Katlego Mafokate is the only black face among a multitude of white girls. This does not seem to bother her as the confident 18-year-old nudges her horse into a gentle trot.
Katlego, a grade 12 learner at the prestigious Beaulieu College in Buccleuch North, Johannesburg, is getting ready to participate in a show-jumping competition in Sunvalley, near Kyalami in Midrand.
Wearing a black helmet, black blazer adorned with various medals, white pants and black riding boots, she is set to impress. Similarly, Salmy, her towering chestnut horse looks the part. As Katlego dismounts, she lightly strokes and pats Salmy on the neck and whispers something into her ear.
What fascinated Katlego about an expensive ”white” sport? ”My grandfather [Enos Mafokate] is the one who introduced me to this sport,” she says. ”I started to ride horses at the very young age of 10.”
Enos is a living legend in the horse industry with his involvement dating back to his teens, during apartheid. Clearly, his granddaughter takes after him. But her mother, Connie, was dead set against her riding horses. Connie was worried that horse riding could result in her not being able to bear children at a later stage in life. It took a while for Enos to convince Connie to allow Katlego to follow her heart. But when she started to ride again, Katlego was 15 years old – a bit old and rusty.
It was such a tall order to have to play catch-up with her younger brother, Kabelo, who was already streets ahead of her. Connie never had problems with Kabelo riding.
”And today my mother is our greatest fan, she is the one who always takes us to competitions and also makes sure we attend our practice sessions,” says Katlego.
It is her turn now to display her skills in the competition. Her grandfather has just given her final tips. She gently guides Salmy as she scales obstacles. She has not done badly, says Enos, except that at some point she held Salmy back, causing one of her feet to touch the obstacle.
Enos tells me that Salmy is an ex-racer that won a race once while in her prime.
”[Salmy] is therefore an experienced horse who can guide even a novice. I bought her after I heard the owners wanted to put her down. At the time, she was a scrawny and emaciated little thing. But look at her now,” says Enos.
Katlego acquired her rudimentary riding skills at her grandfather’s small academy in Soweto, but later she moved on for formal training.
”I owe it to my grandfather, who taught me a lot about horses and much more about life,” she says. ”I used to treat this as a hobby, but now I am more serious and would like to compete at a professional level.”
But how does Katlego cope with the demanding riding practice sessions and her schoolwork?
”At the end of the day it is all about time management skills. I manage my time well to ensure everything is done in its allocated time,” she says.
Horse riding has taught her a lot about some principles of life, such as perseverance, hard work and understanding. ”I apply all of this to life situations, especially at school. I know that when I fall or fail a subject, I must stand up and continue. I learnt to love and understand my horses,” says Katlego.
She has also learnt that owning a horse goes with responsibility and costs. Enos spends about R2 000 a month on the upkeep of one horse. This covers expenses such as food (turf) and things like horseshoes, horse boots to protect their tendons and flu vaccine.
On weekends, Katlego finds time to help her grandfather with horse riding classes at his Soweto facility. She wants to train formally so that she is qualified when her grandfather opens a state-of-the-art facility in the future.