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The Anglo - Boer war Heritage...
With its centennial completed in 1999 - 2003, the legacy of the Second Anglo-Boer War was again fresh in the minds of the South African and British horse fraternities. It revived the memory of the tough and hardy horses of the Boer commandos which, with superior constitution, intelligence and temperament, ran circles around and kicked dust into the faces of the finest war-horses the Empire could muster. It has also helped create time and opportunity for the SA Boerperd, a century hence. South Africa is a land of wide open spaces and far horizons, from the sandveld of the Kalahari to the plains of the Camdeboo - from the grasslands of the Highveld and high mountains of the Eastern Cape, Natal and Free State to the bushveld savannas of the Northern Province and Mpumalanga. A veritable living laboratory in which to breed and rear horses as they should be bred and reared, in family groups on natural veldt grazing, and where natural selection monitored and managed by Man, can continue unhampered. South Africa's horse industry has many strong points. Firstly, there is the outstanding and proven genetic material of the SA Boerperd and other breeds, and an equine tradition and eye for fine horse flesh second to none. Then there are the First World standard breeding societies, recording systems and authorities, as well as the sophisticated ART technology, research institutions and veterinary services. This has been as a result of and its contribution to a bloom period in the South African equine industry as never before, since the advent of the internal combustion engine. In addition to the growing competitive sports riding sector, horses are increasingly used for patrol and police work, for herding, for trailing, for hunting and recreational riding. The sport of endurance riding has a long and distinguished legacy in South Africa, at times over terrain and under weather conditions unbelievable to overseas competitors.
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 23 April 2010 21:27 ) |