Huge cash incentive for a date with Joburg stallions

Joburg gets a bad rap. Some criticism is justified: the way the city is run is shameful.

- Mike Moon

But some bad-mouthing isn't: the people are generally a lot more friendly and accommodating than residents of other, supposedly more genteel, places; the energy and work ethic is a level above; and many areas are quite beautiful.

So, Joburgers can feel a bit ambivalent about their dump. You hear this come through when Nigel Riley talks about his Heversham thoroughbred stud, situated south of Joburg in Daleside Valley, overlooked by Paardekop.

Riley, a former racehorse trainer now – amazingly – a prominent legal advocate, and his partner Willem Ackerman have put huge resources into building up Heversham to the highest levels of the modern stud farm.