9-year-old performs daredevil horse stunt to feed family

BENGALURU: The video of a nine-year-old boy falling off a running horse only to return on a two-wheeler and mount the galloping colt and winning the race went viral on social media recently.
The daredevil rider, Lokesh Sattigeri of Vaddarahatti village in Gokak taluk, Belagavi, on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border, however, is not happy even after all the social media glory.The reason: the horse owner gave him only Rs 1,000 instead of the promised 50% of the Rs 3,000 prize, citing the horse’s treatment costs.
The boy was, after all, doing the stunt to get some money to meet his family’s bread and butter needs. He is the youngest of the four children of farm labourers Basappa and Lakshmi, who slog in the fields to collectively earn Rs 200 a day. Lokesh is a student of Lakshminagar Kannada School and is now getting ready to join class 4.
The incident happened during an 8km horse race at Aranya Siddeshwara Jathre organised at Kerur in the neighbouring Chikkodi taluk.
“After running for about 3km, the horse which was speeding around 40-50km/hr jerked and hurtled me to the ground. The horse lost its balance, but it recovered and began running on its own. I could feel my bones rattling, but there was a much bigger goal before me as the prize money was most important. I got on to the bike of my coach, Siddaiah Shankaraiah Hasundi, who was following me, chased the horse, mounted it and went on to win the race,” Lokesh told TOI over phone.
Lokesh said there was no question of the fall deterring him. “I was clear about my goal — to win the race,” he said.
He’s hailed as Bahubali on social media
Known locally as Jockey, Lokesh is now being hailed on the internet as Bahubali, after the eponymous film. Lokesh has won at least 10 races in various fairs organised across the district in three years. Asked how it felt being called Bahubali, Lokesh said, “I do it to feed my family and feel good about it.”
He was bitten by the horseriding bug as a child, given that he comes from a region where horse races are an important part of fairs.
“I used to take Lokesh to fairs and he enjoyed seeing people ride horses. When he was six, I bought a horse paying Rs 5,000 from my savings. Within a few days, Lokesh began riding the horse under the guidance of Siddaiah and started participating in competitions at various fairs. He won the first couple of races and soon became a known face among horseriders in the district. Now, they take him to races and he wins them. They pay him 50% of the winning amount,” said Basappa, Lokesh’s father.
Asked whether he was not shocked when Lokesh fell from the horse and almost came under the wheels of a two-wheeler, Basappa said, “He enjoys riding horses and falling from horses is nothing new for him.”
Talking about his plans for the summer holidays, Lokesh said he will train himself to become a better jockey to win more races in future.
Siddaiah, 22, who is also from Vaddarahatti, said he was also into racing, but had to quit as he gained weight. “Lokesh is a quick learner,” he added.
8-10 races a month
According to horse riding coach Siddaiah Shankaraiah Hasundi, there will be 8-10 horse race events during fairs and other public events every month in Belagavi district.
The winning horse walks away with Rs 5,000 prize money, while the second and third prizes entail Rs 3,000 and Rs 2,000. “There will be impromptu horse races in villages where people bet on winning horses without knowing that it is illegal. Horse racing is an informal industry of sorts and many people make a living out of them. On an average, 10-12 horses participate in any race in the district,” Siddaiah said.