lit a candle 5 Sept 2026A man who knew that horses were people. That kind of seeing, that kind of kindness, changes everything. Thank you for showing us the way.
Their story
Enos Mafokate (1944-02-15 to 2026-09-03), remembered across South Africa as Kgosi ya Dipere, the King of Horses, turned a groom's life under apartheid into one of the clearest barrier-breaking careers in the country's sport. Born on 5th Avenue in Alexandra township, Johannesburg, he spent much of childhood on a farm…
Enos Mafokate (1944-02-15 to 2026-09-03), remembered across South Africa as Kgosi ya Dipere, the King of Horses, turned a groom's life under apartheid into one of the clearest barrier-breaking careers in the country's sport. Born on 5th Avenue in Alexandra township, Johannesburg, he spent much of childhood on a farm near Rivonia, herding cattle on the family donkey. In a Smithsonian Magazine profile he recalled swapping mounts with a white neighbour boy and being punished for crossing the colour line; later, a punch from a dairy employer after he used a white girl's first name instead of the required honorific pushed him out of that job and toward stable work. Drawn to a horse called Black Magic he was not allowed to touch, he walked more than ten kilometres to Lesley Taylor's yard, slept in a garage, and in 1962 began learning to ride properly after a chaotic first attempt on a grey named Don Pedro.
Black grooms kept South African horses fit but were blocked from open competition. Employers including Tony Lewis and Anneli and Errol Wucherpfennig (Anneli Drummond-Hay) backed him. Errol helped make him the first Black rider registered with the Transvaal Horse Society. He faced denied entries, hostile spectators, and white competitors who refused prizegivings when he placed. Still he finished second in the Rothmans Derby in 1976 and won at Constantia Show Grounds in 1977 and 1978, with further titles including the Sandton Derby. Fédération Equestre Internationale records note he started learning to ride about 1962 with Lesley Taylor. AP reports a first competition win in 1963, then segregation locking him out of further open competition until the mid-1970s; Wikipedia notes a 1975 enrolment among Black grooms at a Marist Brothers College showjumping school.
In 1980 British champion David Broome spotted him in a groom's class in Cape Town and asked why he was not in the regular classes. With Broome's invitation and Anneli's sponsorship he competed in Britain, becoming the first Black South African show jumper to ride internationally and the first South African of any race to do so in more than two decades. At the Royal International Horse Show at Wembley he placed fifth of 31 riders; he later won at the Midlands show and remembered a standing ovation from a crowd of about 65,000 as the proudest moment of his life. Citizen and related coverage record meetings with members of the British royal family, including Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II, and later a 2012 visit by Princess Anne to the Soweto centre. Even after he was a decorated jumper, apartheid still bit: Smithsonian records that in 1983 a Johannesburg clinic turned him away after a horse kick sliced his forearm because he was Black. He used to say he was there for the horses, not for politics.
South Africa returned to the Olympics in 1992 after decades of isolation. Mafokate did not compete as an athlete but went to Barcelona as a sports ambassador and development-team figure, a symbolic presence for the first Black champion of a colonial sport. He largely stepped back from top competition in the late 1980s and poured energy into township horses and children, teaching beside open ground and even a rubbish dump while raising a large family with his wife (her name not made public in major sources). In 2007, on City of Johannesburg land in Moroka (stand 1679/1680 at Vundla and Lefatola, gifted under Mayor Amos Masondo), he opened the Soweto Equestrian Centre / Enos Mafokate Equestrian Foundation, the township's first riding school. (Some outlets say 2006; Wikipedia, Mail & Guardian and Culture Review commonly use 2007.) Pupils learned to ride, vault, groom and tack; cart-horse welfare and sessions for disabled and autistic children (including partnerships with Adelaide Tambo School and Mohato School for Autism) sat beside competitive dreams. Students and a grandson reached World Equestrian Games vaulting starts. He received the Steve Tshwete Lifetime Achievement Award at the South African Sport Awards in 2015 and an Andrew Mlangeni Green Jacket, which Daily Maverick quoted him calling the biggest honour after years of being refused Springbok colours for being Black.
His children include kwaito pioneer Arthur Mafokate and the late Oupa "Makhendlas" Mafokate (died 1998-10-31). Mail & Guardian also quotes son Kabelo Mafokate, who worked as his father's personal trainer and showjumping coach (Smithsonian once captioned a Kabelo as grandson; treat relation carefully). On 2026-09-03 the family, through Arthur, announced Enos's death. No medical cause was published. Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie praised a champion who "went back and opened the way for others." Professor Ian Sanne of the South African Equestrian Federation called his contribution historic and transformative. Arthur told Mail & Guardian the life itself was the lesson, and wrote that to the world he was Kgosi ya Dipere, but to the family he was Dad.
Biography adapted from EN Wikipedia Enos Mafokate; AP (2026-09-03); Mail & Guardian finish-line and legacy pieces; SAnews government tribute; eNCA; EWN; Citizen; TimesLIVE; Culture Review birthday interview (birth date); Sm.
In their own words
“To me, they're not animals, they're people.”
On horses, in ABC Australia / Journeyman Pictures Soweto Horseman
“If that punch never happened, I wouldn't be here today.”
On the dairy-farm assault that pushed him toward stables (Smithsonian 2024)
“I'm not here for politics, I'm here for the horses.”
Refrain he used when others cast him as a political symbol (Smithsonian)
“Whether or not you are leading at the beginning of the race, it doesn't define how the race will end.”
Sesotho saying he shared while feeding a pony at the centre (Smithsonian)
“My purpose is to help a Black child in the township, and to leave something for them.”
Smithsonian closing reflection
“My dream had come true.”
On the Midlands standing ovation of about 65,000 (FEI interview)
“To the world, you were Kgosi ya Dipere, The King of Horses. To us, you were Dad.”
Arthur Mafokate Instagram tribute, 2026-09
“His life itself was the lesson.”
Arthur to Mail & Guardian, 2026-09-03
“Enos did not simply enter South African equestrian sport. He helped change its course.”
Professor Ian Sanne, SAEF (MG)
“That is what a real champion does.”
Sport Minister Gayton McKenzie on Mafokate opening the way for others (SAnews / EWN)
Photos
3Enos Mafokate, Soweto Equestrian Centre
by People Forever
Enos Mafokate
by People Forever
Enos Mafokate on horseback in national jacket
by People Forever
That quote got me too. A man who understood what matters.