Asser April and his racehorse Asha April emerged victorious in the endurance race at the annual Vaalgras Horse Racing Championships held over the weekend in the ||Kharas region.

Arnold Losper and horse Lovely claimed second place, while Lucio Stephanus and horse Azari finished third.

The 2024 Vaalgras Horse Racing Championships, also known as the Vaalgras July Derby, attracted 23 horses across categories: endurance, half-breeds, Namibian breeds, and imported horses.

Jegg Christiaan, Chairperson of the Vaalgras Turf Club, expressed excitement about the event and plans to affiliate with the Namibia Horse Racing Association to expand it in the future.

Chairperson  of Vaalgras Turf Club Jegg Christiaan stated that ''I am excited and impressed, and eventually, we have established a horse racing club here in Vaalgras. Our intention is to affiliate with the Namibia Horse Racing Association, and in that way, we can grow our event bigger from next year''. Asser April shared his joy at winning the endurance category and thanked the organizers 

 ''I was a little worried about my jockey because he is too heavy, and the two horses I was worried about had smaller riders. It was a 30-kilometer race, so carrying a heavy man for that distance was challenging, but we made it'' he said. 

In the half-breed category, Robert Stephanus claimed first and second place with his horses in the 1000-meter race, followed by Jeff Hamman with his horse Kokob.

In the Namibian breed category, Wouks Van Wyk and his horse Fleezy Tibbs took first place in the 1000-meter race, with Fritz Christiaan and Robert Stephanus in second and third, respectively.

Jegg Christiaan and his horse Emoticon won the imported horse category, followed by Johannes Motinga and Attisari Kotungondo.

George Vries   expressed his emotions  ''I am very excited as our horses are on their way. You can see the dust in the background. There's a special bond between a human and a horse, and it's a truly special feeling''.

Philanda Christiaan a  vendor also  gave her insight on the event ''We've seen that the effort we put into organizing the event pays off, and we earn more from these activities. The community embraces it, and the number of stalls increases every year''.

Another spectator indicated the importance of your event ''It was a good initiative by the organizers, and I believe it can economically change people's lives''  Hague said .

A total of sixty thousand dollars was collected for the event, with about forty-six thousand dollars paid out.