WHEN uMhlanga resident, Beverly Baksa started playing tent pegging as a five year old, she never dreamed that one day she would be the women’s world cup winner in this ancient sport.
Formerly known as Gymkhana in South Africa, the sport was originally a military practice that can be traced back to 500 BC. The modern status of tent pegging was established by British forces in India in the 19th Century.
Tent pegging was introduced to South Africa during the Anglo-Boer War, and the first tournament was held at Middelburg by the British Bengal Lancers.
Baksa recently represented South Africa at the first-ever Tent-Pegging Women’s World Cup in Oman last month.
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Team SA did not disappoint as they walked away with the championship. The cherry on top was that Baksa was named Best Competitor after leading the points scoring chats at the championships.
“It was an honour to represent South Africa and win the world cup. I am thankful for the opportunity and to see women being recognised.
“We won gold on day one, we won silver on the second day and gold on day three which placed us as the winners of the world cup. It was an amazing experience,” said Baksa.
The South African team was coached by Jaco Strydom and captained Jacolien Brits. They came up against Sudan, Egypt, Oman, Jordan and Australia.
Baksa was full of praise for John Coetzee who worked hard to make sure that women who play the sport are recognised.
“He worked hard to host the first women’s inter-provincial championships. He was in Oman with us and it was special to have him there when we won gold. He is the one that paved the way for us to be able to reach the world champs. He has been standing up for women tent pegging for over 20 years,” she said.
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Baksa also heaped praise on her mother, who has been her coach all her life saying she was ‘the best coach in the world’.
“My mum has always been my coach, she is very good. She is an international coach who coaches in America, Jordan, Israel and England.
“I have made the SA team a few times. I made the under 18 team when I was 10 and went on to captain the team. I made the top team for juniors at 14, made the senior team four times and won best rider at the nationals. It’s all down to the efforts of my coach,” she said.
The 28-year old rides for the Okusha Equestrian Centre which is the only tent pegging club in Durban where her mother Dalene Baksa is the coach and she trains every Saturday.
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