Equestrian pioneer Enos Mafokate dies in Johannesburg at age 80

Enos Mafokate, a veteran equestrian and South Africa's first Black show jumping champion, has died at the age of 80. His family confirmed the death on Thursday. Known as the "King of Horses," or "Kgosi ya Dipere," he gained prominence by challenging racial barriers in a sport dominated by white riders during the apartheid era. Mafokate began his career as a stablehand and won his first competition in 1963, though segregation laws barred his participation in official events until 1975. He later became the first Black South African to compete internationally in show jumping, placing fifth at the 1980 Royal International Horse Show in Wembley. Following the end of apartheid, he served as a sports ambassador at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games and founded the Soweto Equestrian Centre in 2006 to train young riders in his home community.

• 10:37 AMYahoo Sports — Enos Mafokate, South Africa’s first Black show jumping champion, dies at 80