Meghan Cremer’s loved ones gather to remember her

At a private memorial service on Wednesday, friends and family of Meghan Cremer remembered the avid horse rider.

The 30-year-old had been missing for almost a week before her body was discovered on a sand mine in Philippi on August 8.

Lize Hartley, a friend and fellow rider at the Vaderlandsche Rietvlei Stables, said they were almost like family.

“The riding community is small and we all know each other. Seeing her every day… we all became friends. It’s almost like a family here,” Hartley said.

“She was an incredibly generous person. She was always willing to help,” she said.

Hartley said they had been friends for about five years and grew close because their horses were stable neighbours.

“I’d always ask her how her horse was doing and she would say to me: ‘My horse is perfect,’ and I loved that,” she recalled fondly.

Cremer’s alleged killers – Jeremy Sias, 27, Charles Daniels, 39, and Shiraaz Jaftha, 34 – are expected to appear in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court on Thursday to apply for bail.

Police arrested the three men earlier last week for the illegal possession of Cremer’s vehicle.

More than 50,000 women have signed a petition indicating their opposition to the men’s release on bail.

The group which launched the petition, SA Women Fight Back, is expected to hold a peaceful protest at court on Thursday morning.

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