Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime – Chinese Proverb
BEE and racial integration have become buzzwords in the new South Africa as well as in racing and while flagship events are enough of a draw card to get ‘people of colour’ on course a couple of times a year, it is good to see roots of change finding a more permanent foothold.
Raymond Koopstad is a schoolteacher from the Ceres Valley who has traded his blackboard and chalk to take on the new challenge of the Thoroughbred breeding industry.
Ray is softly spoken and tells of doing part-time gardening work to earn pocket money as a kid. This part-time job would become instrumental in his life as it taught him a love for working the soil and an understanding that earth needs nurturing and careful management.
Sea Cottage was the horse that initially sparked his interest in horse racing. Ray says he loved how he looked and performed and that was the big hook that made him want to own a race horse.
Growing up in the local community, he remembers Daytona making frequent newspaper headlines for producing Gr1 winners, which he found fascinating and concluded that it must be as a result of the rich Ceres earth. Through his association with Sam Britz, who was the supervisor at Daytona at the time, Ray visited and got to know the stud and learn a little about horses. The beauty of the land with its lush green paddocks and graceful horses sparked something in him and created the dream to own something similar. In 2003 his dream came true, when a grant from the provincial department made it possible for him and a group of 29 other shareholders to purchase a sizeable portion of the old Daytona Stud. They christened it ‘La Vouere’ which Ray explains is a French term for a small settlement lying against a lot of water and means to be blessed or have a lot.
It began as a mixed enterprise of boarding racehorses, cattle as well as fruit and vegetable farming. Ray says that “All members of the project were previously involved in farming activities and bring a variety of skills, enthusiasm and energy to the project,” adding that the farm’s ultimate goal was to establish the first racehorse-breeding farm managed and owned by black farmers in the country.
Although La Vouere had no horses of its own to begin with, one of the conditions of sale was that they would continue to manage the resident herd of boarding horses from Jeff Armitage. With his appreciation for education, it was a condition Ray accepted with enthusiasm as it would provide an excellent grounding in the day to day challenges of a busy stud.
With 40 animals on the property at one stage, Ray remembers it as a very rewarding time, but very hard work. He did not take a day’s leave for the first four years and seldom even left the farm to begin with as he was too worried that something might go wrong. However, he had a strong support team to help and they must have done an excellent job as the boarding horses stayed for 5 years.
During that time Ray built a good relationship with James Armitage, who he cites as a huge pillar of support who is always available to help or offer advice. Mike Barnard was also enormously supportive and sent a manager to La Vouere three times a week to help teach and mentor the team. Indeed, the themes of cooperation and the sharing and building of knowledge run strongly at La Vouere and invaluable input from the likes of John Freeman, James and Geoff Armitage, Dr Mariaan Thomson, Dr Frank Freeman and Dr Nelmarie Wium have helped lay solid foundations for them to build on.
Eventually the fledgling enterprise decided it was time to spread their wings and purchase their own stock, so they enlisted the help of John Freeman. As all breeders know, good foundation mares are the key to success and one of their first acquisitions was a Complete Warrior mare called Splash of Water.
Splash of Water has really set the tone for the stud. Her first foal to be sold under the La Vouere banner was Captain’s Cove. An injury as a youngster landed her with a badly scarred leg, so Captain’s Cove was sold off the farm to the Snaiths as a purchase for Hassen Adams. She has proved a shrewd buy and now has 4 wins to her name including the Listed Lady’s Pendant.
In 2007 Splash of Water produced a chestnut colt by Goldkeeper, Splash Gold, who has 7 wins to his name including a stylish victory in the recent Gr2 Post Merchants at Greyville. The flashy chestnut, currently in contention for the WC Champion Sprinter of the Year Award, is conditioned by Dean Kannemeyer and runs in the familiar purple and white silks of Raymond Deacon.
The stud has now swelled its ranks to eleven mares and they currently have a number of youngstock on the ground by a variety of stallions including Windrush, Kabool, Lundy’s Liability and Ashaawes.
Extra horses mean extra hands. Ray and his family are all shareholders in La Vouere. They live on the farm and are very hands on with the day to day activities. The complement of farm workers has swelled to a team of four and they also have the excellent Jan Daniels as their head stud groom who brings 36 years of experience to the table. Jan worked his way through the ranks at Odessa, Ambiance and Daytona studs and has a wealth of knowledge garnered from stalwarts such as Colin Cohen, Dr Thompson and John Kramer. He is an excellent horseman with wonderful knowledge and experience.
Asked whether he’s found it difficult to make inroads into the industry, Ray muses that he initially expected to find the community closed and exclusive, but that he has been surprised by how well and warmly he has been received. He says people are just protective of the industry and trying to sort out the chancers from the people who are genuinely serious about working hard and making a contribution. Despite the many challenges of being a small stud and start-up business, Ray is pleased with what they have achieved so far and is confident that they will build on their successes to date.
As friend and advisor John Freeman sagely says ‘Success breeds success but only if publicity follows it’. It seems Ray and the good horses being produced at La Vouere are quietly getting on with the first bit. All they need now is for the rest of the industry to sit up and take notice !
