Your fascination for galloping began….
Almost two decades back, I was in Chennai spending most of my time assisting film directors. After shoots, whenever possible I used to hang-out with friends. And John, a jockey was one of them. All the while I heard him talk on horse riding and watched him riding at races. And as infectious as it can get, I got interested. One day as John was pampering his favourite English bred horse, I asked if he could help me in riding a horse. Willingly he took me. Though my hands went cold for a minute, having John beside me was comforting. That was my first ride. From then on I visited John more often, rode horses and began to think of owning one.

Carving up of thoughts for the dawning of Gallop Cochin?
I have contacts who are either jockeys or equine lovers from whom I learnt the nitty-gritty of horse riding. And once I was sure about my passion and had fairly gained knowledge more about horses, I went to Ooty and got ‘Karna’ my first pet horse. That was 7 years back. Gradually with the realization of making it bigger, I slated for ‘Gallop Cochin’.

Initially how tough was it to domesticate a horse in your backyard?
I got Karna from Ooty seven years back. His majestic appearance in ‘Pazhashiraja’ moved me to own him. As I didn’t have a spacious stable then, I got him home and managed to cramp his up-bringing in a small plot next to my house. Probably he understood my limitations, so having him home was never a concern. At home he had absolute liberty to rove around. Often we had eyes peeping over our house-walls watching Karna being fed at home.

Horses you have at your stable now….
There are 12 of them. Karna was followed by Alexander and David from Mysore, Arjun and Bheeman from Jaipur, Tyson, Jack….. and the last ones are Pooja, a pony and her foal Immanuel.

The class of crowd who visits Gallop….
Celebs, businessmen, IT professionals

How well has the action been catching up over the last two years?
All is well except during monsoons. So far we have had 19 students in all who left Gallop Cochin as trained riders apart from our regular visitors. As enquiries kept coming in, we introduced training packages.

Could you pass on information about joining the academy?
We’ve a 3 months course that offers 30 classes for Rs.35, 000. And for those who wish to learn it in a short span; a 10 day vacation course with daily classes from 6.30 to 9.30 am and 4.00 to 7.30 pm for Rs.10, 000 and a five day course with food and accommodation providing 2 riding hours in the morning and evening for a package of Rs.15,000.

Are women equally drawn to it?
Yes, they are. We have a couple of North Indian women who comes to ride. Foreigners do come here once in a while as part of their ‘God’s own country’ visit. Undeniably it’s sad that women of Kerala haven’t yet found a fancy for riding.

Apart from being cast in movies, what are the other engagements of the inmates?
For North Indian weddings, we are approached for baarat horses or horses for drawing wedding carriages.

Is anyone in your stable an upcoming celebrity?
Recently three of them had been to Vagamon for a Kannada film shoot.

What about their feeding and health care?
We feed them daily with horse gram, barley, barley grass which we get in bundles from Tamil Nadu and with carrots and jaggery once a week. Daily we brush them (malish), give them an hour’s massage, ride each one of them for an hour and bathe them once a week. At night they are made to rest on fodder beds. That serves them as food at night and also protects them from getting bruised.

Are they bred here?
We are not into breeding yet. But I cannot say that starting a breeding farm is not there on my mind. Eventually I intend to. It’s a promising business.

Does that mean Gallop is not a profit making initiative?
Absolutely not….there is no profit and I don’t expect it from here. The cost of maintaining horses for riding can only make a hole in your pocket.

Choosing a horse….
It’s their dimples that are closely watched. More dimples, the better. Horses with dimples on their forehead, lower abdomen and chest are considered to be hale and hearty horses. A horse’s hooves are also given utmost importance while choosing one.

Many love to ride a horse but trepidation stops them from hopping onto one. How can they overcome riding jitters?
Try mounting onto it. Take 2 rounds along with the horse trainer, for the third round you will ride it pretty decently, without seeking the help of a trainer. Just in case you feel it’s turning dangerous, dismount by holding the reins in your left hand up along the neck of the horse and with the left rein slightly shorter. Take your right foot out of the stirrup. While holding the horse’s wither, swing your right leg over the horse’s rump keeping it from pumping the horse’s rump. Remove left foot and spring down. Make sure you bend your knees and then stand up again. Trust me if you have a zeal for horse riding, you’ll love it.

All the while as we were talking I have been noticing a dog following us. Is he a part of Gallop?
He is Gabbar, an Indian Sight hound, the watchdog at the stable. He is very friendly but at times too naughty to chase the horses around the grazing fields. Soon you can watch him and his mother Koothara in action for the film ‘Koothara’ starring Mohanlal

Quickies

Your first fall….
It was in Ooty. Me and my friend, we were on a race. My horse skid and I fell off to a distance. Fortunately I had no bandages.

As an art director, how are things going at your end?
Mohanlal starrer ‘Koothara’, Suresh Gopi’s ‘Dolphin Bar’ and a Johnny Anthony movie are my upcoming projects. For ‘Dolphin Bar’ I have done an extensive work on the bar sets that came close to Rs.1 crore.

A memorable experience at the Gallop Cochin….
Last year’s Christmas cake cutting at the Gallop with a few celebrities, my family along with my pets- Persian cats, pug, parrot, dachshund and 12 horses.

Celebs who ride at Gallop…..
Mythili, Chackochen, Prithviraj, Indrajith, Major Ravi, Kailash.

We’ve dog breeders business thriving in Kerala. Can it be the same with horse breeding?
Why not? At the nearest, there is a horse breeding farm at Pollachi. They’re doing really well.

Do Keralites see galloping as a luxury or as a fun activity?
They perceive it as a luxury and also follow it as a fitness regime. For robustness there is nothing that can beat an hour-long horse riding.

Movies, horses and…..
Vintage car collection that has Morris-51 model, Austin 35, Willys…..

To know More visit : www.gallopcochin.com

The post Saddle up and gallop to your heart content appeared first on FWD Life | The Premium Lifestyle Magazine |.