21 Jul 2015

Horse riding seems to be fascinating a number of sport lovers.

Maun-Mascom National, Letshego Serowe horse race, Ghanzi horse race and the Lady Khama Diamond horse derbies are some of the races commanding a lot of supporters. However, the costs in the sport are said to be huge.

Costs in purchasing, training and maintaining a horse as well as travelling to events and stabling are massive.

While horse riding is a lucrative and competitive sport in some countries, in Botswana, some stable owners were in the game for the love of sport because there were little benefits.

Despite all challenges, a number of Batswana involved in horse riding had vowed to soldier on.

Speaking on the sidelines of the annual Letshego Serowe Horse Derby Saturday, Golden Horse Rising club chairperson, Tumagole Tumagole concurred that horse riding was an expensive sport.

With little support from sponsors, Tumagole said most of the stable owners spent a lot of money because of their love for sport, not that they were deriving any benefits from it.

Thus, he said there was need for skilled personnel in horse riding industry, adding that some of the skills were not easily available in the country; hence they engaged some from outside the country.

“We need groom jockeys, trainer stall, jockeys and farriers for the success of horse riding,” he said.

He added that there were no certified farriers in Botswana, who were very critical in the grooming of a horse. Though there were few benefits, he said he started the club to resuscitate horse riding in the country.

Many Batswana, he said had horses which they were using for cattle, but he thought they could be used for more than just that.

“With a number of horses in Botswana, many could be benefiting,” he said.

In horse riding, he said benefits were derived through betting. However, he said there was still no regulation to allow betting in Botswana. If betting was allowed, he said promoters could apply for licenses and in the process make a lot of money for themselves and those who bet.

Despite, some challenges faced, he said there were many other benefits that could be derived from horse riding.

He said horse riding could be used to diversify the economy in the form of horse carriage services, training facilities for skills needed for the sport, among others.

He said they were working on logistics to affiliate with the Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC).

Phillip Wright of PNR Stable from Maun also decried lack of sponsors.

Wright, who is a breeder and trainer of horses also said it was very expensive to maintain horses.

As such, he said there should a big chunk of land for stables and there was need for skilled workers as well as feed, which he said they bought from South Africa and was very expensive.

However, he said his love for sport had kept him going and would not abandon horse riding.

Ogomoditswe Gabokgowe of Brown Stallion Horse Riding from Mmadinare said they started the club to gain meaningfully from their horses.

Gabokgowe said even though they could be gaining more if companies were sponsoring the competitions, he was happy that many Batswana had developed interest in the sport, something they might use to leverage for sponsorship.

He applauded Letshego Financial Services for sponsoring Serowe horse derby, adding a number of companies should come on board to assist.

Meanwhile, Letshego Financial Services’ regional business development officer, Ezekiel Sebina said they had been sponsoring the event for the past four years.

Sebina said they saw it fit to be part of the event as a way of giving back to the community they operated from.

He added that while he appreciated that there were some logistical challenges with this year’s event as compared to last year’s, he was however happy that there was a bit of growth.

He indicated that there were some horses from as far as Maun and Matebeleng as examples of such growth. Letshego Financial Services sponsored the event with P50 000. Ends