15 Apr 2025

Horse race enthusiasts will be treated to a thrilling experience slated for Mopako Ranch situated about four kilometres from Mabutsane on Saturday. 

The first ever Kanuku horse race has over 90 entries competing in various categories. In addition, the event has been coined to accommodate the cultural diversity of the communities, particularly the Basarwa residing in Kanaku. As part of the activities, the locals would have the opportunity to showcase their culture in language, traditional dance, Polka and Namastap music and their traditional buildings known as Mogwaafatshe.

 “This initiative was conceived after realising that people around this area use horses as their main mode of transport on a daily basis. We started off with a small friendly race to entertain the locals during the Christmas holidays and realised that we can actually do a bigger event,” organiser of the event, Kagiso Mopako explained in an interview. 

Apart from providing entertainment for the usually quiet neighbourhood of Kanaku and peripheries, the event is also intended to provide exposure for the horses and ultimately prepare them for future competitions in bigger stages. Mopako expressed optimistic that with proper training, the local jockeys could showcase their skills and talents in international stages. 

“We realised that sometimes it is the lack of support that hinders them from participating in bigger races across the country, hence the event will be the beginning for these horses to be trained for other competitions even outside Botswana. If we become successful in this first event, our target is to train them further to compete in Namibia and South Africa, among other places,” he said. 

Furthermore, the event would provide an opportunity for farmers to exhibit their various breeds of cattle and small stock, with the objective of interacting and benchmarking from each other. Mopako said this would also build and enhance long-lasting relationships within the farming community.

The champion of the elite 2 000 metres race will get P4 000, while the following three positions will win P2 200, P1 300 and P800 respectively. ENDS