Grieving family recalls the enthusiasm of Saif and Ashu

Hyderabad: Mohd Saif who along with Ashu Singh drowned while rescuing the nine-year-old horse Hercules from drowning on Wednesday, was called a ‘champ’ by his peers at the Telangana Horse Riding Academy.

Continuing the family legacy of working with animals, Saif began working with horses around seven years back, said his family members on Thursday. All his family members are into training horses and renting them for events. Ashu Singh joined the academy a year ago as a trainee.

Ashu Singh

Family members said Saif’s grandfather Mohd Jamaluddin served under the Nizams and their father Mohd Shamshuddin worked in Hyderabad zoo, taking care of elephants. “Around 1,000 members belonging to our family and the extended family are all into rearing and training horses,” they said.

The academy is owned by Mohd. Aslam and his brothers Mohd Akram and Mohd Azam. Saif was Akram’s son.

Saif’s cousin Mohd Arif told Deccan Chronicle was also pursuing academics in the distance mode.

Family members said the academy’s horses are not taken out of the academy, but Saif and Ashu Singh had done so.

Ashu Singh, coming from a financially poor background, joined the academy less than a year ago as he wanted to become a horse trainer, said a friend, Salman.

As Singh’s family members expressed their inability to come to the city, police handed over the body to his friends who will be taking it to his home in Bikaner, Rajasthan.