Fabulous Hats and Racing Goats

This past weekend I attended “East Africa’s premier social occasion”—the Royal Ascot Goat Races 2008. The event, which is also held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya, is a charity fundraiser that brings together Kampala society and most of the expat community for food, drink, entertainment, fireworks, and goat racing! But here’s the thing about goat racing—goats don’t seem to really be driven to race against one another. Instead they stand in a clump and graze, but undeterred by this fact, the organizers have set up an ingenious moving wall-on-wheels that is pushed behind the goats so that they move and “race” one another.

The event itself was a lot of fun. Many of Kampala’s large companies sponsor the events and have tents where the food and drinks are flowing. While the dress code isn’t quite as strict as its British namesake—the Royal Ascot horse races—people dress up and many wear hats. But because we are in Kampala and not at a stuffy English society event, people have fun with their outfits—many coming in fancy costumes and outrageous homemade hats.

While I’m not a gambler, I felt the need to place a small bet (1,500 Uganda shillings—slightly less than $1) on my favorite goat whose name humorously referenced my country’s current president and his upcoming departure from the White House. Unfortunately my goat didn’t win, but he did come in a respectable fourth place (and with four months left of the Bush presidency, this seemed somewhat appropriate…). So while I came home with slightly less money than I left with, I felt good about supporting a political cause that I believe in (i.e. Bush leaving office) as well as reputable charity organizations in Uganda. It was also a lovely day, and the races were held at the beautiful Speke Resort in Munyonyo on Lake Victoria just outside Kampala. Overall, a fun time was had by all!