Africa-Press – Botswana. Botswana Horse Race Association president Timon Kelebeng has appealed to the private sector to support horse racing toward growing it into a renowned sporting code.
Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of Mabutsane District show, where horse racing was part of the activities of the day, he said horse riding had the potential to grow into a tourism sport since it attracted a lot of people across all age groups.
Kelebeng also appreciated its socio-economic impact it had on the communities, especially on the informal sector businesses.
“Horse racing continues to grow across the country, and our intention is to formalise it into a tourism sport, which can attract tourists to our areas. However, we are hindered by challenges such as feeding the horses and transporting them to various places for competitions,” he said.
Kelebeng noted that even though they acknowledged the support they got from the Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture, which was also facilitating them towards affiliating with the Botswana National Sports Council, they still needed support from other stakeholders for the sport to grow.
However, he applauded horse owners for their passion and dedication despite the challenges.
He said their unity had seen them share resources whenever there were competitions anywhere in the country. He was also pleased with the high level of interest from young people.
“Most of the people who we engage to ride these horses are within the youth bracket. They continue to show interest and we train them until they are confident to participate in these activities,” said Kelebeng.
Meanwhile, Solomon Ndura was the star of the day as he won both the Thoroughbred 2 000m grand race and 1 800m categories with Western Bypass and Super Jet respectively, both horses are from TT Horse Racing stable in Motokwe.
The Ghanzi-born jockey said his performance motivated him to work even harder at the sport he was passionate about.
“I am excited that as a Ghanzi native, I am contributing towards growing the horse racing sport in Mabutsane District and in general. I wish to see us train harder and increase the speed to make the sport more exciting and attractive,” he said.
Gotlhophamang Alone and Ivan Dekock’s horses obtained position two and three respectively on the grand race, while Oteng Vissagie and Bakang Babeile got second and third position for the Thoroughbred 1 800m category.
The Tswana-bred 2 000m was won by Nash Gondwe, followed by Amos Motsumi and Thabang Leselwa respectively.
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