It's not the size of the dog in the fight. It's the size of the fight in the dog.

Home of Team Summerhill
(Nicholas Goss)

In many respects, Summerhill’s fourth consecutive Breeders’ Championship is a triumph for the underdog.

Firstly, history was against us . Only five farms had been tagged with the title in all of recorded history. What’s more, the Premiership had never before come this side of the Drakensberg.

Secondly, we were short in the department that matters most: cash. There was no inheritance here, and no big enterprise behind us.

But what we are rich in, is one of the best farms in the world, and as good a team as you’ll find. Anywhere. It wasn’t always like that though. It’s taken thirty years to assemble this crew, and almost as long to restore the land.

What we have now is the priceless combination for the perfect storm, and our horses are running as if they know it. Week in and week out, those doing duty around the country have shown the lion’s heart, and we’ve just had the luck to be called upon to give the roar.

Yet in this game, more than any other, you need to keep your feet on the ground. Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts, and the belief in what you’re doing that matters.

People need a sacred narrative in life . They must have a sense of greater purpose, and they will find a way to keep the ancestral spirits alive. At Summerhill, it’s the memories of the “Great Ones” that stoke our fires, and as a visitor to the farm, you can’t help feeling like an eavesdropper on a story still being told. The custodianship of all we represent today, belongs to our people. The farm, the enterprise, the success.

Take a bow, Team Summerhill.