A familiar voice to older Cape racegoers, Hendrik Jacobus (Hennie) Pietersen has passed away at the age of 74 in Stellenbosch. According to his former colleague and friend, Martin Locke, Pietersen suffered with blood circulation problems. He was diagnosed with cancer of the intestine, which eventually spread to the lungs.
Pietersen, who worked in years gone by for Gilbeys, was the original Afrikaans race-caller and also worked for the SABC for many years. He was a popular and well-known voice on Radio Good Hope, which played to a very different target market in those days. We recall the Saturday afternoons of the 1970’s when Driaan Engelbrecht in the Good Hope Sea Point studios would cross over by telephone to the track where the always energetic Pietersen would do a mini Charles Fortune scene-set of Milnerton racecourse and the prevailing weather and crowd. Afrikaans horse-names were far more popular then than they are these days, and the likes of Kolskoot, Blommelied(AD Coetzer trained?) and So Ja, spring to mind.
While the charismatic Pietersen was rambling on air about the seeming inconsequentials then, the world waited anxiously and with bated breath on tenterhooks for him to announce the all important result. Everything was so final then. No emotional commentaries – just a number! Hennie Pietersen is survived by his wife Reita and stepdaughter, Urita. A memorial service was held in Stellenbosch on Monday, 9 July 2012.
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Former Commentator Passes Away
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A familiar voice to older Cape racegoers, Hendrik Jacobus (Hennie) Pietersen has passed away at the age of 74 in Stellenbosch.
According to his former colleague and friend, Martin Locke, Pietersen suffered with blood circulation problems. He was diagnosed with cancer of the intestine, which eventually spread to the lungs.
Pietersen, who worked in years gone by for Gilbeys, was the original Afrikaans race-caller and also worked for the SABC for many years. He was a popular and well-known voice on Radio Good Hope, which played to a very different target market in those days. We recall the Saturday afternoons of the 1970’s when Driaan Engelbrecht in the Good Hope Sea Point studios would cross over by telephone to the track where the always energetic Pietersen would do a mini Charles Fortune scene-set of Milnerton racecourse and the prevailing weather and crowd. Afrikaans horse-names were far more popular then than they are these days, and the likes of Kolskoot, Blommelied(AD Coetzer trained?) and So Ja, spring to mind.
While the charismatic Pietersen was rambling on air about the seeming inconsequentials then, the world waited anxiously and with bated breath on tenterhooks for him to announce the all important result. Everything was so final then. No emotional commentaries – just a number! Hennie Pietersen is survived by his wife Reita and stepdaughter, Urita. A memorial service was held in Stellenbosch on Monday, 9 July 2012.
Have Your Say - *Please Use Your Name & Surname
Comments Policy
The Sporting Post encourages readers to comment in the spirit of enlightening the topic being discussed, to add opinions or correct errors. All posts are accepted on the condition that the Sporting Post can at any time alter, correct or remove comments, either partially or entirely.
All posters are required to post under their actual name and surname – no anonymous posts or use of pseudonyms will be accepted. You can adjust your display name on your account page or to send corrections privately to the Editor. The Sporting Post will not publish comments submitted anonymously or under pseudonyms.
Please note that the views that are published are not necessarily those of the Sporting Post.
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