written about how equestrian horse riding is all about stepping out of the comfort zone. It was a push for Shubh to pursue the sport and make sacrifices. Recalling an incident that changed his mind as a rider, he says, “When I first went to Imtiaz’s place, that’s when I learned that the sport is much more than just getting on the horse and going around. You have to be able to understand and take care of your animal.” Horse riding is beyond an ‘individual sport’. Shubh believes, “It’s more of a partnership between the horse and the rider. Training under him helped me understand the dynamics of the sport better and even the dynamics between the rider and the horse.”
With the sport eating up most of the time, Shubh admits that he ‘gets lucky’ with his school exams. “I’m not balancing it well. Before the exams, I lock in, study for two months straight, write my exam, and I forget about it,” he confesses. He only hopes to achieve a balance between academics and riding.