Thursday Video: Get to Know Asian Games Medalist Fouaad Mirza

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Fouaad Mirza made history last year when he became the first Indian rider to qualify for the Olympic games for equestrian in two decades. After achieving success at the 2018 Asian Games, where he won a team and individual silver medal, Fouaad moved from his home country to Europe to further his riding career. This is where the FEI caught up with him for the latest episode of their new video series, RIDE:

“If you want to beat the best and you want to figure among the best, you’ve got to put yourself amongst them and then you know where you stand and what you need to work on,” Fouaad said in the video. His training with 2014 World Equestrian Games individual gold medalist Sandra Auffarth, who represents Germany, has helped the 27-year-old progress with his string of horses. You may recognize former Bettina Hoy ride Seigneur Medicott as a top figure on Fouaad’s string, though an injury in 2019 kept him off the Tokyo qualifier trail.

“(Sandra is) an amazing amazing horsewoman and a very good trainer,” he added. “I’ve learned a lot from her over these last couple of years. She does everything in a very friendly, nice way that really suits my style and my idea of how I wanted to do things with my horses.”

It is Fouaad’s hope that any success he gains in the sport helps other potential riders in his home country gain an interest in eventing, though he says there might be one other sport to factor in: “I think people still need to know more about the sport before they can really support me like they support their cricket!”

Want to keep up with Fouaad and his budding career? Follow him on Instagram here.