Uneasy rider

Filmmaker Manish Acharya fell off his horse on Saturday in Matheran and died of his injuries, proving that horse riding can be dangerous both for amateurs and hardened professionals

Filmmaker Manish Acharya's deceptively innocuous horse ride through the verdant trails of the hill station of Matheran ended in tragedy as the filmmaker lost his life after he fell off his horse and hit his head.

Says Asha Kadam, president of the Matheran Horse Owners Association, on the phone from Matheran, "I have learnt that Acharya was a Matheran regular.


Jockey Y S Srinath after winning The Casino Royale Indian St Leger race on horse Change of Luck with trainer S Padmanabhan at the Mahalaxmi racecourse

He used to be at the hill station very often with his family and they would often go riding like other tourists. I think he had a riding helmet on too.

I hear from 'ghodawallas' (accompanying the horse) that Acharya was riding fast and struck his head against a branch of a tree. He fell off the horse, hitting his head against a stone and died of his injuries."

Unfortunate
Kadam says "this was very unfortunate, I think Acharya was a fairly good rider, he had been visiting Matheran for the past 10 years at least."

When asked if the hill station's authorities were thinking of pruning the trees, given that it may have caused the filmmaker's death and posed similar dangers to the tourists who ride in Matheran, Kadam stated, "This is an eco-sensitive zone and we cannot do anything much.

I think he was unlucky. I am aware that a life has gone so I am not being insensitive, but you know sometimes, even a perfectly functioning car's brakes might fail."

Solo
Kadam signs off though with a request to the large numbers of tourists who are sure to flood the hill station during the Christmas break, "Do not request to be left alone and pressurise the ghodawallahs (experts riders who give you the horses and walk along with you and the horse) to let you ride solo. Despite pleas, tourists often insist on riding alone," says Kadam.

Helmets
Adil Gandhy, former president Amateur Riders Club (ARC) and a Matheran regular for over 65 years says , "ARC horses have been taken to Matheran for years, I remember we used to compete in equestrian sports at the Olympia racecourse in Matheran. We used to stable our horses in Matheran and ride there for a month in the year at least.
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I would advise all riders that they must go slowly, when riding. You need to trot and at the most, canter on open stretches, like from the racecourse to the Pande playground there. Galloping is suicidal in Matheran, where the roads are in a pathetic condition.
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Of course, a helmet is a must, like mo'bike riders who have to wear helmets in Mumbai, riders too must be forced to wear a helmet.

Most of the time, tourists here wear jeans, t-shirts, sandals, no helmet, get on a horse and set off. They take horse riding very casually. There are several low tree branches, if one is going at some speed, the rider may not have the reflexes to duck."

Luck
Sometimes, though it is not a helmet, body protectors or even your equestrian skills that can save you, it is, "a huge slice of luck," says professional jockey Y S Srinath who claims to have fallen off a horse, "more than 200 times in my riding career.

At least 25 times while racing and at other times while riding casually," says the jockey who is currently based in Mumbai and riding for Shapur Mistry. Racecourse buzz says that Srinath is termed, 'the fall guy' in racing circles for his propensity to fall off his mount.

Yet cautions Srinath, "As professional jockeys we wear protective gear, a helmet, and a body protector (which protects vital organs) yet, our limbs are vulnerable. I would tell casual riders that they must wear a helmet and proper riding boots at least. Horse riding is a dangerous pursuit."

Limbs
Srinath who says, "I have broken my limbs - hands, legs after a fall and I feel truly lucky to have survived so many. In professional races when a jockey falls, there is little he can do.

What we are taught is to curl ourselves in a ball to minimise the injury but often there are just a few seconds because in a race you are travelling at 50-60 kmph and it is too fast, you do not have time to react."

Avoid
Srinath also claims that a horse will never "kill you" it essentially, "bolts or rears when it is scared or startled" it is also "fleet animal which means it will run away fast from something when it is scared," adding, "even when a jockey falls during a race, the horses behind, if they are a few meters away would avoid the jockey, if a jockey is caught in the middle of the bunch and the horses are too close, there is trouble," finishes Srinath who is closing in on 1000 winners in his 16th year of professional riding.

Folklore
No piece on Matheran would be complete without version from a legendary jockey whose equestrian skills were weaned on the red soil of Matheran and who would go on to blaze his way in the Indian racing world. Vasant Shinde, now retired and based in Bangalore says, "I heard about the death of the filmmaker. I think he was a good rider.

I spoke to Pramod Belose's (Belose is a Matheran boy who won the Indian Derby in 2003) father who told me that Acharya was chasing his friend's horse who had bolted and while doing so hit his head on a branch and died."u00a0

Shinde who has folklore woven around him, "he once won a race riding without a saddle, after the saddle had slipped from the horse and gone under the horse's belly," says an aficionado, laughs when asked whether there would ever be another Vasant Shinde.
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"They say there is only one Lata Mangeshkar," he says in response and adds quickly with a touch of paternal pride, "My son, Vinod Shinde rides now and has already had 45 winners."

Distracted
Shinde still has ties with Matheran though saying, "I own a hotel there called Priti Hotel, my other son, Viju Shinde runs it. I go to Matheran in May." Shinde adds, "I mean no disrespect to anybody, but I have also noticed that casual riders and tourists to Matheran are not fully focussed while horse riding.

Sometimes, they are talking on the mobile and other times, because they are on holiday, they are intoxicated while riding. You may not be in a professional race but you need to concentrate while riding," finishes the jockey who put the tiny hill station known for its quaint toy train, cane products and honey on the map of Indian professional racing.

About Matheran

Amid the green Jambol forest, situated at 803 meters (2,636 ft) above sea level, Matheran is a popular Maharashtra hill station covering an area in the Sahyadris.

It has a blanket motor transport ban and was discovered by Hugh Poyntz Malet, the collector of Thane district.
Matheran grew more accessible and popular under the patronage of Lord Elphinstone, the Governor of Bombay.
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He visited Matheran in 1855. He introduced roadways and, in 1907, opened a mountain railway for the first time.

The main drinking water for the town comes from Charlotte Lake, away from the edge of the hilltop.

The Main Mahatama Gandhi Road is lined with shops forming the main bazaar. called Kapadia Market. P N Kapadia set it up in 1919, in the memory of his wife.

Horses are a prominent feature in Matheran.

Other spots near Mumbai where tourists enjoy horse riding are Mahableshwar and Panchgani.