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RE: [RC] Endurance and politics in South Africa - Smith, DaveI, for one, want to thank Andrea for presenting the other side of the coin. With our own spotted record when it comes to race and indigenous people, I think we have to be extra careful before throwing that first stone. -----Original Message----- From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of andreab@xxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Monday, September 18, 2006 11:45 PM To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] Endurance and politics in South Africa Having had the privilege to meet Steph a few weeks ago and feeling so honored by the wonderful website she and John put together on the Saldanha ride, I am now feeling very deflated. Once again something beautiful has been destroyed by politics. Everyone across the world is privileged to be involved in the sport of endurance. We love our horses and our sport. In South Africa we have a large number of participants that is not the "Afrikaner", a large number of participants who was previously stable hands or farm workers who has been offered the chance of a lifetime to participate in endurance, completely at the expense of his employer. I'd love to have and employer who picks up the tab for my sport! These riders were introduced to the sport completely as a good dead. There were no rewards handed out by government and at this stage still no financial support either. The WEG is a good example. The national lottery gave R1.2m to the national equestrian sports for participation in Aachen. Our team consisted of one white male, one colored male and two white females. All 4 riders were there due to merit; they had given it their all throughout the past few years proving that they had what it takes. How much of the R1.2m did the endurance riders receive, not a cent! Why, because frankly the endurance riders are not hung up about color or race in the sport. We did not even think to get our ducks in a row, counting the number of "previously disadvantaged individuals" participating, we simply enjoyed what we did and got on with it. Every cent that it took to get the riders to Aachen and to hire horses for them (due to AHS it is impossible to ride our own) at a crippling cost was raised by them. I was at a wine auction for two of the riders, a white female and the colored male, the room was filled with white Afrikaner farmers who were emptying their pockets to support them. The horrible wrongdoings of the past cannot be erased within years, it will take decades, but we are trying. Michelle, 1995 is a lifetime ago. There has been a lot of change in South Africa, for the good and bad, but change has happened. The reference that Steph made to people brought into the shanty towns were maybe misinterpreted. It is an unfortunate known fact and admitted to by the ANC that in the first general election after Apartheid, to ensure the majority in the major cities (such as Cape Town, Johannesburg etc) a large number of rurals were brought to the centers to vote by the ANC not the previous government. Subsequently they stayed on in these cities, now staying in shanty towns. We love the sport of endurance in South Africa. South Africa is in the midst of major change. Apartheid is part of our history, but the key word here is history. We are striving to not make it part of our future. Andrea =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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