27 Mar 2014

Whether “Shut the Voice of Charleshill” will be able to fare at this year’s Mascom horse Derby remains to be seen come April.  Provided he attains top level form, the thoroughbred stallion is expected to beat popular three time Mascom derby champion, “The Voice of CharlesHill” this year at the derby trail.

His name was coined after a thrilling victory over popular three-time champion, “The Voice of Charleshill”, in 2012 during his first entry on the biggest local horse racing event in the country’s calendar. “Shut the Voice of Charleshill” scored his big win in the final race.

It was simply shutting the voice of Charles after having dominated the race for quite some time, says his owner and also horse trainer, Ronald Esterhuizen. Together with his three stable mates went off as favourites in their respective races.

Esterhuizen had just bought them from South Africa. Despite efforts the thoroughbreds have gone through to provide racing fans with some unforgettable thrills, they now look frail and their glow is lost.

The glorious days of Esterhuizen’s top performer athletes might be thwarted as he prepares them for yet another celebrated sporting activity this year. This is due to the fact that he is still owed prize money for two consecutive years - 2012 and 2013 at the Gaborone Agricultural show races.

The Werda born horse trainer speaks with frustration when he looks at the bad shape his horses are in because he cannot afford to feed them properly. The Gaborone 2012 Agricultural show that is normally held at Sebele did not produce any reward for any of the races he had participated in.

He says he took position one in all the races but he is still to be paid. He also says last year, the same race was organised by Golden horse race club and still they have not paid him.

“This affects us badly because we buy feeds with the money,” he says, with frustration in his voice. “The condition my horses are now in is bad and it has also delayed my training plan,” he laments.

He explains that normally when a major race is on its way he trains his horses three months prior to the event, but if they are not feeding well, it can affect their performance. To add to his woes, last year’s drought hit hard on his cattle as he was unable to sell to raise money to buy supplementary feed for the horses.

Esterhuizen also complains about the distance where he buys feeds. They buy feeds in Gaborone which is quite expensive as they have to travel about 700 Km. What can help them, he reckons, is only when government could consider issuing individuals permits to buy feeds. Currently the permit is only given to businesses that are licensed to import animal feed.

If that was the case they would buy feed at Bray in South Africa which is 55 km away and in turn produce revenue for the country in taxes. He also appeals to government to take the sport seriously as it has the capacity to create employment, adding that 100 per cent of Jockeys are youth and almost all horse owners are also youth.
Among the challenges they have is that in the country horse races are of small magnitude. 

“Our horses can take up to six months without a single race.” This means that their performance can either go down as they lose form. Also, horse owners do not get to make the necessary cash to care after them. The only races that are sometimes presented are not an option as the inputs are more than returns,” he adds.

Looking after racing horses is expensive, he explains, noting that one has to spend on feeds, vaccines and pay the jockeys. He also explains that racing horses are very sensitive horses, they need exceptional housing, which he says they cannot afford.

The fact that the races do not pay much he is forced to retire two jockeys after every race and because they are youth, they go back to the streets. Buying a horse is also expensive. One goes for a minimum of P5000. The most expensive ones go for P20 000 and above.

Despite all these challenges, 37 year old Esterhuizen still has his eyes focused on the upcoming Mascom Derby. His love for horse racing comes naturally as he inherited it from his late father. His undying passion saw him translating lessons learnt from coaching students in athletics to training racing horses.

He is now a self-acclaimed horse trainer. Horses of whatever breed that dominate local racing tracks have been coached by him, including The Voice of Charles Hill. As the big event nears, everyone’s eyes will be set on “Shut the Voice of Charleshill” and his team mates as history has a way of repeating its self.

Whether he will remain this year’s pace setter, or he will simply impress with his new running tactics that could be everyone’s guess. However, Richard Martin, Esterhuizen’s professional Jockey and one of his longest serving jockeys is confidence that with a few secret tricks learnt during his racing career, they are determined to cause a major upset once again this year and probably shut all those voices once and for all.

Horse racing is a relatively new phenomenon in Botswana, hence it is quite small and underdeveloped. Entering a horse to compete at one of the local horse racing events is the only way horse owners get returns from their horses.

However, when the fancy sport is clouded with problems such as lack of good organisation, it becomes a drawback that has now come to haunt horse owners as they struggle to come to terms with getting their dues after a hard day’s labour. This is a worrisome trend that is now tainting the good image of the sport.

This is not to paint all organising bodies with the same brush as not all of them are doing that but for the good name of the sport, certain things must be done in the right manner. Ends