Fall from horse and a win in race gallop Belagavi boy to stardom

Belagavi: A nine-year-old boy, riding a galloping horse, fell off from it during a race. However, he immediately stood up and soon caught up with the still running horse by riding pillion on a bike that was following the animal. Finally, he jumped on to the speeding horse from the bike and won the race. This straight-out-of-a-movie scene, which was caught on a video , took place in Kerur village, Chikkodi taluk, on March 12.

Ever since, it has gone viral on social media.

The ‘hero’ in the video, Lokesh Sattigeri of Vaddarahatti village in Gokak taluk, has become a celebrity of sorts in his village. Nonetheless, the video has also kicked up a debate on the lack of safety measures in an event like a horse race. The race was organised by Shri Aranyasiddhesher jatra committee.

Now, after watching TV reports, a horse-rider from Bengaluru has come forward to adopt Lokesh to make him a good horse-rider. Lokesh, who studies in Class 3 at a local government school, comes from an economically weaker family.

Lokesh was seen falling from the horse after the animal slipped on the tar road. He fell along with the horse and sustained injuries, mainly on his legs and hands. Fortunately, he was not hit by the speeding bikes that were following his horse.

The fallen horse, meanwhile, got up and started running on the race route without the rider. The bikers behind the horse lifted Lokesh and started following the running animal. Lokesh, who was riding pillion on a bike, jumped on to the running horse from the bike. Despite the injuries, Lokesh never gave up and won the competition.

Sources said the horse he was riding belonged to one of his relatives from Bhiradi village in Raibag taluk. The village is famous for horse riders and there are nearly 20 families who participate in races in surrounding areas. Usually, the families train children for horse riding because of their low weight. There are many children in Bhiradi who participate in horse race competitions, said local residents.

When asked about participation of children in dangerous events like a horse race, superintendent of police Sudheerkumar Reddy said there is no law to prevent minors from participating in such competitions. There are competitions for less age groups like below 10, below 12 etc., he said.