"We'll remember the heroes of our land of birth, clothed in the attire of our people, upon our return to them to witness the dancing hooves as our horses compete. Our women ululate and the men stomp. Mares stampede as we turn the tide to return the tradition where it was born."That's the vision statement of Laphum'iLanga Club of iDutywa in Eastern Cape, which stages some of the most compelling horse racing in South Africa.The words speak beautifully of what horses and racing mean in rural areas - how man, animal, ritual, identity, spectacle and competition are entwined in a culture.Racing in cities is a different beast, but its roots lie in the same community lore. After the internal combustion engine sputtered into view, horses were suddenly no longer part of daily life, as they'd been for thousands of years.Nowadays horses are exotic creatures, a preserve of the rich, and racing is often forbidding for the uninitiated.In the sticks at iDutywa and other places, race meetings, or mdyarho, are rougher around the edges, but they are inviting and festive. The annual Boxing Day races at Tsolo Junction, north of Mthatha, draw 30000 spectators and the best runners. There's traditional attire, Xhosa faces adorned with white dots, popular bands playing, chanting as horses are paraded; and folk pull in - by foot, horseback, donkey cart, taxi and Ferrari.Traditional or "bush" racing, on a stretch of veld with a ploughed furrow marking the course limits, has been pursued since horses first came to this country. It lives on, every weekend, in the green hills of the Xhosa.As the urban, thoroughbred element became sophisticated and streetwise, it grew apart from its country cousin. But now, the jaded city slicker reaches out to the fresh-faced pastoral hick.The Dundee July has grown into a significant event with assistance from KwaZulu-Natal racing operator Gold Circle and others. Just as the Durban July draws the best thoroughbreds, its Dundee counterpart sees the country's fastest rural racers shipped in to compete for big prizes.Things go a step further at Fairview racecourse in Port Elizabeth next week, with horses, trainers and jockeys from the rural circuit being invited to race on the manicured turf - as part of the card on a normal race day. The race is the first in a series - the other legs being in June and July - with points in horse, trainer and jockey categories.Racing operator Phumelela will provide transport, sending horse floats to hinterland pick-up points. Horses will be examined by vets and health advice freely dispensed.It's a fine idea. Yet one would love to be a horsefly on the wall when a Fairview stipe watches a trainer from Tabankulu apply secret charms, spells and amayeza prior to the race - to give the nag strength and courage.Maybe this stuff works; maybe it doesn't violate doping rules. Maybe master trainer Mike de Kock will consider using it when he races Mubtaahij in the Belmont Stakes in New York next month.Imagine the faces of those Yanks...