A LETTER is handed to Mandy Retzlaff. It informs her in broken English that her family must leave their farm. It is no longer their home for it now belongs to the crowd on their doorstep. Then the drums begin to beat.So begins the author’s remarkable and exquisitely crafted book, One Hundred and Four Horses, a tale of one family’s fight to remain in their beloved Zimbabwe with hundreds of horses entrusted to their care.It’s a yarn that might not have been told, save for a surprising story behind the story.It starts with a visit to the beach shack — all that’s left that the Retzlaffs can call home — in Vilanculos, Mozambique, by Kate Kellaway, a journalist at London’s Guardian newspaper.Kellaway, a keen horsewoman herself, had gone to Vilanculos to ride one of the 104 horses that the Retzlaffs had "smuggled" out of Zimbabwe at the height of the farm invasions.Retzlaff, recently in Johannesburg to launch the book, tells the story of how Kellaway had intended to write a small piece for...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.