The Horse Memorial, Port Elizabeth

The Horse Memorial in Cape Road, Port Elizabeth

© Chris Marais

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In the middle of city traffic in Cape Road, Port Elizabeth, you will come across a scene that was common here more than a century ago.

A British trooper kneels before his horse, holding a bucket of water for his steed. It’s the only horse memorial in South Africa, and it was erected by the local community. The inscription reads: 'The greatness of a nation consists not so much in the number of its people or the extent of its territory, as in the extent and justice of its compassion.'

In the South African War (formerly known as the Anglo-Boer War), more than 300 000 horses belonging to the British forces died.

The opposing Boers, however, nearly lost an entire breed of horse: the famous boerperd.

You can trace the boerperd (farmer’s horse) right back to 1652, when the Dutch commander Jan van Riebeeck arrived with his mounts, Berber-Arabian ponies from Java. A few years later, a ship carrying 14 Arabian horses to Persia ran aground near Cape Town. The horses swam ashore, were quickly captured and added to the gene pool of the Van Riebeeck party's stables.

Nearly 250 years later, at the time of the South African War, the boerperd had become a sturdy, hardy, clever and sure-footed horse bearing additional bloodlines that included Flemish stallions and Cleveland bays. The boerperd contributed to the Boer soldier’s international fame as a skilled horseman.

By the end of the war, however, the boerperd breed was in danger of extinction, the battles having taken their toll. However, the lines survived and now, through the excellent work of the Historic Boerperd Breeders’ Society, this legendary horse is flourishing all over South Africa.

Today, South Africa’s geography, with its dramatic mountains and vast plains, lends itself to varied and exciting outrides. Well-trained and superbly bred horses – which often include the boerperd – are there for riders of all levels. And history buffs will delight in following the old trails of the warhorses of more than a century ago.