“I joined the CatWalk Board in 2014 after being introduced to Catriona by my friend Wes Van Der Scheer. I still remember walking into that room for the first time, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the calibre of people who had already built CatWalk into something remarkable. I felt lucky just to be there.

Not long after, I found myself signed up — with a healthy dose of fear — for the New York Marathon. I ran it in late 2015, not knowing that it would change me forever. We raised around $120,000 that year, but the money wasn’t what stayed with me.

“What stayed were the moments: crossing that finish line with just a few tears on my face, feeling like every step was for my daughter; the friendships formed in those long training runs; the feeling that I was part of something bigger than myself.”

I went back year after year — 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 — and together we raised nearly a million dollars. But what I really gained was purpose. For five years, those campaigns lit my fuse. They made me feel like I was doing the one thing every parent hopes for: doing something, anything, that might help their child. I used to run with a single sentence looping in my head:

“I will keep running until my daughter walks again.”

And even though she still cannot walk — and even though my running shoes have gathered a little more dust in recent years — that belief, that hope, hasn’t left me. That hope is the reason CatWalk became one of the three pillars of my life, alongside my family and my career. It gave me strength when I needed it and community when I didn’t know I needed it.

COVID ended my marathon chapter, but it opened a new one: I had stepped into the Chair role, and the board, together, have led CatWalk through a period of much deeper research focus. That shift — guided so powerfully by Professor Darren Svirskis — has been transformational. His vision helped bring us closer to the science, closer to the possibility of real change.

“We’ve built a charity that is far more flexibly positioned to shift and change as the cure moves out of its ancient blur and into sharp focus. The idea that CatWalk might one day help fund a breakthrough that gives people like my daughter a new future…imagine being part of that team that funded a revolutionary discovery in medical science?”

CatWalk is positioned perfectly for this eventuality, and I’m really excited about the future for Holly and everyone else who suffers from this dreadful injury.

This organisation has changed me forever. I will never walk away from CatWalk emotionally — I don’t think I could if I tried. I will always be a friend, an advocate, and a strong believer in the work we do.

Lastly, I would like to thank Cat for taking me on board in the first place. Cat’s vision and drive is second-to-exactly-no-one, and she will always be the shining beacon of hope for all of us in this space. Without her inviting me onto the board in the first place, my life would be far worse off. I am infinitely grateful to her for that.

“Onwards, upwards and forwards. I leave Catwalk in very good, capable hands.”

David Pretorius

CatWalk Trustee and Chair: 2014 – 2025

David Pretorius with Zara Tindall at Cambridge Stud.

David Pretorius with Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon.

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