Speaker 1: I see things differently when I'm riding horses.
Speaker 1: I'm always very happy when I'm around them, and they also feel the same
Speaker 1: because I know me and my horses are two sides of the same coin.
Speaker 1: We complete each other.
Speaker 1: For me, I want to be the best among the jockeys.
Speaker 1: To achieve that, it's going to depend on my skills, my horse,
Speaker 1: and also the money to get me there.
Speaker 2: It's still dark when Micheal Allotey and his fellow jockeys
Speaker 2: start their preparation for training.
Speaker 3: Olu, help me with a bucket of water.
Speaker 1: Refreshing them on this early morning.
Wakey, wakey, time for training.
Speaker 1: Safiya, good morning.
Speaker 1: How are you doing?
Speaker 1: Good girl, good girl.
Speaker 3: Eli, when I called you, you said you were already awake.
Speaker 1: We need to get to the beach and finish up the training.
Speaker 3: Let's get a move on.
Speaker 3: The earlier, the better.
Speaker 1: Guys, nyawea nyawea - fast, fast. Eli, hurry up, mount on your horse.
Speaker 2: In the gathering light of dawn, the team makes its way
Speaker 2: through a seaside neighborhood in the south of Ghana's capital, Accra.
Speaker 2: This group is just one of the dozens of stable crews
Speaker 2: that make up the city's flourishing do-it-yourself racing culture.
Speaker 2: Some, like Micheal, own their horses. Others, like these juniors, ride and train
Speaker 2: on behalf of stable bosses in the hope of climbing the ranks.
Speaker 1: Horse racing in Ghana has been passed down from generations to generations.
Speaker 1: We have a lot of jockeys here, which are all striving to get somewhere.
Speaker 1: When we have a race to partake, the training we normally do
Speaker 1: is canter or galloping.
Speaker 1: It's not easy training at the beach.
Speaker 1: We need to move on the streets before getting here.
Speaker 1: Sometimes the horses get scared by cars and other things
Speaker 1: before getting here. And when we get here, you can see
Speaker 1: there is a lot of garbage around and the horses can easily get hurt any time.
Speaker 1: So we are always cautious when we are here to train.
Speaker 3: Friends, that's enough.
Speaker 3: Let's get the horses back home and continue with the work.
Speaker 1: Well, we are back to the stables and there's a whole lot of things to do here.
Speaker 1: We need to tidy up the place and also take care of the horses.
Speaker 1: People see jockeys are always riding horses and stuff.
Speaker 1: But no, it also involves cleaning and exercising.
Speaker 2: Micheal owns two of these horses in the stable,
Speaker 2: and he's overseeing five apprentices.
Speaker 2: They have to work hard to compete with the better resourced stable crews in the city.
But they do their best and are already focusing on the next race.
Speaker 1: The race that's coming on this Saturday is the first race
Speaker 1: I'll be partaking this year.
Speaker 1: Let's say I wish my students would beat me on that day,
Speaker 1: if that's possible for them.
Speaker 1: I grew up in this area, close to the stable.
Speaker 1: I started doing this when I was a kid, let's say 12 years.
Speaker 1: I just love our horses and they are beautiful creatures, which I'm always admiring.
Speaker 1: Growing up I used to hear stories about my grandfather going to
Speaker 1: other countries, buying horses to come and sell. Horse racing runs in the family.
Speaker 1: The health of our horses is very important to us
Speaker 1: and it's very costly to treat horses in Ghana.
Speaker 1: It's like we are our own kind of doctor.
Speaker 1: We treat our horses on our own.
Speaker 1: Goodluck, are you enjoying your food?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I can see you are doing good. You are really enjoying your food.
Speaker 1: Being a jockey is very challenging.
Speaker 1: We do make sacrifices for this because we spend a lot of time
Speaker 1: here with our horses.
Speaker 1: We wake up very early to go to training.
Speaker 1: We spend much money on food, medicine, saddles
Speaker 1: and bridles for them.
Speaker 1: Sometimes my friends used to ask me, why am I really stressing myself for
Speaker 1: horses and why do I put much interest into them?
Speaker 1: And I always tell them that this is what I love.
Speaker 1: This is what I always love doing.
Speaker 1: Anytime I see my horses, it's like I'm always okay.
Speaker 2: Micheal spends the equivalent of around 68 euros a month on his horses.
Speaker 2: The prize money from races can only earn so much.
Speaker 2: He has a family to support.
Speaker 2: So Micheal needs another secure job.
Speaker 1: This is my mom and my kid sister.
Speaker 4: The work you're doing is good.
Speaker 4: Keep it up.
Speaker 1: Home sweet home.
Speaker 1: This is where I live. Apart from the horses
Speaker 1: I'm into poultry farming. Raising horses really costs a lot.
Speaker 1: So I'm doing poultry farming to help raise a lot of money.
Speaker 1: Although the business is booming, poultry farming is not my dream work.
Speaker 1: Being a jockey is what I've really wanted to be.
Speaker 1: To be a successful jockey, one of the best among the best.
Speaker 1: And this is just something I'm doing for now to help support my horses.
Speaker 2: Back at the stables, the riders are gathering for afternoon drills,
Speaker 2: guided by coach Muhammad Jara.
Speaker 5: Micheal, we are waiting for you.
Speaker 2: But Micheal has been spending his lunch break putting a young filly
Speaker 2: through her paces, and needs to hurry to catch up with the crew.
Speaker 2: Today, the jockeys practice trotting without stirrups to hone their balance.
Speaker 1: Riding a horse,
Speaker 1: the two of you need to be connected.
Speaker 1: Sometimes you'll be riding a horse, going somewhere.
Speaker 1: And maybe he sees something you haven't seen.
Speaker 1: It gives you the head start.
Speaker 1: We have a lot of apprentice jockeys here, and they all look up to me.
Speaker 1: There have been a lot of people around me in my community
Speaker 1: that motivate me to be a good jockey.
Speaker 1: And it's now my turn to pass it on to other generations.
Speaker 5: We are done for the day.
Everybody, today the balance was very, very well.
Speaker 5: You know, we have the competition ahead of us.
Speaker 5: Yeah, especially Jockeys among you, if you get home, just prepare your boots
Speaker 5: and your jacket and everything ready.
Speaker 2: But before the crew can focus fully on race day,
Speaker 2: they need to cut the grass.
Speaker 2: The lush green stalks are crucial for feeding, and seeking out
Speaker 2: marshy patches along suburban roadsides means they can get it for free.
Speaker 2: Eli,
Speaker 1: you know, there's a race tomorrow?
Yeah I do.
It's between me and you. The teacher and the student.
Speaker 1: Yes, I know that.
Speaker 1: I'm just going to show you something now. I'm your teacher.
True, you are. But I'm also going to show you
that the younger generation is better than the other.
Speaker 1: Okay.
Speaker 1: You are going to prove that tomorrow?
Speaker 1: Yes. As soon as I get over my anxiety.
Speaker 1: It's just a race to me.
It doesn't matter if you are winning or not.
I know, but but all eyes will be on you. Since it’s ...
Speaker 1: It's your first day.
Speaker 1: Exactly. And there will be the observers, the coaches.
Speaker 1: It's a big thing, and I don't want to mess up.
Speaker 1: You're not going to mess up.
Speaker 1: Just relax.
Speaker 2: Finally the day of the race.
Speaker 2: After a three-hour drive, the jockeys and horses arrive.
Speaker 2: The region's racing pros gather here three times a year
Speaker 2: to compete for cash, ranked by the club into numbered divisions.
Speaker 2: The winner of each race will take home close to 80 euros,
Speaker 2: while 54 will go to each runner up.
Speaker 2: But first they have to care for their horses.
Speaker 5: Thank God we've arrived here safely. Unfortunately, we did not have
our truck moving very early, so our horses were exhausted.
Because on the inside of the truck, they were hit by some of the horses.
Speaker 5: We hope to get a very good result out of this competition.
Speaker 2: Micheal's deputy Elijah tries to calm his horse and himself.
Speaker 2: This will be their first time competing in a formal race.
Speaker 1: Good boy. Today's the day.
Speaker 1: Let's show them the fruits of our training.
Speaker 1: We got this.
Speaker 1: It's been a long journey.
Speaker 1: I've done the best I can.
Speaker 1: I've prepared a lot and the moment is now, but I'm just anxious.
Speaker 1: I'm excited, but there's a bit of tension, and I don't know,
Speaker 1: but I believe I'm going to do great.
Speaker 2: But the long, crowded truck ride has taken a toll
Speaker 2: on Micheal's chosen mount.
Speaker 2: The stallion is not used to such close quarters.
Speaker 2: He's agitated and rebellious today.
Speaker 2: Micheal won't be riding this horse.
Speaker 2: He's forced to change his mount at the last minute.
Speaker 1: Before going to the racecourse,
Speaker 1: I'm really, really anxious because I really don't know
Speaker 1: what's going to happen.
Speaker 1: The thought that goes through my head is
'Who am I racing against?'
Speaker 1: Because there is a lot of horses.
Speaker 1: I really don't know who's going to block me.
Speaker 1: When the flag is down, I just go.
Speaker 2: Accra's turf clubs still lack standard starting gates.
Speaker 2: And with the racing community's designated starter nowhere to be found,
Speaker 2: today's contest is plagued by nail-biting false starts.
Speaker 2: Finally, in the increasing darkness, it's time for Micheal and Elijah to face off.
Speaker 2: Organisers have put the pair into a higher-standard race
Speaker 2: amid a low turnout.
Speaker 2: And as the race begins, the higher ranked horses
Speaker 2: from other stables quickly pull ahead of the two.
Speaker 2: Micheal's unfamiliar mount falters, and Elijah's white stallion begins
Speaker 2: to take an early lead ahead of his mentor.
Speaker 2: As they race around the corner, Elijah in the black helmet
Speaker 2: gains another burst of speed.
Speaker 2: In a cloud of dust,
Speaker 2: Micheal's horse slows into a disheartened trot at the rear.
Speaker 2: By the time they reach the finish line, it's clear the teacher has been
Speaker 2: beaten by his student.
Speaker 2: Well, at first I was scared, but then I felt my connection to him
Speaker 2: and he was ready.
Speaker 2: So I had to prepare myself with him.
Speaker 2: And we just went with the flow.
Speaker 2: And luckily enough, we were able to pass my mentor.
Speaker 2: So it's great.
We bet yesterday on me and him, about me beating him.
But he proved me wrong today. That he's able to do it.
Speaker 3: No prize money today for Micheal and Elijah,
but their dream continues.