Horsemen on a commemorative horseback trip to South African heritage areas and monuments tackle the long road – AfriForum and Kraal Uitgewers are proud sponsors

A group of nine horsemen who are participating in a historic commemorative trip from Bloemfontein to Kimberley to visit various heritage areas and monuments, commenced their trip yesterday. The civil rights organisation AfriForum and Kraal Uitgewers are acting as proud sponsors of the commemorative trip that departed from the Anglo-Boer War Museum at the Women’s Monument in Bloemfontein following the launch of Kraal Uitgewers’ latest book, Wes-Transvaal: Militêre brandpunt van die Anglo-Boereoorlog, 1899 – 1902.

The objective of the trip is awareness concerning South Africa’s heritage, but also to gather stories and record it for our descendants. These commemorative trips have already been successfully held for the past six years and in this period approximately 26 monuments were visited while more than 1 500 km were covered on horseback. On their current journey, the horsemen are planning to visit the Vulture Club in Bloemfontein, De Brug, the Kandirri Game Reserve, Paardeberg, Laerskool Jacobsdal and the Magersfontein War Museum.

Theunis van Staden, convener and one of the horsemen, says that he decided in 2012 to launch commemorative trips after he was unable to answer a friend’s question regarding the name of the battle that took place at the Voortrekker Monument. “There was no battle at the Voortrekker Monument, but I didn’t know that and it shocked me. That is why I decided that there is a need to keep our history alive and to foster an awareness about it, especially among the younger generations.”