Along the bridle path

It's wouldn't be too far off the mark to say Anita Ojha's life moves at a galloping pace. As instructor at the Embassy International Riding School in Bangalore and course co-ordinator in BARI (Bangalore Amateur Riders Institute), her day begins and ends with handling and riding horses.

Interestingly, Anita doesn't come from a family with a riding background. Her hometown the tea estates of Assam never offered her an opportunity to ride. But her earliest memories are of ponies. When she turned eight, she got her first pony as a birthday present. "I rode the pony effortlessly without any formal training, using a saddle made out of old gunny bags," she says.

But a year later, she was packed off to Nainital to study at St Mary's Convent, a boarding school, so her riding dreams came to an abrupt halt.

When she came to Bangalore in 1993, the first thing she did was to join BARI as a novice rider. And, from then onwards, there was no looking back. When realised that she was a natural when it came to riding, she says she was given the more difficult horses to train!

"My natural love for riding helped me learn the basics quickly. I have done events such as dressage, hacks and jumping. I've also done the Gymkhana races before moving on to represent India in the national championships," she says.

"Riding as a sport has growing appeal in India, and youngsters are enthusiastic about a sport that for many years was the prerogative of the army," she explains.
u00a0