Three weeks after the horse heist at Diamond H Tack in Kelowna, Harry is back.
The fibreglass beast was left in an abandoned orchard off Bear Creek in Kelowna under a camouflage tarp.
"Somebody was walking by and saw the tarp and thought 'what is that?' and had a look and they weren't a horse person, but they recognized him and called the Broken Rail Ranch," said Diamond H co-owner Heather Moffat.
The first thing they did was contact Diamond H.
"She called this morning at 8:30 and said 'I have really good news," said Moffat. "'You're going to be really happy to hear from me this morning,' so here we are!"
Harry the horse was stolen and loaded into a rented UHaul cube van June 21.
When she learned of the discovery this morning, Moffat rushed out to the scene but needed another pair of hands to get Harry to her flatbed truck.
We did what anyone would do in such a situation and helped get him out of the underbrush.
By the time the RCMP got to the scene, Harry was safely on the truck.
"This would be the first time I've recovered a horse like this", said Constable Ryan Rode.
"It is unusual and the location. It was just left out here. I don't know why they would bring it out here."
After the theft, which was recorded by a nearby security camera, the horse was spotted, and there was even an address linked to the crime, but then it started to look like a cold case.
But Moffat said she never lost hope.
"I really thought that he would be here somewhere because I really thought they would have a difficult time moving him without somebody noticing," she explained.
The only question remaining is if the culprits will ever be held accountable.
"We'll see what we can do", said Constable Rode with a smile and a chuckle.
The best news is that Harry didn't suffer any major damage in the ordeal.
"Maybe a couple of extra scratches on his antique body, but we love him just the way he is, which is why we haven't fixed him in all his glories in the 26-plus years we've had him," said Moffat.
"This will just add to his story."
Harry was back on duty, standing guard outside Diamond H Tack this afternoon.
If you get value from KelownaNow and believe local independent media is important to our community we ask that you please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter.
If you appreciate what we do, we ask that you consider supporting our local independent news platform.
