Jackie Solomon, long time friend of Summerhill, had staff ecstatic when she and travel companion, Colin Wille, arrived at the farm by light aircraft recently. Jackie, being the kind soul that she is, and Colin, who is passionate about flying, treated a few adventurous staff to a lap of the surrounding areas in the bright yellow 1946 Piper Cub. This soon became an intriguing pull to the track, which was once again put into use as an airstrip.
Photography by Leigh Willson

Views of Summerhill Stud and Hartford House whilst Hot Air Ballooning above the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands! This is just one of the many unique experiences Hartford can arrange while you are staying with them.
Photos by Leigh Willson

Emperors Palace Ready To Run cocktail party held at the Vegas of Africa's five-star D'oreale Grande Hotel with honour guests His Majesty King Letsie III of Lesotho and Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco. Photography by Yolanda van der Stoep.

Here are a few pics of the 'buzz' at the TBA Sales Complex in anticipation of the 2012 Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale - through the lens of Heather Morkel.

A few behind-the-scenes photos from the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Gallops at Summerhill Stud, 19 October 2012. Through the lens of Leigh Willson.

Scenes from the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Gallops Dinner with jockey and judge award presentations by Mike de Kock and His Majesty King Letsie III. Held at the School of Management Excellence, Summerhill Stud : Thursday 18 October 2012.

Along comes spring and along come our first foals.

Photography by Leigh Willson

We penned a piece on our Blog earlier in the week about the destructive capacity of a big snowfall, not knowing that that very night, we suffered the second biggest snowfall in the past eighty years. Of course, if you’re a tourist, the precincts of Mooi River resemble a winter wonderland, and while the moisture and “free” nitrogen is welcome, the cost in the end runs to millions. Roofs collapsed, vehicles are damaged, hundreds of trees are down, fences buckled under them, roads blocked and all hands on resurrection.

Photography by Leigh Willson

Every year before the foaling season starts, our main foaling barn as well as other barns that will be used for stabling, are scrubbed down and disinfected. Once the stables are sparkling clean the first group of mares are brought in and bathed before being moved into their stables.

Photography by Leigh Willson

Racing and breeding aficionados have embraced the annual Investec Stallion Day at Summerhill Stud to such a degree, that it is now a fixture in many fans’ calendars. That was evident at the Midlands nursery on Sunday, where they fed more than 700 people from twenty-one different countries, including Kings, Queens and Princesses from two royal households, Ministers of State, Presidents and Chairmen of turf clubs and racing operators, and countless addicts of our sport.

Photography by Leigh Willson.

For our twelfth annual conference, we’ve been hiding out at Bayete camp, deep in the nether regions of Phinda’s spectacular bushveld. No cellphone signal, no radios or televisions, no pack drill. And in a matter of days, the Big Five, in every shape or form. Phinda isn’t South Africa’s finest bush experience for nothing. Authentic, wild, professional, diverse, down-to-earth, riveting. Oh, and luxurious, but at Phinda, luxury is just the journey, not the destination.

Photography by Leigh Willson, Amorette Kramer and Michael Nefdt.

Photos from the TBA Sales Complex, Gosforth Park, on the morning of Wednesday 25th April.
Photography by Ricardo Christian.

Summerhill's draft of yearlings for the 2012 Emperors Palace National Yearling Sale.
TBA Sales Complex, Gosforth Park, Germiston, South Africa 27 - 29 April 2012

For more information please visit : www.summerhill.co.za/?sales_yearlings

Out and about on the farm with our National Sales Yearlings.

When our man, top graduate of the School of Management Excellence, Thabani Nzimande took a flight from the warm climes of Sunny South Africa on his way to English National Stud, he didn’t know what he was in for. It’s cold in Mooi River in winter, and sometimes very cold, but nothing prepares you for knee-deep snow, rain and ice, particularly when it’s your first welcome at Heathrow airport.

Photos from the 2012 Emperors Palace Summer Ready To Run Sale staged at the Al Maktoum School of Management Excellence, Summerhill Stud, Mooi River.