As preparations for his 12th birthday party were on, Zoravar Singh Thiara shut himself up in a room and counted the hours left for the big event.

Zoravar was not looking ahead to the party in the evening; he was waiting for his first international tournament-the FEI World Dressage Challenge.

The thought of him being the youngest participant in the tournament made him anxious, but he was ready.

“It was a big event and naturally, the best equestrians of the world were to participate in it. I had never participated in an international event before. I knew I needed lot of hard work. I was jittery in the initial period, but it settled down once the event began,” Zoravar said.

It all began one and half months ago when Zoravar came to know that the tournament would be held in October.

He went straight to his mother and asked her to pray that the event be held after October 18, the day he would turn 12 — the age required for an equestrian to participate in a tournament.

The prayers were answered — October 22 and 23 were announced as the tournament dates. The event was to be held in New Delhi.

“It was a perfect birthday gift. I packed my bags and left for Delhi to train under my coach Major G S Ahluwalia,” the student of St John’s School said. “I knew other participants had been working six months in advance, but that didn’t deter me.”

... contd.