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BRIEF HISTORY OF KENILWORTH RACECOURSE

Situated in the Southern Suburb of Kenilworth, Kenilworth Racecourse is the oldest racecourse in South Africa, proclaimed a racecourse in 1882, and is steeped in tradition and history. 

This beautiful racecourse is one of the most unique and valuable horse racing tracks in the world; a long-time favourite among both South African and overseas visitors. During the Cape summer season, Kenilworth Racecourse hosts spectacular events, like the Metropolitan Stakes, (originally the Metropolitan Mile in 1883) now known as SUN MET, and the elegant L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate. Both these events attract international and local celebrities along with horse racing enthusiasts. 

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THE JOURNEY TO EXCELLENCE
CONSISTENCY
Most people would like or even call for and deserves one sort of consistency. Let me hasten to add that in some cases, it is very difficult to attain. In the workplace consistency is of paramount importance with regards to policies, procedures, benefits, etc. It would be very taxing to the employee to constantly adapt to new policies and procedures at the drop of a hat. The value of consistency in a broader sense cannot be overstressed, as it ensures customer expectations are met, especially around the quality of the expected deliverables.

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THE JOURNEY TO EXCELLENCE

ALIGNMENT
Aligning our Equine Welfare and Aftercare efforts

The 2017/2018 season will be focused on our Journey to Excellence. While we are working on functional excellence we must ensure that we are strategically aligned with various aspects of our Stakeholders, internally in the NHA and with the industry realities.

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THE JOURNEY TO EXCELLENCE

The New Theme for the NHA 2017/18 Financial Year is “The Journey to Excellence”

Excellence is not a destination, it is a continuousjourney that never ends. The reason the NHA chose this as their new theme for 2017/18 was to motivate the staff and encourage excellence at all levels. This “journey” is our first step towards organisational excellence.

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CELEBRATING THE WOMEN OF THE HORSERACING INDUSTRY
On the 9th of August 1956 one of the most historic events in the struggle for freedom and women’s right in South Africa, took place in Pretoria. On this day more than 50 000 women from different races staged a march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest against the proposed amendments of the 1950 pass laws. The Protest was led by the most inspirational women of all time: Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa, and Sophie Williams de Bruyn.

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FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH.
SHUMBASHABA’S HORSES HELPING PEOPLE PROGRAMME.

The Community Development Programme which is changing the lives of people...
Shumbashaba is a non-profit community trust which runs projects and programmes where horses are helping people to reach their potential as spiritual, physical and emotional beings. With more than 20 years of experience, the Shumbashaba programme has had a positive impact on more than 5000 people since inception. There are different programmes such as therapeutic riding and non-riding activities that involve orphans, vulnerable children, youth at risk and adults from Diepsloot. Diepsloot is an underserved community with a population of approximately 250 000 with 50% being youth and children. A society struggling with poverty, limited educational opportunities, unemployment, crime, drugs and alcohol and other forms of abuse.

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FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH
The Equine at heart

Inspired by feedback from the recent International Forum of the Aftercare of Racehorses (IFAR) conference

True racing enthusiasts are all anxious that the leaders of the industry provide guidance and insight on attaining the vision of an effective and sustainable aftercare programme for the racehorse. While there are industry differences on how to enhance the Thoroughbred aftercare, there is common agreement that it needs to take centre stage. There is a worldwide sensitivity that it’s high time that we raise the awareness, improve education on lifetime horse care, and increase the demand for former racehorses in other equestrian disciplines.

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FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH
THE UNSUNG HEROES OF THE TURF

I suppose that one of the headaches of the Trainer is to find a good groom and holding on to that gem. Similarly, it is with us at the NHA and our Handlers.  Grooms and Handlers are our UNSUNG HEROES. The POWER OF ONE Groom is immense in preparing the racehorse for its moment of glory. It’s a very tough life for a groom as most stables start very early everyday of every month.  It’s not possible to train racehorses properly without the right grooms who are all vitally important to the wellbeing of the racehorses. The horses can often be highly strung, nervous, intimidating and stroppy.  Therefore they require grooms with the right personalities to deal with them and guide them towards Peak Performance. As much as the Trainer is a critical part of the racehorse’s preparation, so is the groom.

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FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH
COMMUNICATION

How many of us that work and have families, have ongoing communications with our
children and families? Very few of us do....

If we have frequent, ongoing, daily and responsive communication it would assist with mutual trust especially when discussing difficult issues.  It often develops “intrinsic motivation” with one or both parties. Despite this knowledge, we all seem to not communicate enough. So we need to ask ourselves the questions or reflect on:

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FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH
MAKING THE VISION & MISSION COME TO LIFE

Events like the Queens Plate and the Sun Met usually illustrates the excitement of the Sport of Horseracing and it’s connection.  However what was more evident to me was the passion, the tireless dedication and the work that is undertaken by the various teams of people involved in the sport of horseracing. It must not be overlooked.

  1. December 2016 - January 2017