The Pune resident’s earliest memories of riding a horse date back to when he was 10 years old and his parents took him to a small place run by a tongawala where children could ride horses during the summers.
When Ashish Limaye competes in the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, it will be the culmination of a remarkable journey that began with him learning the sport while riding horses owned by a tongawala (a horsedrawn cart driver). It is also a journey that was put on hold for a few years while he pursued engineering and then resumed when he began teaching children to ride horses.
Limaye, who is from Pune but has spent the last two years in Europe, has qualified to compete for India in eventing, an equestrian discipline that tests horses and riders in three events: dressage, cross country, and show jumping.
The Pune resident’s earliest memories of riding a horse date back to when he was 10 years old and his parents took him to a small place run by a tongawala where children could ride horses during the summers.
“They used to have a sort of summer camp near my house.” “And they used to let kids ride horses in a circle on a small field,” he recalls.
But he soon realised that taking up the sport professionally would be prohibitively expensive, so he decided to concentrate on his studies instead. Limaye put his passion on hold for nearly four years while pursuing his engineering degree.
“I was barely riding when I was in Class XII and four years of engineering college.” “I was involved with the sport throughout the break, but I wasn’t competing,” he explains.
By the third year of engineering school, the desire to ride had returned.
“I competed at the nationals in my third year.” It was the only event in which I competed that entire year. But after I finished my degree, I returned to the sport full-time.”
Limaye’s big ‘break’ came when Embassy International Riding School (EIRS), a riding school in Bengaluru, decided to take a chance on him.
“I had been competing for a long time in India before they offered me a sponsorship.” But they also wanted to see my work ethic. As a result, they asked me to train children at their Bengaluru facility. “I worked there for two years before being sent overseas to train,” he explains.
Limaye considers his two-year stint teaching children to be one of his best opportunities. He was training about 20 of them at the EIRS facility, and they went on to compete at the junior nationals at the age group level.
“Not only was I at the best civilian equestrian facility in India, but when I came to riding school, I had around ten horses.” Every day, I could ride five to ten horses. Previously, I did not have access to so many horses. To be honest, that experience put me on the map in India,” Limaye says.
“If you have one horse, you can ride on them for about an hour,” he says. But if you have ten, your progress will be much faster.”
Because of his progress, EIRS decided to send him to Europe to train in preparation for Asian Games qualification. Limaye has been in France for the past two months. He had previously been based in Germany.
As the Asian Games approach, Limaye’s biggest challenge will be deciding which horse to ride to Hangzhou, as he has made the cut on two horses: Dinard Penguinan and Willy Be Dun.
“I’m not sure which horse I’ll ride to China right now.” At the moment, I’m not inclined towards either. I’ll make a decision by mid-September. Having a choice is a good situation to be in. “Every time I discuss which horse to ride with my coaches, we always come to the same conclusion: we should wait as long as possible,” he says.
At the same time, he will do everything you ask of him. He usually does not make his own decisions. He’ll follow your decisions with his eyes closed. Willy Be Dun, on the other hand, has a distinct personality. He brags a little more than Dinard. You must be smarter in dealing with him because he has a brain. He’s more daring. However, both are extremely competitive. Choosing one will undoubtedly be difficult,” he chuckles.
