19 Jul 2017

Hundreds of fans thronged Mandunyane grounds for the annual horse racing event on Saturday.

The race, which is in its second year, attracted 22 horses from the Tonota Sub-district.

Officiating during the event, Kgosi Bokamoso Radipitse of Tonota explained that horse racing like other sporting activities provided entertainment.

He also mentioned that the sport was one way of showcasing their culture by demonstrating the usefulness of horses as is customary worldwide. He noted that horses were multi-purpose animals in that in the past they were used as cavalry during battles and as draught power due to their strength.

Currently, he highlighted that horses provide employment, especially to jockeys and earn revenue for their owners.

Kgosi Radipitse implored the youthful jockeys to take horse racing seriously as there was an opportunity for them to earn a living from the sport.

Deputy Village Development Committee chairperson, Mr Maseko Maseko explained that Mandunyane was honoured to host the event and applauded the support from residents.

He praised the youth for their attempt to improve their livelihoods.

However, he pleaded for government support, especially with regards to providing horse racing attire to the jockeys.

For his part, chairperson of the organising committee, Mr Goitseone Gafhiwe highlighted that the objective of the event was to promote sporting activities and social interaction within the Tonota Sub-district.

“It is also our aim to promote healthy living among the youth through horse racing,” he added.

In addition, he said that the race gave the youth skills so that they could positively contribute to the community.

He also highlighted that some of their horses have competed in the Maun Mascom derby and expressed his wish to see those top class horses competing in Mandunyane.

Mr Gafhiwe explained that it was their dream to see young people surviving through their talent.

During the race the 800m event was won by Ladies Boy, whose jockey, Lovemore won P900, second position went to Tag, under jockey, Gaothobogwe, winning him P800, while Kabo riding Dust came third bagging P700.

In the 1 000m race, Khodesa got first position under jockey Lovemore winning P1 000, Uyapo riding Lister got second position walking away with P900 while Emmanuel riding Space got third position winning P800.

The 1 200m event was won by Lovemore riding Gopo walking away with P1 100. Cashpower under the stewardship of jockey Mompati proved too powerful for other horses as it took the 1 600m race winning P1 300 and also bagging the 2 400m event winning P1 400.

At the end of the race, the chairperson of the organising committee, Gafhiwe explained that the race went well and that they noted some improvement from the previous year’s event.

“The support and cooperation of horse owners, jockeys and supporters was great,” he added. In addition, he mentioned that this year they decided to introduce certificates for jockeys as a way of motivating them.

Gafhiwe also added that next year they hope to improve incentives for horse owners because they spent a lot of resources preparing horses for races.

He applauded the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development for coming on board by sponsoring prizes.

He also implored the community to help them develop horse racing and Mandunyane.

On other issues, he said that they needed sponsors who could fund them to take their jockeys for benchmarking on how to take care of horses. “We are also proud that Tswana breed participated in the race. BOPA