No horsing around: What made Yohan Poonawalla shift from riding to driving

A few nasty falls have made Yohan Poonawalla aware of the perils of horse riding. It’s only ponies for his kids.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that if there is something to know about horses, Pune-based Yohan Poonawalla and wife Michelle probably know it. However, there is an iron-clad rule for the family, one that even the youngest members of the family, their kids, daughter Tania, 13, and son Zayan, 8, must follow: no riding.

During an interview at the couple’s residence in Pune, Yohan shares the reasoning behind this rule with ETPanache. “I used to ride when I was much younger. But then, I had a few nasty falls. It [riding] is a very high intensity, risky sport,” he says. “Being from the background, we [members of his generation] used to obviously ride when we were young. But as you grow older and your fitness levels aren’t quite the same, things are different. You have to be very alert mentally for riding.”


That explanation is at the heart of the no-racing rule for the household. He admits that a lot of people find it strange since the family comes from a horsing background. And while initially the kids may have protested a bit, now they are on board. “I think they have accepted that fact. It’s gone past that [the protesting] stage now,” Yohan says.

It could have something to do with some other four-legged occupants of the family too. Their four miniature Shetland ponies — Kensington (male), and Mimi, Minx and Chelsea (females). The four ponies have dedicated stables on the grounds of the residence.

“Now, they [the children] have the little ponies to play with. So that is kind of compensated for the desire to sit on horses. They can walk the ponies around when their friends come over, but we don’t encourage them to sit on a horse,” Michelle shares.

According to Michelle, a lot of people fail to understand the difference between race horses and riding ponies. “A lot of people take race horses and want to ride them for pleasure. But what they don’t understand is that a race horse’s mentality is totally different from that of a riding pony,” she says. “A race horse is more temperamental.”

The miniature Shetland ponies, on the other hand are known for their mild temperament. “Kids can touch them, walk them, they are very sweet. You can’t walk a race horse. They are frisky, they can kick. You have to be careful,” Michelle explains.

The one other thing that the businessman is fond of is cars. When asked if he misses riding, pat comes the reply from his wife: “Not anymore. Now he drives, so…”.

The art of horse naming
Of the four ponies, only Chelsea was born at the family’s stud farm and hence was named in India. The other three came from the UK, with names given to them by their previous owners.

The couple explained how a horse owner’s travels, his lifestyle, or even his interests can guide the final choice of name. “Some may have a keen interest in movies and may want to name them after movies. Some may name them after cities,” Michelle said.

Yohan shared their personal experience. “Last year, we were in Switzerland and we went to the Rhine Forest, named after the waterfalls. When we got back, we named our new horse Rhine Forest. We even have another one that’s called Frieze, after the art fair, because of our interest in art,” he said.