Homegrown Honey

A special horse for the future.

- Sue Botha 

Our Journey began in October 2012, when I came across a charity auction for a service to one of Midas-Touch Stud’s stallions. My interest was piqued, so I went onto the stud website and came across this lovely little filly – who was not for sale! Devotion was ‘retained’ by the stud as a future brood mare, and it took some convincing and a wedge of my savings, but on 8 November 2012, she was mine.

Early beginnings

Midas-Touch Devotion arrived in Cape Town as a one-year-old. She was somewhat of a challenge, especially as I had lost the confidence of my youth. She played me like a fiddle, and many were the days I wanted to give up and sell her, but who would buy a scrawny yearling for a lot of money? And in any case, she was under my skin, and I was terrified of where she may have ended up.

I’m a true believer in kindness and patience when it comes to all animals, but especially horses. These are domesticated wild animals. I have always tried to work out what motivates them, what frightens them, what pacifies them, and how to get them to respond to me. Slowly but surely, Devotion learnt to trust me. She has the personality of a true champion, and sometimes those just need special handling. I respect her and who she is, and it’s paid off.

Care and caution

She won her first Supreme Championship for Loose Movement at the Young Horse Show, where she was judged by Jan Crome Sperling, at 17 months old. She followed this up, in her second outing, with a Reserve Championship for Breed Type, as well as another Supreme Championship for Loose Movement, this time at the SAWHS Breed Show, where she was judged by Klaus Storbeck.