A much-loved showjumping gelding called Evening Storm is in the centre of a legal tussle between his owner and a veterinarian, with the latter refusing to give the horse back to his owner, as she claimed the horse was a gift to her.
Lindsi Wood, the original owner of the horse, turned to the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg for an urgent order that Michelle Miller give the horse back to her. Evening Storm is currently being stabled by Miller at her premises in Walkerville.
Wood told the court that she had placed Evening Storm and his equipment temporarily into the care of Miller as far back as October 2022. She explained she did this as she suffered a serious riding injury to her ankle that meant she would have to undergo an operation. This would have left her unable to ride for six months.
She explained that Evening Storm required regular riding in order to keep him in good condition and to prevent him from going lame. Her injury prevented her from riding Evening Storm and properly caring for him herself.
She heard that Miller was a vet who looked after horses, and the fact that they had a particular interest in Evening Storm made her keen on Miller taking care of the horse until she was better.Wood said she was told that Miller had also had a riding accident, and that Evening Storm was the right horse to aid her in her own rehabilitation.
She said that Miller had “joked” that they would be willing to “babysit” Evening Storm if he ever needed looking after. According to Wood, it came to her attention later that Evening Storm was not properly taken care of in Miller’s care. According to her, the latter agreed to return the horse in April 2023, but she later refused to do so.
Miller, on the other hand, apart from disputing that the horse’s condition had deteriorated and the matter was urgent, claimed that she was the owner of Evening Storm. She said that the applicant had given Evening Storm and the riding equipment to her after Wood had fallen off the horse and injured herself, and no longer wanted the horse.
According to Miller, someone also overheard Wood speaking to Evening Storm earlier, where she told the horse that he is now going to his “forever home.”The court remarked that it is improbable that Wood would donate a horse and equipment to the value of R180,000.00 to a person she hardly knew, and continue to pay the medical insurance.
On the other hand, Miller’s version is not untenable or far-fetched that the horse was donated to her.The court, however, referred the matter to oral evidence due to all the disputes. “Evening Storm is a show-jumping horse, which means the matter is time-sensitive.
He will not live forever. The matter cannot be left to meander its way through the court system while his prime riding years diminish,” the court noted.
