| "My horse fell and another horse fell on top of me and I broke my back. I was in hospital for 10 months and confined to a wheelchair on release. I had always wanted to train horses and when I came out of hospital I wanted to find out if I could still do it. I got a job for two years the Thoroughbred Breeders´ Association at Newmarket. I then moved on to be assistant trainer to John Dunlop. Then I was offered a job by Sheikh Mohammed managing his horses. This was very useful experience as I travelled to America, Australia and all over the world to see his horses being trained."
While working for the Sheikh was giving Mikie excellent experience, it lacked the day to day involvement with horses, which was what he really wanted. Then out of the blue, another opportunity came his way. "As I was wondering what I should do - or what the Lord wanted me to do - I had a phone call from Ian Balding who said he knew someone who was looking for an up and coming trainer. Was I interested?"
Mikie accepted the offer and worked as assistant to trainer, Richard Hannon. (Incidentally while working with horses, Mikie gets around on a 4-wheel motor-bike.) They had many successes together including the Irish 2000 Guineas and the English 2000 Guineas. Then Mikie decided to take a step of setting up his own stables to train horses in his own name. That hasn't always been easy but he has risen to the challenge.
Mikie sees the origins of his Christian faith in the period immediately following the accident: "When I was in hospital I was aware of being helped and uplifted and looking back I now realize that it was the Lord helping me because of the prayers of Christian friends. At that time I thought I was a Christian but I now realize that I wasn´t.
After I came out of hospital I got married but my wife left me after three years. Then I was wondering about life I heard the Lord´s Word through a Christian friend. I got involved in All Saints Church in Newmarket, the racing church, and I was grounded in the faith there, and I have found another good church where I now live."
A favorite verse of Scripture of Mikie´s is Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength". For example: he competed in the London Marathon in a time of 2 hours 42 minutes, raising £ 59,000 for charity. Mikie started training in August 1991 with six horses. Within five years he had 65 winners, the biggest being the win by Reported in the City of York stakes.
Mikie sums up his vision for the Christian witness to the equestrian world as follows: "I would love to see Christians being used to bring racing people to know the Lord. Racing people are very good and hardworking people - sometimes they are the hardest to bring to the Lord. I pray that the witness of Christians in the racing world will be seen and heard and used to the Lord´s glory. I would want any success that I have had or might have in the future to be for his glory, not mine.
Whilst training horses to win is very exciting - being used by the Lord to help people to come to know him is more exciting. I know that I am only a through-channel for God's Holy Spirit but it is so exhilarating to be used. My real sadness is the fact that so many people I know and love do not know Jesus. I feel that I am doing so little to help them."
From the Sports New Testament "Go For It!" Europäische Sportunion (ECSU), Kölner Str. 23a, D-57610 Altenkirchen
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