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THE Bulawayo Horse Society will play host to this year’s national finals whose results will be sent to the international controlling body.
In an interview yesterday, the Bulawayo Horse Society spokesperson Kerry Watson said the Show Jumping National Championships will be held on the first weekend of December.
She said as the host city they have already started their preparations for the event that will attract the country’s top riders as well as foreigners.
As part of their preparations for the high-profile competition, Watson said they are going to have two local events for Bulawayo riders.
“This has been a quiet year in terms of show jumping but right now we are gearing up for the end of year Show Jumping National Championships which will be held here in Bulawayo. We are looking forward to the event and we are going to have two events for our local riders on 28 October and 16 November which they will use as part of our preparations for the national championships,” said Watson.
She said 60 horses will come from Harare for the national championships which are being sponsored by Ram Petroleum.
Watson said Bulawayo was lagging behind in terms of development of riders and they are working with their Harare counterparts to come up with strategies that will help the sport grow in the City of Kings.
“We have very few riders in Bulawayo and the numbers keep going down. Harare are developing faster and we are trying to come up with ways of encouraging more people to take up the sport so that it improves in Bulawayo,” she said.
Some of Bulawayo’s riders expected to take part at the forthcoming competitions include Paula Dakin, Watson, Mkhululi “Koo” Mnkandla and upcoming Sipho Ngwenya.
Dakin said she is looking forward to the competitions and has a new horse which she is going to use for lower jumps.
“I am really looking forward to the remaining competitions and I believe all other riders are also itching to get on their horses. I have a new horse Sea Level who is four years old and competes at lower levels. I am slowly introducing her to the competitions and I hope she settles well,” said Dakin.
Online Reporter