Hartford’s beauty was discovered by the Moor family almost 150 years ago, when they came by its vacant landscape in the early 1870s. First Deeds of Grant for Hartford and Summerhill were issued to the Moor family by Queen Victoria. Originally home to the family of John and Sir Frederick Moor, the last prime minister of old Natal, the property is now part of the greater Summerhill Estate. The family’s endeavours left a rich mark on what the Midlands of Kwa-Zulu Natal represents today. 

Some 70 years later, Raymond Ellis founded his all-conquering Thoroughbred enterprise on these historic acres, when any horse carrying his black and green silks was said to be as good as money in the bank. Such was their dominance that the Hartford horses carried off every major prize on the southern African turf. Their exploits compared with the mighty strings of England’s Lord Derby, the Aga Khan and the Sheikh Maktoum, Ireland’s Coolmore, France’s Boussac, Italy’s Tesio, or those of America’s Phippses and Calumets. 

The Goss Family took over the Stud in 1979 and owned it up until Henning’s purchase of the property in 2019. Under Mick Goss, the legendary racehorse trainer, the Summerhill Stallion Barn was a showcase of the finest Thoroughbreds in the southern hemisphere.