A dream ride
While it traces the exciting journey in a niche sport, Riding Free is also about the fact that hard work, focus and dedication do work together to make seemingly impossible dreams come true
From the age of four, Imtiaz Anees took to horse-riding like a fish to water. It soon became a passion, one that continued to grow through his life, beginning with his first competitive win at the age of six, and leading on to multiple wins at equestrian events both nationally and internationally. Imtiaz is the only Indian rider to complete an equestrian three-day event at the Olympics — he did so at Sydney in
2000, aged 30.
In Riding Free, Imtiaz traces the major milestones of his riveting
20-year journey.
“Everyone who knows my journey told me it was a story that needs to be told and that I should write an inspiring book,” says Imtiaz. “When I look back at my Olympic journey, it seems almost surreal. It seems as if the whole Universe was working to make my Olympic dream come true. There were so many people who came forward to help me. They saw my focus, dedication and hard work and backed me when I needed support. This had to be captured in a book so that aspiring athletes can see the magic of dreams and hard work.”
Imtiaz says he thought this was the perfect time to tell the story, with the Tokyo Olympics around the corner.
The equestrian trainer, competitor, NBC commentator, qualified Level 2 instructor and coach-educator has returned to India after
30 years, to set up an equestrian training facility for the sport traditionally associated in this country with royalty, wealth and the Army. “It is a niche sport and a lot of external factors play a huge role. My facility will guide young riders who want to compete for India internationally,” he explains.
It was important for me to tell the youth and young achievers not to let limitations of money, resources or time stop them from dreaming and that their dreams would come true,” the author asserts. “I relived my life writing the book and realised that a lot of what seemed achievable at that time today seems like quite a feat,” he says.
Talking of the process of writing, Imtiaz says “a lot of midnight oil has been burnt writing and revisiting the draft. Thankfully, most of the events are so fresh in my mind that it felt as if they happened just yesterday.” Sharing that his wife Zeenat helped him compile a copious amount of notes as part of the writing process, he adds, “Overall it’s been a fun ride, bringing back
all the sweet and sour memories.”
Looking back, Imtiaz says, he had the most amazing support across international borders and nationalities. “I think the human touch is what is most important, as well as being humble and adapting to different situations,” he sums up.