Before visiting Hartford House in August I did not realize that it was located on one of our country’s finest heritage stud farms. I was delighted that owner Mick Goss was my guide to Summerhill Stud, showing me around his ‘largest foreign-owned horse hotel‘ with passion.

We clicked immediately, having the University of Stellenbosch as an alma mater in common, and I was impressed with how well-connected Mick is, when he told me what a role Summerhill Stud has played in the transition of South African politics. Mick loves chatting, and has an amazing memory of historical events, a lot of our country’s history having happened in the area. Mick is a fan of Seville marmalade, and he buys a number of jars at a time when he finds one that he likes. A brand from Mauritius is his absolute favorite, and he buys 12 jars when he gets there!  Horses are in his genes, his grandfather having bred horses. He grew up in the Transkei, studied BA Law at Stellenbosch, went to the University of Natal, and then pursued a career as an advocate. The clients for whom he has set up stud farms or whose horses are at Summerhill Stud are the Who’s Who of royalty and well-to-do horse owners, who bring their horses to Summerhill Stud from around the world. Johann Rupert counts amongst his clients and friends. Summerhill Stud was established in 1979.

Mick acquired Summerhill Stud in a cloakroom, the then-owner of Hartford House Mr Ellis making a crazy-sounding suggestion to swop the farm with the property Mick and his wife Cheryl had in Hillcrest. As Cheryl was traveling overseas, Mick went for it, and accepted the offer. He told me that he had nothing at that time, and therefore he had nothing to lose! Hartford House came as part of the package, which had been run as a hotel by the previous owners. Mick and Cheryl closed the hotel when they took over the property, living in the house for eight years before renovating and decorating it as a country hotel again.

Cheryl has the most amazing decor hand, without having any formal training in interior decorating, and I was astounded what she has achieved in the hotel, and in their own home on the farm, which Mick proudly showed me.  Cheryl studied music and ballet, worked in credit control at an ad agency, was used as a model in advertisements, and was good at tennis. She travels to Bali and India, and has furniture and beams transported back to our country, everything blending in perfectly in her newly built house. She described Hartford House as ‘more home than hotel’, and this is how it felt to me as a guest, not only in terms of the bedrooms and public spaces, but also because of the very friendly staff led by GM Duncan Bruce. Despite both Mick and Cheryl having flu, they insisted that I have supper with them at their house on one of the evenings, reflecting their generous hospitality!

Summerhill Stud has a chapel dating back to 1899, which was previously the first offices of NCD (Natal Creamery Dairies), as well as the Eskort Bacon Factory, both of which were founded by John Moor, the first owner of the estate. But dating far further back, the San were the first inhabitants of the area. They were followed by the Zulus, coming down from central Africa. ‘White settlers’ arrived 1000 years later. The Anglo Boer War was in part fought on the property.

Mick showed me the impressive Al Maktoum School of Excellence, in which the School of Equine Studies is run. The Sheikh helped build the School to teach all aspects of horse breeding to students from around the world, taught by lecturers from around the world! The Sheikh is the largest owner and breeder of thoroughbreds in the world, choosing to keep 15 of his stallions at Summerhill Stud, ‘a wonderful tribute not only to the people that work and live here, but also to South Africa as a whole‘. Mick is very proud of his Summerhill Stud website, and he has a blog on which he writes a post every morning, it being the most visited horse-breeding website in the world, allowing the owners of the horses at Summerhill to know how their mares and stallions are progressing. He emphasized a number of times how much cheaper it is for international horse owners to keep their horses at Summerhill compared to the countries in which they are based, due to the weak Rand and lower operating costs in our country. Cape Town and Dubai are the two cities from which the most horses originate at Summerhill. Summerhill has won the South African National Breeders Championship title nine times in a row. Mick told me proudly that they employ about 300 staff, most of whom have been at Summerhill for 10 years or longer!

Hartford House was a top hotel even prior to the Goss ownership, and Sir Winston Churchill, and Generals Louis Botha and Jan Smuts have stayed over at Hartford House. The Royal family stayed at Hartford House in 1922. The Summerhill farm has only been in the ownership of three families ever.

I was thoroughly spoilt at Hartford House, being offered The Moor Suite in the main house due to my need for wifi for writing in the evenings. At short notice GM Duncan and his staff commissioned the room which was closed to guests due to a planned upgrade of the room. The first family to own Hartford was the Moors, both brothers John and Sir Frederick being politicians, and arriving at Hartford in 1875.  General Louis Botha stayed in this suite. The suite has a marble bath dating back to the 18th century, which was imported from Malaysia. The Suite’s fireplace and an electric blanket kept all cold at bay! The late artist Errol Boyley had a close relationship with Hartford House, and his work is found throughout the property, including two portraits which he painted of Cheryl Goss and which hang in this suite. We bought our former Whale Cottage Franschhoek property from the Boyleys, when they returned to Pietermaritzburg from Franschhoek eleven years ago.

When I wrote about Hartford House after my stay, I focused on their lunches and dinners created by the very talented Executive Chef Constantijn Hahndiek and his team. Having eaten at a number of restaurants in KwaZulu-Natal, I found that Hartford House offered by far the best cuisine in the province. Breakfast was a colorful display of freshly squeezed juices, fresh fruit, berry coulis, poached guava and poached pears, plain yoghurt, and berry yoghurt. There were baked treats, quiches, and a menu offered a selection of hot breakfasts, including Spinach Benedict made with poached free-range eggs served on home-made English muffins; omelette with three fillings; corn fritters; smoked salmon trout with scrambled egg; crepes with Nutella, caramelised banana, and crispy bacon; oats; and Hartford Full-House, with chakalaka baked beans, roast mushrooms, a choice of eggs, and bacon.

I loved my stay at Hartford House, and feel part of the family, observing their menu development, awards won, and other activities at Hartford House via Facebook. I was an invited guest of Hartford House.

Summerhill Stud, outside Mooi River, Natal Midlands. Tel (033) 263-1081. www.summerhill.co.za

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.whalecottage.com/blog  Tel 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@WhaleCottage  Facebook:  click here