THE STUD FARM

Watermark Warmbloods, founded in 2006, is located on a farm known as Old Mill Drift Guest farm, a 1 646-acre historic guest and Warmblood horse stud farm with pet-friendly, self-catering accommodation on the Caledon River. Located 27 km from Clarens and Fouriesburg in the Free State, South Africa, often referred to as “a hidden gem” by our guests, this magical setting with stark seasonal contrasts and equally magnetic landscape provides the ultimate place for taking a break, and for us, our hobby of breeding horses.

Set on 7,5km of the Caledon river, remotely nestled at the foot of the Maluti Mountains, we are blessed with breathtaking views, with a peace and tranquility seldom found.

Our precious horses breathe fresh mountain air and quench themselves on the finest mineral spring water that this planet has to offer, and if that is not enough, we are also in an AHS FREE zone, which all South African horse owners, would cherish as we do. We grow our own Eragrostis and Teff, and our horses enjoy excellent grazing, in lush green paddocks of mixed grasses.

This bountiful and exquisite land is an idyllic place to visit. Come meet our horses, hike with your dog on over 50km’s of hiking trails, go biking, cruise in your 4×4 or simply chill on your verandah. A place for sport enthusiasts and yet also a peaceful solace for those who just want escape in this deeply tranquil space.

We have utilized mainly top dressage lines in the hope of breeding World Class dressage sport horses, but do sport some spectacular jumping bloodlines, so the likelihood of us producing not only top dressage horses, but also showjumpers and breeding strong contenders in the sport of Eventing. A most serious consideration when choosing bloodlines for us is the pre-requisite of a GOOD TEMPERAMENT to ensure not only the most talented and well put together horses, but also those with the very best rideability and work ethic.

We have been around for over 20 years, and are only a small stud with not having had much opportunity of being in the limelight, but we believe we are well on our way to soon being recognized as a stud which produces sport horses of the finest quality.

The blood of all the greatest warmblood sires the world are cursing through the veins of our precious breeding stock. Please see the “bloodline” dropdown menu on our website for more information on the stallions in our bloodlines.

For a booking at Old Mill Drift, please contact Ciarra on: 066 466 2106. Alternatively, email: bookings@oldmilldrift.co.za.

These are indeed exciting times for Watermark Warmbloods. We have in our stable an Ermitage Kalone and an Emerald van’t Ruitershof out of a Lissabon mare, two Johnson colts out of our Benicio mares, two foals by Florida TN and an exquisite Daddy Cool foal. Not to mention our flashy Lissabon / Benicio / De Niro colt who will be available for covers for the 2026 breeding season. Lots to look forward to…

We strive to breed modern-type, lighter-framed, world-class Sport Horses, from only World Champion Warmblood mares and stallions from all imported bloodlines, with all of our broodmares but for one, having been bred by ourselves.

We are proud to have Callaho Bijou as a broodmare – by the super-sire Benicio. Benicio was recently hailed Hanovarian Stallion of the year, at the age of 20, which is a tremendous accolade to have received. Benicio to date holds the highest mark ever achieved at the stallion testing in Germany. She is out of a De Niro mare, who has confirmed his status as one of the World’s Best Dressage Stallion’s by ranking #1 on the WBFSH Dressage Sire Ranking no less than five times.

We at Watermark Warmbloods are ecstatic to have such spectacular blood standing at our stud. Truly a dream come true and beyond our wildest expectations.

It really does not get better than this….

Yvonne McCarthy
Cell: (WhatsApp only) 083 310 9909
Tel: 010 085 7877
Email: yvonne@warmbloods.co.za
Location: 27 km from Clarens
GPS Co­­-Ordinates: S 28°36’35.1
E 28°27’06.4