14/04/2025
Nottingham Road – A Premier Equestrian Destination
Tucked in the heart of the picturesque KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, Nottingham Road is more than just a charming village — it is a vibrant hub of equestrian excellence, from elite breeding to world-class sport. The most famous Midlands equestrian son being Jet Master — bred in Mooi River by Hugh Jonsson. With seventeen wins (including 7 Group 1), he became one of South Africa’s most influential sires, producing champions like Pocket Power. The Midlands continues to produce top horses across all major disciplines.
Equestrian Excellence
This region offers multiple disciplines, including Racing,, Showjumping, Dressage, Eventing, Polo, Polocrosse, and Western Riding Western Riding Club KZN. Polo in particular, has deep roots here — dating back to 1886 with the founding of the Dargle Polo Club, South Africa’s first civilian polo club. The tradition continues through the esteemed Lions River and Karkloof Polo Clubs.
Equestrian Centre's
Newly launched in Fort Nottingham, Waterwoods is a state-of-the-art venue set to host top showjumping events. With its world-class facilities, it is poised to become a flagship destination on South Africa’s equestrian calendar, with the first major event taking place from the 1st to 5th of May.
Maxwells Equestrian club is a superb show venue near Mooi River with world class indoor arenas, hosting equestrian disciplines like showjumping, showing and dressage
Stud Farms in the Area
A number of exceptional operations call this region home. Here are just a few shaping the future of South African equestrian sport:
🔹 MacRath Farm (formerly Rathmor Stud)
Managed by the passionate McHardy family, MacRath has grown from humble beginnings to a major player, now home to over 150 horses. Their breeding spans top-performing racehorses to elite showjumping athletes.
🔹 Brandenburg Stud
Warmblood sport horse breeders, Brandenburg combine world-class genetics with a strong focus on temperament. Their stallions, including Clarinius and Colbert, consistently produce competitive, well-rounded horses.
🔹 Rivervale Stud
A boutique family-run stud located on the banks of Spring Grove Dam, Rivervale is known for carefully bred Warmbloods with top lineage and impeccable temperaments for showjumping and eventing.
🔹 Clifton Stud
With decades of excellence behind it, Clifton Stud has produced multiple Group-winning racehorses, including the Durban July winner Classic Flag. The stud maintains a reputation for consistency, professionalism, and passion for the Thoroughbred industry.
🔹 Bush Hill Stud
Based in Mooi River, Bush Hill is renowned for its outstanding racehorse breeding program and deep commitment to quality bloodlines. They have bred grade 1 winning champions including Zirconeum, Wolf Whistle and Stellite
🔹 Blue Sky Thoroughbreds
A modern operation with a forward-thinking approach, Blue Sky combines innovative practices with exceptional mares and stallions. Their foals are certainly making a mark on the South African racing scene. A new stallion, Double Superlative, has recently joined this stud, further enhancing what KZN breeding can now offer.
🔹 The Fort – Stud & Stables
Tucked away in Fort Nottingham, The Fort has developed winners like Chocolicious and War Artist. Under Jill Fox’s guidance, the focus is on producing sound, athletic horses for all disciplines, with a solid mental foundation. Interestingly this stud stands an imported Trotter stallion, Main Kronos, helping to improve the quality of our local trotters
🔹 334 Sporthorse Stud
This stud breeds exceptional warmbloods with top industry bloodlines for athleticism and jumping, inspired by their founders' mare, Wolke 334. The stud focusses on the broodmare, utilizing mares that have competed at the top of the showjumping sport.
🔹 Capital/Summerhill Equestrian Stud
The cornerstones of Capital Stud’s breeding program have always been that the use of the world’s best bloodlines, in the right combinations, will produce the world’s best sport horses, and further, that the dam possesses the highest value in the breeding programme. Imported mares and dam lines are bred to top quality stallions, producing top quality offspring. Through the application of this philosophy, the stud has been wonderfully successful.
https://www.facebook.com/karkloofpolo
https://www.facebook.com/Lionsriverpolo
https://www.facebook.com/TheFortStud
https://www.facebook.com/CapitalStud
https://www.facebook.com/334stud
https://www.facebook.com/blueskythoroughbreds
https://www.facebook.com/cliftonstud
https://www.facebook.com/MacrathStud
https://www.facebook.com/rivervalestud
https://www.facebook.com/BrandenburgStud
https://www.facebook.com/maxwellsequestriancentre/
Nottingham Road Tourism is the official tourism page for Nottingham Road; an inspiring destination and a place for all seasons. We hope to see you soon.
