In a historically wealthy sport dominated by the white elite and plagued by its colonial reign, a Black athlete draped in a red coat represented his nation.
This is the remarkable story of Enos Mafokate and the legacy he worked so hard to create. A professional equestrian rider, Enos began his career as a stable hand and went on to become a world-class athlete during the apartheid era in South Africa.
Though Enos developed a deep love for the horses he trained and nurtured, competing as a professional show jumper seemed out of the question because of the colour of his skin. As a child living under apartheid, Enos was even faced with the threat of arrest after being caught riding a white man’s horse.
Still, despite racial tension and oppressive segregation laws, in 1975, Enos was able to overcome these hurdles to become South Africa’s first Black showjumper.
Soon after apartheid was dismantled, Enos attended the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona as a sports ambassador for South Africa, breaking down barriers and stereotypes as he cleared each obstacle. In 2006, he founded a non-profit organisation, the Soweto Equestrian Centre, to provide young Black riders access to a world that had long sought to exclude them.
With the aim to improve the welfare of people in South Africa’s largest township, Soweto, and to open up the elite world of horse riding to those who cannot afford access, the Soweto Equestrian Centre has become a pillar for the community. It remains the world’s only township-based equestrian centre.
In September 2026, at the age of 80, Enos died in Johannesburg. His legacy, and his horse-riding school, continues to live on through the generations he inspired.
In 2024 South Africa commemorated 30 years of democracy, but the abolishment of apartheid has not eradicated racism or inequality. Systematic oppression of Black communities is still common, especially within sport. For many South Africans, participation in sport is an explicitly political act. For decades during apartheid, South Africa was barred from international competitions such as the Olympics and the World Cup because of its refusal to desegregate teams. How much a sport has diversified is often an indicator of a nation’s political progress – however, South Africa is plagued by the world’s highest unemployment rate.
Over 30 years of democracy, post-apartheid governments have made promises of ushering in development, yet South Africa has an official unemployment rate of 33%, and many young graduates are jobless or trying to make ends meet working menial jobs.
The elite sport of equestrian riding requires wealth that developing communities do not have. The reality of exclusive financial barriers and income gaps run parallel with South Africa’s racial inequality. Mafokate demonstrated a life of overcoming adversities, yet as he got older he continued to face racially charged microaggressions – and in some cases blatant racism within the equestrian milieu. At a competition in 2017 he was approached by a security guard who asked him to show proof of ownership of the horse he was loading into his trailer.
The centre welcomes all ages to learn the benefits of developing relationships with horses, imploring young Black children to embark on a journey that is often inaccessible to Black communities in South Africa. Decolonising Black communities’ relationship to horses is a vital lesson shared at the centre.
Asked what obstacles Black riders in South Africa face, Mafokate said it came down to culture and cost. In Soweto, horses are a symbol of labour, reduced to haulers. The lack of exposure to horses outside these historical labour roles, not to mention the exorbitant fees students must pay to participate, perpetuates Black communities’ exclusion from equestrian sports. In a country where more than 40% of workers are paid less than £150 a month, Mafokate’s equestrian school is free.
Young riders pay their dues by helping to care for the 20 horses at the centre. The impact this accessibility has had on the Black youth of Soweto has been immense, allowing them to realise their dreams of competing in a historically colonial sport.
