28 Sep 2026

The Ghanzi Equestrian Centre will transform into a beehive of activity in March next year as Botswana will host the international Western Mounted Games.

Western Mounted Games is a fast-paced equestrian sport in which horses and their riders display a combination of the speed of a racehorse and the precision, agility and sharp turning ability of a livestock herding horse.

Speaking at the Botswana Western Mounted Games team send-off ceremony to South Africa in Ghanzi on Thursday, team representative Manie Potgieter said hosting the competition next year was a positive development given the state of the sport.

As such, he called for support from stakeholders to ensure that the country held a successful competition, saying the games would give the country exposure to the global community.

Regarding the 2026 South African Western Mounted Games Association Nationals at which the local riders are participating in South Africa, Potgieter said the team have been pooled in a group with Zimbabwe, England and the host country.

He said the Botswana team comprised five riders from Ghanzi Equestrian Centre.

Ghanzi District Council chairperson, Thabiso Kebadile urged the Ghanzi district communites and the nation to rally behind the Botswana Western Mounted Games team, saying their participation on an international stage was a source of national pride.

He said Ghanzi used to dominate in codes such as athletics, horse racing, among others.

“We should join hands and propel Ghanzi to greater heights and transform it into a district of sport excellence”, he said.

He said the idea to assimilate sport into the mainstream local economy recognised sport’s capability to promote local economic growth, especially through hosting various sporting events, which on its own would afford local entrepreneurs the opportunity to network and sell their products and services to a broader clientele.

Kgosi Esau Molehele of Morama Ward also implored the Botswana Western Mounted Games team to reach out to other communities within and outside the district in a bid to drive the growth of the sport.

Chairperson of the Local Economic Development Committee, also Morama Ward councillor, Lefhoko Sergeant lobbied for government to support the Western Mounted Games so that it could be assimilated into mainstream sports.

He said the Western Mounted Games like other sporting codes, had proven to have the potential to support the district economic diversification drive through unearthing talent and selling it to larger audiences. ENDS