Shooting From The Hip Carlos Kambaekwa HOLLA!!, and a great welcome to what can easily be described as the year of sport at its best, starting with the breakfast at Africa’s biggest showpiece next weekend in the Egyptian capital Cairo. This is the year when politics would be temporarily forgotten when every Tom, even Dick and never mind Harry scrambles for a piece of lunch with the Commonwealth family in Melbourne, Australia, whereafter the world’s finest footballers will be on display for dinner in Germany for the 2006 World Cup Finals. What a sporting a la carte!!! Back home, Namibian sport ended on a high when most disciplines trekked to the coastal towns of Swakopmund and Henties Bay for a number of activities and what a way to round off a season. Holiday-goers were treated to a fiesta with the popular 4×4 Vasbyt, Angling, Touch Rugby, Beach Volleyball, Boxing and Horse Racing all taking centre stage, but the latter left an apparent sting in the tail, so to speak. So, without gooing draaitjies – let me shoot straight from the hip and call a spade a spade and not an oversized spoon. Can somebody out there please tell me what the fuss is all about with all these complaints by the Chairperson of the Namibian Association Protection Abused Equines concerning the alleged primitive manner in which local equestrian track races are being organized? Firstly, I find it a bit trivial that the complainants are only interested in the welfare of animals with no word uttered about the condition and safety of jockeys. It is a closely-guarded secret that these so called animal lovers are hell bent on derailing the progress of one of Namibia’s fastest growing sporting disciplines – it should be well consumed that horse racing is nothing new to Namibian shores and has been there in toeka se jare. The only notable difference is the change of ownership, alas, the Windhoek Turf Club used to host big events at its dusty gravel race track and there were no qualms about the condition of the track and stalls at the time – well your guess is as good as mine. Since most of the complainants, if not all, are descendants from Europe, one would have expected them to have succeeded in putting a lid on the boiling pot containing the brutality of Spanish bull-fighting and polo in the name of sport. Ag shame, some dick heads are still under the impression that every piece of thought and undertaking by darkies without the guidance of laanies must be offside, nonsense!! – darkies have been living with animals for centuries – after all, local horse owners are spending lots of moola to acquire the best available thorough-bred horses on the market (imported from South Africa). Why would they then go flat out to destroy their prized assets? Is it not perhaps a case of some souls overstepping the boundaries of their mandate or shall we rather say cultural beliefs. For some info, last year’s favourite horse at the popular July Handicap in South Africa retired halfway through the race with a broken leg while racing on a grass track. It should be well understood that most sporting disciplines are accompanied by frightening dangers, which always result in fatal injuries to participants. Many athletes have lost their lives through sports codes such as Motor Racing, Boxing, Skydiving, Ice Skating, Road Running, Rugby, Soccer, and Equestrian Sport to mention but just a few. It’s quite amazing that nobody sheds a tear when lives are lost in the boxing ring – is it not perhaps time for us to open a debate about the dangers of boxing – luckily, I can count my stars with ease that I’m touching this sensitive issue in the comfort of a healthy distance away from the likes of Don King and Mike Tyson as I’m jotting down these notes now. Though many of the above mentioned disciplines often result in deaths and serious injuries – boxing is the only sport where the primary objective is to cause serious bodily harm to your opponent, but alas, who cares, anyway those trading blows in the ring are mostly poor darkies from tsotsie-stricken ghettos whose only means of survival depend on punching their way to stardom, brutal as it might be but legal my pal. The very same people who are suddenly so concerned about the welfare of animals are turning a blind eye to eyesore exercises such as Trophy Hunting – so, where is the logic here ?. It’s time to call it quits for the time being – and for those who dearly want to see the back of me, enjoy it while it lasts over the next seven days or so, but I’m off for now but will be back with more vigour ÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ºnext Friday.