The Richmond Horse Museum is dedicated to man and mount in this hard, dry Northern Cape district. The museum holds invaluable stores of equine memories and trivia as well as clothing and gun collections donated by local families.

The small town of Richmond lies in the Northern Cape section of the vast, dry Karoo, and horses thrive in this semi-desert.

The high altitude, low rainfall and frosty winter weather resemble the Gobi desert, where they first evolved. Also, the soils and water are remarkably high in trace minerals, especially calcium, which are excellent for bone formation.

The trekboers (early Afrikaans farmers) who had spent a nomadic life on horseback in the Karoo were already some of the most outstanding riders in the world.

That’s part of what makes the Richmond Horse Museum such an interesting display. It is one of only a few museums in the world dedicated to the saddle horse.

Since the early years of settlement in and movement through the Karoo to reach the diamond- and gold fields of the interior, there was always a good living to be made in this area, breeding the draught horses, carriage horses and riding horses needed by the endless stream of traffic headed north.

One of the most important pieces in the Richmond Horse Museum is the ‘Nachtmaal Wa’ (night service wagon), which dates back to the 1850s and was used by local farmers coming into town for worship and socialising once a quarter.

There are a number of horse publications, photographs of shows gone by and riding tack from the pioneer days on show. There’s also a quirky story attached to one of the display items.

During the South African War (formerly known as the Anglo-Boer War), local Richmond resident Daan de Kock lost an arm in an engagement with British forces near one of the little blockhouses around the town.

His concerned friends had a wooden arm specially made for him, but Daan hated the prosthetic and refused to ever wear it. The offending wooden arm is now on display at the Richmond Horse Museum.