Don’t gallop me up the Hill,
Don’t drop me down the Hill, Don’t spare me on the Plain Ground,
Don’t drop me of the feed, Don’t deprive me of the warm bed
Don’t neglect me when I am sick and old, Don’t forget me when I am dead..
This is the prayer of the horse to its master when it stays with him and acting according to his commands. The horse hopes that his master will look after him even in its old age and shall not be deserted. But, the same was not true in case of ‘CJ-15’, the Champion Horse, which died in Mysore yesterday.
21-year-old ‘CJ-15’ which brought laurels to Mysore and the country by winning national and international medals and trophies died a sad death at Pinjrapole in Mysore.
One of the greatest showing jumping Indian Horse, which served in the Mounted Police in Mysore, was left to die unattended. The Mounted Police which is also responsible to look after the horses after they retire did not do much to look after ‘CJ-15’. It died just two days after being sent to Pinjrapole.
‘CJ-15’ was brought from Clive Stud Farm in Bangalore in the 1993 to Mounted Police and it was trained by former Mounted Police Commandant Maribashetty. It was the 15th horse in the fold and was not considered to be an ideal horse for equestrian sport by the stud owner. But, the horse was brought to Mysore and was professionally trained and it yielded good results by winning numerous medal and trophies both at the national and international level. v‘CJ-15’ retired recently as it had grown old. But, it still had eight good years to live as it was healthy. The sudden death of ‘CJ-15’ has come as a shocker for animal lovers, who have been great fans of the horse which was a show stopper during the Torch Light Parade at the Bannimantap Ground held on the last day of the Dasara festivities. vSpeaking to Star of Mysore, Srinivas, a horse rider, expressed the ‘CJ-15’ was a champion horse which had great fan following in the national level. v“The horse was healthy and fit when I last saw in the Mounted Police premises when I visited to see the newly brought horses. The officials informed me the horse would retire soon as it was old. But, none of them informed they would send the horse to Pinjrapole. The sudden death of CJ-15 has come as a shocker. We never knew that it would be sent to Pinjrapole. The Mounted Police have sufficient space to look after the old horses. If the department had made an announcement at least the horse could have been adopted. The horse deserved a decent death since it was a champion. The last rites of the horse should have been performed with state honours”, said Srinivas.
Listed among the Grade I horse by the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI), CJ-15 was a great fighter when it came to competitions. Both S.G. Maribashetty and his son Arun Maribashetty have won medals and trophies with CJ-15.
Speaking to Star of Mysore, S.G. Maribashetty, former Commandant, Mounted Police, expressed his condolences to the death of CJ-15 and remembered the days he spent with horse while in service.
“CJ-15 never came back without winning a medal in the competitions it participated. Such was the calibre and efficiency of the horse”, he added.
The saddest part is that ‘CJ-15’ did not get the treatment it deserved. When horses and dogs, which retire after serving the Police Department in western countries are taken care by their trainers or handlers till their death, why that provision is not in India?
The Mounted Police need to come out with an answer as to why ‘CJ-15’ was sent to Pinjrapole when it had the facilities to look after it. Did the Commandant of Mounted Police check for the facilities available at the Pinjrapole before deciding to admit the horse?
With the death of ‘CJ-15’, Mysore City has lost a Champion Horse, which died a inhumane death, all thanks to the Mounted Police. — VNS
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / July 28th, 2014