Riethuiskraal is uniquely suited to being an African Horse Sickness holding area for yearlings needing to serve out their layover period en route to the Western Cape.
If you point your nose due north up the Cape’s famous garden route, a picturesque 4 hours’ drive will land you alongside a sailboat parked next to the N2. Hang a right towards Stilbaai and a few miles of fragrant coastal fynbos later will land you at the magnificent wrought iron gates of Riethuiskraal Stud.
The property was purchased by Altus Joubert from internationally acclaimed author Wilbur Smith in 2000.
Originally comprising a collection of 4 farms stretching across 444 hectares on both sides of the Goukou river estuary, the property has been carefully nurtured and developed from a family retreat into a beautifully appointed working farm. Riethuiskraal’s temperate Mediterranean climate, nutrient rich soil and abundance of cool, clear water from its mountain spring is an ideal setting for the large scale production of olives and has proved equally suited to producing strong, clean limbed horses.
The stud farm was originally established in 2001.
The meticulous planning in laying out the infrastructure, stallion facilities and establishing the spacious paddocks, have paid handsome dividends. The farm soon grew to a commercial venture, with its own resident stallions and a large number of boarding mares. Despite only being in existence for a little over a decade, Riethuiskraal has built itself into a thoroughbred stud of international repute. Outstanding horses produced by the owner include Lambarina (winner of the SA Oaks and Oaks Trial and Champion Highveld 3YO filly of her generation), National Colour (2006 Equus Champion Female Sprinter and joint Equus Horse of the Year), Crimson Palace (winner of the 2004 Gr3 Middleton Stakes in England and the first South African bred filly to win at Gr.1 level in USA when taking the Beverly D. Stakes Gr1 in the Godolphin silks in 2004) and the 2010 Gr1 Summer Cup winner, Flirtation.
In 2007 the stud acquired Daylami (IRE) as its foundation stallion. A half-brother to Arc winner Dalakhani, the 1999 Cartier Horse of the Year and Eclipse Turf Award champion was the highest Timeform rated horse ever to grace South African shores at a TFR 138. Daylami started his stud career at the Aga Khan’s Gilltown Stud, then moved to his Haras de Bonneval stud in France before being sold to Riethuiskraal Stud at the end of 2006. He stood his first season at stud in South Africa in 2007, but his tenure proved to be short-lived. The demand for his progeny in Europe prompted his return to Ireland to in 2010 where he currently stands at Coolagown Stud in County Cork.
Next to join the stallion roster was Gr2 winner Imperial Stride (GB), who stood his first season at Riethuiskraal in 2008. Imperial Stride (TFR 128) has proved to be an excellent producer of winners, despite limited opportunity, and has recently produced his first grade stakes winner. He certainly deserves greater support than he has been getting.
The broodmares are a collection of foundation mares, Joubert’s best race fillies and a few additional acquisitions. Perfect Guest (dam of Crimson Palace) still stands at Riethuiskraal, although Rainbow Cake (dam of National Colour) died the year before last. Joubert aspires to keep daughters of his good race fillies to keep the bloodlines going and in some cases the farm boasts 3 generations of the same family. He still maintains his racing colours. The most recent horse to carry his silks is Zemfira, a half-sister to National Colour.The temperate climate allows the horses to live out year round, all live out in large lucerne and grass paddocks with lots of room to stretch their legs.
Despite much sales and racing success, Riethuiskraal scaled back its commercial operation and since 2010 has functioned virtually as a private stud run by a small but dedicated team under the leadership of Cornelius Africa, who has been with the stud since its inception.
Altus persuaded Allen Roux to join the Riethuiskraal team in January 2014 with a view to putting the farm’s ample space and resources to more efficient use. Ideally situated 4 hours from Cape Town, Riethuiskraal is uniquely suited to being an African Horse Sickness holding area for yearlings needing to serve out their layover period en route to the Western Cape. They have increased their staff complement to include a handpicked team of riders and stud staff and now also offer backing, pre-training and Ready To Run sales preparation.
Allen’s background in horses is rich and varied. He grew up on a smallholding in Johannesburg and developed into a competitive show jumper. A stint as an instructor at the SADF stud forged him a reputation as a knowledgeable horseman and in 1988 he joined the Jockey Club and spent a year as a stipendiary steward. An association with Tobie Spies helped him achieve his assistant trainers’ licence and he progressed to fully fledged training, forming a training partnership with Lyle Anderson as private conditioner to David Makins. The team enjoyed considerable success, with the likes of Jamaica, Evening Attire, Good Samaritan and Shades of Winter passing through their hands. Allen subsequently spent a number of years at the TBA, establishing the Museum of SA Racing and Breeding and he also assisted the legendary John Kramer doing selections for the Cape Premier and National Yearling Sales for 2011.
Young thoroughbreds experience a dramatic change, going from a life of herd freedom to the structured rigors of life in a training yard. The daily routine in a racing yard is very structured and places specific requirements on young racehorses. The transition from one to the other can be extreme and have a profound effect on juvenile minds and bodies. With his years of experience, Allen has firm ideas on how to manage this process to produce horses that are prepared and ready to enter a racing environment in sound mind and body.
The philosophy is based on offering all the benefits of turnout and company that a young horse requires, while gradually introducing the necessary handling and initial training that the young athlete will need to take the next step in its career. Horses will be backed and started under saddle by Helene van Staden and her team, introducing a structured daily handling routine balanced by sufficient turnout to make the transition from stud to stable gradual and at a pace suited to each individual’s needs. Long-reigning and groundwork are an integral part of the early stages, developing physiological strength and forward movement and preparing young horses physically and mentally for work under saddle. Once the grounding is complete, Allen will progress the horses through a conditioning programme, incorporating the basic exercises to build initial balance and co-ordination, followed by a systematically developing the necessary muscle, fitness and stamina to ready them for the rigors of training.
Facilities
Facilities include lunging and backing arenas with both sand and grass surfaces. A safely fenced, large oval trotting and cantering track has been laid out wide enough to work two horses side by side and there is an additional 500m grassed galloping straight along the river to allow short breezes.
The gently undulating topography is ideal for teaching horses balance and the plentiful water means that the going is exceptionally kind and forgiving. It allows the young horses a chance to adapt to life under saddle and grow their confidence and coordination on firm going, before having to cope with heavy training tracks.
The aim of the programme is to provide well grounded, well-mannered individuals that have been brought along in a measured, progressive manner and mentally and physically prepared to step up and stand up to the rigors of full time training.
Allen has been particularly interested in defining the physical conformation traits which are common to superior horses since he stopped training three years ago. He has also investigated breeding genetics in considerable detail. For clients requiring advisory services Allen is available for consultation on everything from the selection of sales yearlings all the way through their preparation to matching each horse to a suitable trainer, if the owner so requires.
contact Allen Roux on 082 413 0443 or email: [email protected]
