Welcome to my world of Preacherman
I have been living in the UK for over 4 years now and in the first year I went back to South Africa for an extended holiday. I was there for about 3 months and was missing riding terribly. My pony was retired so I would take a slow hack to the yard a few blocks away to get some lessons. My instructor popped me on a few horses and eventually brought out Preacherman.
He is a 10 year old TB gelding who was originally a racer. He also has a few baby Preachermans running around. He was (and still is) full of personality and opinions. Anyway, he was wonderful, challenging and lots of fun to ride. After a few sessions and jumping him Kath, my instructor told me he was for sale. She just had too many horses to ride.
Now, I had every intention of returning to the UK. My husband (then fiancé) was there and I was building a new life. One day I arrived at the yard to see this blond girl trying him out. Well…I went red, then green and all other colours you can imagine. The first thought through my head was ‘Get that thing off my horse! Remove her from the premises!’
She was doing nothing wrong and was a great rider. I am not usually such a jealous person but that day I felt it all. In my head he was MINE and no one was to touch him. I promptly phoned my husband when I got home.
“Hi darling, I have a confession to make. Please don’t be mad at me and this is very hard for me. I have met someone else. I am in love and I am sorry. He is tall, dark, handsome and very muscular. He also has 4 legs!”
I then burst into tears. After much deliberation we decided to buy him and fly him out to the UK! So he is as much an immigrant as him mommy and daddy are!
He has been a challenge for me and my riding ability but it was the best decision ever and I don’t regret a single penny. He has been good for my soul as well.
