My life in a flash

As I write this it’s the 3rd of October 2011, and it been exactly 20 years, 7 months, 2 weeks and 6 days, 17 hours and 8 minutes ago that I entered this world.

Cold winter day in northern holland. The birth went smooth, and I was a healthy, and somewhat chubby baby. Beau I was named even before my birth my mother (Mischa) was certain I’d be a boy. But, well that wasn’t the case
The years passed smoothly, traveling a lot across the world including, Australia when I was 3, Italy several times in my childhood, and with India being the most visited place, it was no surprise we moved there in the fall of 2001.

I was eager to go, I liked india. But the real excitement for me was that I would be given my own pony! And it happened! In June 2002 (the 14th to be exact) we found a small brown mare in Auroville, they were willing to sell her, since she was not the easiest pony in the riding school.

I remember my first ride on our small plot of land vividly, leaving the property to head into to the next door farm land. Trying a canter, success!! This was an achievement as Flicka wasn’t eager to move! Plus I didn’t own a saddle, so I learned to ride bareback very quickly!

Oh, but I forgot to mentioned my homeschooling, I wonder why . I studied with Mischa through my late childhood and early teens, more and more taking on my own subjects of what I wished to learn.

For years I rode throughout rural southern India, on my own, in my own little world of fantasies of spies, knights, famous riders.

When I was around 14 years old, I learned how to design websites, I took an immediate liking to it and within no time I had put up a website about horses.

A year later, Flicka had grown older, and I had had outgrown her by quite a bit, plus I was getting restless to explore the world. I wanted to leave Tiru, so it happened that I was in Auroville 2 weeks per month, staying in the Ponyfarm, working for my lodging. Flicka came with me to enjoy an easy life among other ponies.
My work consisted mostly of taking guests (tourists) and kids out on ride outs into the forest, I would ride one of the bigger ponies: Manita
I also leased: Wet Wicket an ex race Thoroughbred and started to retrain him using Pat Parreli methods from the books that were available. Within no time I finished level 1.

During one of the ride outs with a newcomer, I met Isa, she had come to live in Auroville not 2 months before and fell in love with a Thoroughbred horse: Tristan. She leased him and we quickly became very very good friends.

That summmer, the summer of 2007. I went to holland to visit family. I had gone back before, a couple of times actually, but this time was different, I was 16 years old and it was time to start making my own money. Through a family member I found a Dog & Cat pension for whom I could work in the busy summer months.
After work days were over, I hitchhiked to the north of france by myself, as through a friend of Mischa I had gotten word of someone passionate about horses that they told me I should meet! First time in France for me!
I met Aurora, and spend a lovely week on her small horse farm in Saumur.

She mentioned needing someone to take care of her horses for 10 months while she studied at a horse academy everyday all day. I jumped at that opportunity! A deal was made and I would fly into france at the beginning of october.

I spend 2 months back in India, at the ponyfarm, spending time with Isa and the horses.

October came, I flew to france. I won’t go into detail what happened there, but it wasn’t the happiest time of my life.
In April, Mischa and I went to Paris for a couple of days, and then we headed down to Spain for a road trip with Dayal, a friend of ours.

As we got back to Holland I had a great adventure lined up. I was going to the USA to meet my real father for the first time! at 17!
There aren many words to describe this trip, but, incredible and life changing are sure to be among them .
Wasn’t it akward you may ask? Well yes, the first 24 hours were a bit strange, but after that we had a BLAST! We took his beetle 66 and drove it from Asheville NA to Georgia, Alabama, through the whole country to LA, up to Lake Thao, back across to the Rocky Mountains, and we concluded our 2 month road trip back in Asheville.

August 2008 – Back in India, I moved in with Isa in auroville. A tiny little house where our adventures continued.

In one of my visits to Tiru, I learned that there was a Dutch family that wanted to move there. The were looking for someone to teach their 8 year old son; Sacha to ride horses.
I grabbed the opportunity, and suggested that they purchase two horses, they agreed and asked me to take care of everything.
Within 2 months, I had designed and let build a stable & paddock on a big piece of land right next door to where I grew up! Isa & set off to buy two Marwari horses.
This was a dream come true! Taking care of a stable, with 2 horses, teaching a wonderful boy and getting paid for it!

On the days I wasn’t teaching, Isa & I would take long rides in the early (and cool) dawn of the day, we decided that we would move to Tiru, and I rented a small house in town. For quite a while we struggled with transport, hitching rides, borrowing mopeds. But that didn’t matter, we had a great time!

April 2009 came, and my Indian visa ran out. So I went to Sri Lanka to renew it. That was a short little trip, just around 12 days. I was eager to head back and relieve Isa of taking over my job.
In the 3 months that followed we delved into the subject of natural hoof care, as there are no farriers (or vets for that matter) in or around Tiru. We were successful! (with the help of professional guidance online) our horses looked great! They started to improve and recover from their previous lives.

Suddenly Isa left to live in Europe, having been offered a fantastic opportunity to live with and learn from a natural horse trainer in Denmark.
This was a shock to me, no more Isa to share my passion with.

A couple of weeks after I left for Holland, as the 3 month visa I received in Sri Lanka was coming to an end.
There I worked, cleaning houses, and working the 2 months in the Dog and Cat pension. During this time Majura (the smaller one of my horses) got sick, was diagnosed with Neurological desease called; Surra.
He has never fully recovered.

My stay in Holland was short I went on another short hitchhiking trip to France to see a friend.

Back in India I resumed my work as teacher and trainer for the horses. But it wasn’t quite the same without Isa.
The transport issue didn’t get any better, so a dream that I had had for some months, became reality as I bought my own motorcycle! A yellow Apache!
Suddenly the world was more fun!
I moved in with Mischa, we shared a big house, some while away from where my horses lived. My social life improved, I started to make friends with the travvelers that are always coming through the increasingly popular Tiru. Actually fast increasing! within the last 2 years, 6 new restaurants opened and about 15 new tourist shops decided that TIru was the new place to be. This in return brought more visitors in the winter season.

This was also the season that the Dutch family left back to Holland due to visa trouble and donated the horses to me.

December – Again, end of my visa. This time I went to Thailand, I loved it!

January 13th! My birthday! 19 years! We left on a road trip to the southern part of india where it meets Sri Lanka! we went there to see a solar eclipse! 4 bikes, 6 people. I , well on this trip I was soo happy! It will always remain one of the best experiences in my life.

Money issues, my job had stopped, and I had 2 horses to take care of. Via via, I met a woman who worked in the Yachting industry as a chief stewardess. She suggested I try to get a job. How I asked? Well it basically came down to: Fly to france, do the STCW 95 course (safety at sea & first aid) print CVs and ask around. So with just enough euros to pay for the course, and survive in touristic europe for 1 month, I did exactly that!

The weeks that followed were hard on me, I was by myself, in a tent for a whole month, watching my money disappear before I got my first day of work. That 1 day, was quickly followed by a 2 week stretch of work in which I earned 1000 euros. I could breathe! 2 weeks later I got an offer for the whole season, 5 1/2 months till mid Sept. I took it.
I can’t say that working on a yacht is the thing i want to do for the rest of my life, but there is something about it that one cannot experience anywhere else.

After my season I was eager to see Isa again, so we decided to meet and do something we have been wanting to do ever since we met. Travel in Europe!
And travel we did! 6000 km of hitchiking from Holland, Belgium, France down the eastern border to Spain, and back up to Holland along the west coast. An EPIC movie of our Eurotrip is on the way!

During our trip the IHD was born. The IHD stands for Indian Horse Database, and it is an online interactive pedigree and trade platform for Indian horses. Totally unique in its field. Read more at: Career – IHD

December – February – In India, short 3 months.
In February, Mischa and I went on vacation to Thailand for 2 weeks, after which I flew to the USA, friends of mine had offered to pay for my ticket to come see them!
The last 2 months of my stay in the USA I spend with Max Chain (my dad)
This 2011 USA trip was yet another unforgettable experience in wich Max and I bonded ever further. We practiced alot on my guitar and had so much fun playing with him, him being a singer song writer since he was 25.

We attended a music festival in Georgia, springfest! That is where I explored my growing passion for the electric Bass guitar. Shortly after learning to play, Max gave me a new Bass guitar! I have taken it with me everywhere since.

I flew into Sweden to see Isa and that was the birth of Rey’eng! Our web-design company!

Another Yachting season awaited me, shorter this time. After a fun but as always stressful 7 weeks of work, I went to visit Mischa in Ibiza. WOW! so nice there! I had a great time.

This is also when I started to activly write on the blog that you can find here.

Ibiza went by way too fast and after a short visit in Can Riu (marwari horses in spain) I flew back to India to enjoy a wonderful time with my horses & friends!
Isa also went back to India and it was really nice to spend time with her around the horses.

In December I took the train to Jodhpur to full fill a live long dream, to see the Marwari horses in Rajasthan! That was amazing and I got to compete in the National Endurance Ride Championship of 40km on a beautiful Marwari mare. We won!

Time passed quickly among the southern Indian planes when I got back from the north, and soon I found myself on a plane to Thailand – Koh Lanta.

I spent 2 beautiful weeks at the Atcha Pony Hut, where they provided me with accommodation and food in return for work!

Now we’ve arrived at the present (wow fast ey?)

My current great adventure is starting a new life in Australia. Mingling in ‘western’ (non asian) society and loving it!

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