.
Hear ye, hear ye. I don’t usually do public service announcements, but of course there’s a first time for everything!
Since 1994, the 9th of August is annually dedicated and celebrated as Women’s Day in South Africa. It is used to commemorate 9 August 1956 when a group of 20 000 women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest proposed amendments to the ‘pass laws’ or Urban Areas Act of 1950. It was led by a pioneering group of women including Sophia Williams-de Bruyn, Lilian Ngoyi, Rahima Moosa and Helen Joseph. After handing over petitions for the then prime minister J G Strijdom, the women stood quietly outside the buildings and after about half an hour, broke into their specially composed protest song with the chorus “wathint’ abafazi, wathint’ imbokodo (“Now you have touched the women, you have struck a rock”). The phrase has been slightly modified over the years to “you strike a woman, you strike a rock” and has come to represent women’s courage and strength.
Fortunately we don’t need such dramatic action these days, but it is a useful reminder of not only the role that South African women (of all races) have played in our democracy, but also in our history generally.
As most of you probably know by now, I’m not a great subscriber to the theory that women belong in the kitchen, but the beauty of life having moved on is that we have a lot more choice and freedom than we used to. In fact, whether it was a popular move or not, women have not only ventured out of the kitchen, but all the way into the hallowed grounds of our Turf Clubs and I’m pleased to say that there are a lot more X chromosomes gracing our race tracks these days.
Fun female facts
Bridget Oppenheimer became the first female to grace the members quarters at Turffontein in the early 80’s and mischievously commented on being presented with a tie as there simply wasn’t provision for women in those days! She also became the first woman to attend the July presentation dinner – until that point a strictly male domain.
Joan Ruffel became our first female steward at Newmarket in the mid-80’s and Rose Parker followed hot on her heels at Port Elizabeth in 1987.
Our first lady trainer was Hilda Knaupp and she was joined by the likes of Athol Fisher’s wife, Margaret Goodson, Anne Upton, Eileen Bestel, Patricia O’Neil and Jean Barnard / Heming.
Genevieve Michel was the first female rider to qualify through our local jockey academy and also the first ‘jockette’ to ride in the J&B Met, aboard King Shore in 1999. There are also legions of lady work riders, who quietly and anonymously do their bit on the gallops every morning.
Among our breeding ranks we can count Mrs de Wet from Excelsior Stud, Mrs Oppenheimer, Rose Parker, Veronica Foulkes, Susan Rowett, Barbara Sanne, Shirley Pfeiffer, Sabine Plattner, Mary Slack, Lyth Orford, Pippa Mickleburgh and Dr Marianne Thomson (amongst others) and our owner ranks are just as impressive with the likes of Mrs O, Shirley Pfeiffer, Sabine Plattner, Veronica Foulkes, Lady Laidlaw, April Glaspie, Lady Lilford, Mary Slack and many more.
A little further afield, we recently celebrated the centenary of Suffragette Emily Davison dying for her cause at the Epsom Derby. The Queen Mother had that famous near-miss as an owner in the 1956 Grand National, when her well fancied runner Devon Loch, 5 lengths clear of the field and only 40 yards from the post, suddenly and inexplicably jumped into the air and landed on his stomach, handing the race to E.S.B. Apart from making for a wonderful story, the Queen Mum also coined that wonderful phrase “Oh, that’s racing.” And at this year’s Royal Ascot meeting, HRH Queen Elizabeth became the first reigning monarch to win the Gold Cup in its 207 year history.
A few other female horsey connections that I could find were the famous book titled The X Factor, detailing research into heart scores, the large heart gene and the fact that it is passed down via the female line via the X chromosome, written by Dr Marianne Haun. And of course recent research into mitochondrial DNA seems to suggest that certain genetic material can only be transmitted via the female of the species too.
So while we perhaps don’t grab as many headlines as our male counter-parts, there are a lot of pretty impressive fillies in the South African racing ranks.
In order to celebrate being strong, being independent, being women and being wonderful, Kenilworth is hosting a ladies day this coming Saturday.
***
Kenilworth Ladies’ Day
The team of Mandy Kannemeyer, Jenna Adams, Lynne Hampson and all the Kenilworth marketing team have been slaving away to ensure a brand new, fun and innovative approach and I’m told that we can look forward to a host of new and exciting things, including a fabulous cheese station and a chocolate fountain.
The day will kick off at 12 o’clock and apart from a bumper 10 race card featuring over 150 horses for the day, the afternoon also promises a 3 course lunch in the new-look Peninsula Room, a fashion show, loads of exciting prizes to be won, entertainment by Gabriel Shai, and the charity auction of a Jay Peg colt (courtesy of Hemel ‘n Aarde Stud, Marsh Shirtliff and Lukas Theron) which also includes a year’s training by top flight Philippi conditioner, Brett Crawford.
The dress code is smart-casual with a touch of bling, which is also a nod to the highlight of the afternoon – a pair of diamonds which are up for grabs to one lucky lady. Top-line sponsors include NR Diamonds, Graham Beck Wines, Avontuur Estate, Optiphi professional skin care range (specialising in skin rejuvenation peels for anyone wanting to slough off the dry winter skin), Utopia beauty salon, Dermalogica, Cigar clothing, Tanya Wheeler Jewellery, Bodissox, Dandy PR and Jullias Killias Designs, so truly a thorough spoil in all senses of the word.
So if you know any strong, fabulous women who deserve to be celebrated, or if you are a strong, fabulous woman, then Kenilworth is the place to be this Saturday. Tickets are R350 per head or you can book a table of 10, but you’ll have to hurry as spaces are going fast. Please contact Jenna Adams or Mandy Kannemeyer on 021 700 1926.
