Randeep Hooda's riding high

Randeep Hooda, who had been on crutches for a few months after breaking his ankle when his horse fell on him, is back on his feet and has just participated in the Open Dressage event of the National Equestrian Championships organised by the Equestrian Federation of India in Delhi. He has also won a silver medal in the event. But isn’t he putting himself at risk by exerting his broken ankle? 

“I’m fully fit now and I’m being careful when I’m taking part in these events,” says Hooda. “If you fall from the stairs, do you stop taking them? Absolutely not and so for me, even though my horse fell over me, I can’t stop riding and stop participating in these competitions,” he says.

Randeep reveals that in the Delhi competition, in which generally army personnel compete, he was taken lightly as they thought that he was taking part in it just for fun.

“I’m sure many must have thought when my name was announced that Randeep is an actor and he must have the money to buy horses but he might not be a good competition. I showed them that I can compete. I could see them interacting with me
more respectfully,” he says. 

The actor is working towards promoting the horse riding sport and  has given away two horses worth around Rs2 lakh each to children who could not afford them. “I had two old horses and I gave them away to children who were very keen to take up this sport. They were of no real use for me as I had literally outgrown them and so I gave them away to people who needed them to practise. It will be good for them. I’m also looking to add some horses to my collection and I want some foreign bred horses, but now due to recession, I don’t think I will buy them immediately,” he ends.