THE SOUTH AFRICAN WARMBLOOD HORSE SOCIETY
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​The South African Warmblood horse is a specialized sport horse for the disciplines of Show jumping, Dressage and Eventing.
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​The South African Warmblood Horse Society (SAWHS) is the
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Official governing body for Warmblood horses in the Republic of South Africa.
It falls under the Department of Agriculture and not the South African National Equestrian Federation (SANEF). It is directly responsible to the Registrar of Livestock Improvement. The SAWHS is a full member of the World Breed Federation for Sport Horses.
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The SA Warmblood Society (SAWHS) was founded in 1989 following their steady influx of European Warmbloods into South Africa that began in 1965. The imported European Warmbloods were crossed with local horses, mainly thoroughbreds, and this crossbred population formed the base generation of the SAWHS.
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This crossbreeding aimed to produce a larger, healthier, more athletically built horse, bred to successfully compete at an international standard in the three Olympic disciplines - showjumping, dressage and eventing. The Society's selection efforts were, and still are, directed at improving the South African Warmbloods' conformational correctness (due to its direct link with soundness and longevity in sport) and sporting performance specific to each discipline.
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A list of the fist inspectors who travelled South Africa to evaluate the Warmbloods reads like an equestrian hall of fame: David Stubbs, Gerrie du Toit, Theo Laros, Ernie Davenport, Charmaine Watts and Ernest Holtz. These individuals invested significant time in educating breeders, ensuring good quality horses were used and encouraging breeding for conformational correctness.​
​The South African Federation of Horse Breed Societies
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The South African Federation of Horse Breed Societies (referred to going forwards as the SAFHBS)
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is one of only three horse registration authorities accepted by the Registrar of Animal Improvement and South African Department of Agriculture. The other two are SA Stud Book and the Thoroughbred Breeding Authority.
We were formed in 2012 in terms of Section 8(7) (a)(ii) of the Animal Improvement Act, 1998 (Act No. 62 of 1998)
The functions of the SAFHBS are twofold. Firstly to act as an industry representative body to assist the horse breeding industry generally. Secondly, to be a registering authority for breeding groups that require such a service. We assist horse breeds not represented in SA, gain properly monitored entrance to South Africa. Membership of the SAFHBS allows for Registering and Non-registering members.
See section 3 of the Constitution of the SAFHBS for more information.
Our Team.
Chairman
Gauteng Representative
Western Cape Representative
Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) Representative
Head of Projects
Social Media & Marketing
Legal Representative
Legal Representative
Head of Inspections
Website & IT
Breed Secretary
Administrative Aid
Treasurer
About our Logo
Within the new logo, the protea has been retained as an ode to the SAWHS heritage while also being a symbol of resilience, which is what the SA Warmblood is bred for. ​
​The horse represents strength While the shield represents the intention to protect and preserve the breed. The shield additionally serves the purpose of a "stamp" that will be used for official SAWHS Breed Papers and Plaques. The New colours, gold and hunter green, speak to our South African Heritage, while the burgundy represents the elegant, timeless sophistication of the SA Warmblood.
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The New colours, gold & hunter green, speak to our South African Heritage, while the burgundy represents the elegant, timeless sophistication of the SA Warmblood.
