Meet the team

This young gelding (born on 27^th September 2018) is very special to us. When we still stayed in South Africa, we took in Uku’s mom as part of a rescued herd. You can imagine how surprised we were with an unexpected foal! We named him after the word Ukumangala, which means something like surprise in the South African language isiZulu.

We were heartbroken when we had to re-home him and the others when we couldn’t stay in South Africa any longer. But now Uku is back with us, so amazing! He’s grown into such a stunning horse with a cheeky personality. He loves giving kisses, especially on top of Dilo’s glasses…

This very cute, but slightly stubborn gelding (born in 2016) is one of our smaller ones. However, size doesn’t matter, as he is quite strong. He gets very vocal when the others go out and he’s left behind.

It’s great to see how the whole herd formed such a strong bond from the beginning. Apache is perfect for riders who wish to learn how to canter. He doesn’t go too fast and moves at a steady pace.

Katryn (born on 11th September 2017) is another horse we already know from our time in South Africa. She was born as a beautiful black foal at our neighbour’s farm, and later went to live with our friend Jeandre.

Jeandre was of the greatest help in finding all our horses. When she asked if we wanted to give Katryn a forever home in Malawi, we obviously said yes! She’s a beautiful and strong mare with a warm personality.

What’s in a name? Our ‘’Queenie’’ behaves like a true African queen. She knows what she wants and she knows even better what she doesn’t want. This doesn’t affect her behaviour on the trails though, she’s wonderful for people with any level of horse riding experience.

This beautiful Arab mare was born in 2011 as a sister to Prada. They love each other unconditionally, but regularly also value their time apart.

This gorgeous mare (from 2014) is an officially registered SA Boerperd. She’s strong and well-suited for life in the bush. On trails, Snickers tends to be a bit lazy and slower than the others. Most first-time riders actually seem to enjoy that.

However, if you know how to get her started, she’s a wonderful companion to trot, canter or even gallop through the Reserve!

Prada knows her high value. She’s Queen’s sister and also born in 2011. They share a father and have different mothers. This Arab mare has a wonderful gait (the ways she walks at different speeds).

Her colour is described as chestnut, and she really shines beautifully when she’s in the sun. Many of our visitors have fallen in love with her. You will be no different!

Ranger is a very handsome Friesian X Boerperd gelding. His long manes make him a favourite with picture-taking ladies. His body is strong and his personality very soft.

He was born in 2010, which makes him our oldest horse. He has been moved between homes quite a lot. We’re afraid Ranger hasn’t been lucky with people before coming to us, as he was very nervous about a lot of things. But once we gained his trust, he became a wonderful trail horse. We love him to bits, just like his girlfriend Biscuit does!

This mare from 2016 has an unusual colour which is called ‘’dun’’. She isn’t large in size, but has a big heart and is extremely sweet with children and adult first-time riders.

We bought her and Ranger from the same place and they are inseparable. This doesn’t mean they always want to stay together on outrides, but when back in the paddock, they immediately look for each other. It’s very cute!

Horseback Adventures is part of the 1-2 Travel Africa LTD portfolio, which started as a tour operator in South Africa in 2017. Hessel and Dilo kept following their heart into Malawi, where the company has become one of the most active players in the country’s tourism industry.

You can read more about their inspiring journey, and will without a doubt come to the conclusion that the horses and Kuti Wildlife Reserve were the last missing pieces to make their puzzle complete. Hessel and Dilo could never do any of this without their incredible team, and can’t wait to introduce you to everyone here!

Howard met Hessel and Dilo in 2014, when he was their guide on a horseback safari in South Africa. They became friends, or brothers even, and eventually started working together. In 2019 they all moved to Malawi; Howard’s home country. He couldn’t stop smiling when it became official that after a 4.5 year break, they were going to work with horses again.

Howard has great people skills and is a true horse whisperer. His love for the African bush and its wildlife has no limits, so he immediately felt at home at Kuti. There’s no one better to lead the Horseback Adventures team on the ground!

Blessings might look like the most quiet person in the team, but that’s only until you get to know him a bit better. He’s born and raised in one of the villages around Kuti and had never seen a horse before in his life. Now he feels very comfortable working with these wonderful animals. He is pleasant to be around, always eager to learn new things and of great help to the others.

Ned started as a grass cutter and comes from one of the local communities, like Blessings. He quickly proved to be a hard worker and was asked if he wanted to learn how to be a groom. He immediately said yes! The horses seem to love him, and so do his colleagues, so we’re grateful to have him as part of the team. Together with Blessings, he really enjoys learning more about working with horses and they can’t get enough of trotting now.