Pictured: Imtiaz Anees with showjumper Rooben. Photo: BELINDA JAMES

INDIAN equestrian star Imtiaz Anees stopped in at Marcus Oldham Waurn Ponds, yesterday to thank the college for helping him achieve an Olympic dream.

Anees, 29, is Marcus Oldham's first Olympian from its horse business management course He finished 23rd in the individual three-day event at the Sydney 2000 Games.

But it was only through sheer determination and optimism that Axes was able to scrape into the final field of 38.

Anees was told the night before the event that he would be a reserve, but just an hour or so before competition started he got the news at he was in.

The field is based on world rankings, which favors those competing on the European circuit.

Anees said his one-year course at Marcus Oldham in 1995 was "extremely beneficial" in many ways, but importantly had put things in perspective and made him see things realistically.

"I had dreams, I had goals and I wanted to do a lot of things," he said. "Marcus Oldham said, 'Yes, it can be done, these are the ways,' and it was up to each student to choose the ways."

Anees has spent the past three years in Australia in pursuit of his Olympic dream. His wife, Masume, joined him at the Camperdown property of Corangamite MHR Stewart McArthur 12 months ago.

"The whole community has been enormously supportive, and when we'd return from an event where the horse had performed poorly and the float had broken down on the way home, we'd feel like packing up and going home," he said. "I did that one time and my parents in Bombay said, 'Get back there'.

"I've had some terrible downs, but you should never give up. People would say, 'Success is a series of failures, 'things like that.

"I kept working hard. There wasn't a single day I slept in. I'd think 'What if this is the morning the horse gets caught up in a fence'."

He took his horse to Berri for quarantine when he was given little chance of even being named a reserve.

Just before the event, Anees wasn't on the reserve list, but he kept training.

The Olympics fulfilled Anees' expectations. He was virtually an adopted son of the Australians, and received a standing ovation after every ride.

Anees is looking forward to the world championships and the Athens Olympics. "Now that I am competing at that level I want to win a medal," he said.