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OUR HORSES: LUCKY BOY
DINYAR D. MADON

Lucky Boy was one of the first horses I ever rode. He was a chestnut terror measuring 13.2 hands high. He was my all time favourite and taught an entire generation of riders to ride.

Lucky Boy was one of the most intelligent horses I have ever come across. Your problems began before you mounted him. As one approached him he would attempt to bite you. While trying to mount him he would side-swipe with his near hind which would force you to move closer to his head to avoid getting hurt. This would present him with an excellent opportunity to nip your behind. After a few painful experiences one learnt that you should keep his neck turned towards the right while mounting to avoid injury.

While you are riding him he always had his head turned to one side and would be observing you. He had the uncanny knack of knowing when you are off guard and would give one well timed buck and bring you down. He would then promptly gallop into the middle of the Polo Ground and lead every one on a merry chase until he was ready to be caught. It was quite a sight to see this little pony eating grass in the middle of the Polo Ground and several syces creeping up on him. Lucky Boy would keep an eye out on them and run off if they got too close. Once he had his fill he would trot up to the riding School and let himself be caught.

Our riding instructor at that time was Jemadar Ahmed Khan, an ex-NCO from the 61st Cavalry. He was over 6 feet tall and extremely strong. One day Ahmed Khan decided to ride him. Lucky Boy tried his best to throw him off but was unsuccessful. Ultimately in desperation Lucky Boy flung himself onto the ground thereby dislodging Ahmed Khan. Ahmed Khan was furious and sat on Lucky Boy's neck preventing Lucky Boy from getting up. After 5 minutes Ahmed Khan thought that Lucky Boy was suitably chastened and decided to ride him once again. Ahmed Khan did not know that Lucky Boy was not one to accept defeat. He grabbed the bit in his mouth, put his head down and charged under the railing and out of the Riding School. The railing caught Ahmed Khan in the chest and Ahmed Khan was left behind in the Riding School. Lucky Boy once again had his way and galloped off to the Polo ground.

I do not think there is a single rider who rode Lucky Boy and did not fall. As far as I can recollect Lucky Boy threw at least one rider every morning and evening. Habib Nasrullah holds the dubious record of being thrown 8 times by Lucky Boy in a half hour ride. This was one evening at the Club’s old premises at Annie Besant Road. Habib was persistent and remounted Lucky Boy each time he fell. After throwing Habib for the 8th time Lucky Boy decided that enough was enough and chased Habib up the adjoining hillock and out of the ARC Complex.

Lucky Boy would regularly crawl between the Poles and out of his stable. On many mornings when his syce, Sagar, would go to get him ready for the morning ride he would find the stable empty. He has been found as far as at Parel. The Club removed the poles and built a gate but that did not deter him. He would reach over the gate and open the latch with his teeth. Ultimately the gate was heightened to above his head, which bottled him in the Stable but not his spirits.

Despite this he was one of the hot favorites and many of us would come to the Race Course at 5.30 in the morning to book him for the first ride which would start at 6.15 a.m. Invariably by 6.30 a.m. the rider would be on the ground wondering what foolishness had prompted him to wake up so early to ride Lucky Boy.