WHILE many of our readers will find themselves with extra time of their hands during the lockdown, it's been pretty much business as usual here on the farm. For many though, this has been a time of reflection, even nostalgia. Others have been delving into racing history and reminiscing over the stars of yesteryear. We've decided to dust off the old photo albums and bring out our own “then and now” collection to show you just how much Varsfontein has changed and how far we have come over the years. We invite you on a trip down memory lane, as Susan recalls those early days.

"My earliest memory of Varsfontein is a family holiday to the Cape in either December 1973 or Easter 1974 when my father drove the family around looking at the shortlist of farms. John and I were 9 or 10 at the time. What I remember about Varsfontein from that first visit were the oak trees around the house and lots of vines and being opposite the winery. A factor that swayed my father in favour of Varsfontein was that you could see Table Mountain - far enough from Cape Town but not too far!".

Probably Varsfontein’s signature feature is the beautiful, large paddock at the entrance dotted with oak trees, which was envisioned all those years ago.

The stable yard and pool were first additions - plus of course paddocks. The avenue of trees up the driveway was planted in the Seventies. With foresight, Hennie de Jager (the first farm manager) had the big dam built in the mid-Eighties. Although winter rain is now rarely sufficient to fill it, it does allow us to buy and store winter scheme water.

Nothing much changed until 1987, when Carl and Amanda joined Varsfontein. At that point, with John and Susan focussing on establishing the broodmare band, it was Mrs Kalmanson who started the building and renovation projects.
"My mother absolutely loved following her dream of making Varsfontein beautiful and she had so much fun doing all the projects with Carl."
A good relationship was forged with brothers Christo and Benno Albertyn, the former an architect and the latter a builder. Benno had an old foreman who was close to retirement, whom Mrs Kalmanson got on very well with and they took on many projects together.
First, staff housing was upgraded and built, with Susan drawing the layout for the new units. Another early project was to titivate the original stable yard. Carl desperately wanted to put a proper pitch on the stables (and still does!), but with other financial priorities, he contented himself with putting simple moulding gables on the ends of the stable blocks, and to save money by doing it “in house” with the help of his staff.
"I remember being there at that time, and it was all a hive of activity and looked like it was going very well - until the wood guides were removed and the plaster moulding just slid down the wall, to howls of laughter from all concerned! Eventually the right consistency was achieved and the mouldings are still there today!".

The original stables have been kept true to their early form with their flat pitched roofs, with just the addition of gables.

Another early project was to build the big tractor and truck shed and the renovation of the really old barn into the six stables.
The original office was an old building behind the main house, just one room for Carl and Amanda and Connie the secretary. The building alongside the pool was originally a workshop and old staff accommodation. The workshop was converted into the guest rooms with a stoep by the pool and the staff accommodation became the new offices. This was completed in 1996, just in time for Susan's wedding.
"The wedding ceremony was all set up in front of the main house, and John and I got driven round from the other side of the guest suite in a wonderful horse carriage. We went round behind the stables past the paddocks with the mares and foals running alongside all intrigued by the carriage. We were enjoying it so much and were sorely tempted to take a longer drive round the farm! But the vicar and guests were waiting so we turned up the driveway and arrived on the lawn.  By the end of the ceremony, the wind got up and was very strong. Tim and I set off in the carriage and I remember turning to wave at everyone as we left … and saw everyone charging off to seek shelter in the lee of the new guest suites by the pool! We had a wonderful celebration in the marquee."

The old workshop and staff accommodation were converted into the guest cottage and office. Having just been completed, a single chair and mirror were the only furnishings in the cottage when Susan got dressed on her wedding day.

The old barn where in the early days lucerne was chopped for feed with a hand mill, was converted into the beautiful six stables found opposite the office. These stables still have their original wooden ceilings with impressive, hefty beams.

As the main house is very old and made from mud bricks, renovations were always quite challenging and took time, with the final main renovation only completed in 1999. Originally, the house had small  rooms at each end of the stoep which Mrs Kalmanson did away with as soon as she could. There was a wall half-way down the front lawn which she could not make up her mind about, much to Carl's frustration. One day at breakfast, it was clearly a “it’s got to go day”, so Carl seized his opportunity.
"When my mother zoomed off after breakfast for her hair appointment with Hermann in Paarl, Carl moved the entire labour force in and demolished the wall. When she got back there was no wall and smoothly sloping roll-on lawn down to the little dam."
Mrs Kalmanson ensured that the steps and white curved walls in front of the house were finished just in time for Susan’s wedding. She was almost in a state of panic to get this detail perfect for the big day, as was the case with the garden beds in front of the house too.

The original farm house had a low wall in front and rooms on either end of the stoep. The house has been maintained with great care over the years to keep it in the glorious state in which we find it today.

It was always Mrs Kalmanson's dream to have an impressive entrance gate. But of course, there were always horses or tractors to buy and buildings to build, so it wasn't until right up through the first decade of the millennium that she got her dream gate. While the white gatepost and walls were fairly straightforward to build, it was the actual design of the iron gate that proved troublesome.
"Groot Madam and Carl spent a multitude of weekends driving round the winelands looking at hundreds of gates with various security guards getting very suspicious of this lady and man loitering around. To Carl’s relief, she eventually found the perfect gate - at the Brandtner’s Nutfield Stud in Franschhoek! Mission accomplished. The result, a magnificent entrance (below right).

The Varsfontein stallions were housed in very old stables (below left) under the massive gum trees and they did very well from there, both Mexico and Caesour siring a multitude of top horses.
"After Irridescence won the QEII Cup, I remember walking up to give Caesour a pat and there he was in his stable under those dangerously swaying branches with a view up to the Perdeberg. Not a bad place from which to sire Grade 1 winners in Australia and New Zealand as well as Hong Kong!"
Eventually it took a massive operation to get rid of the gum trees and with all that open space , a new stallion barn was built.
"My mother saw the plans but never the finished article. Fortunately she had trained us all well in her taste and the proper way to do things. I think she would approve of the way it turned out!"

Exactly the same view but a vast difference. The biggest challenge, when building the new stallion complex, was the felling and chipping of the massive Blue gum trees. The small block stable in the picture on the left was home to Mexico, Fair Season and Caesour. Judpot and Gimmethegreenlight also started off there.

Harold Fredericks (aka “Langbek”) shows our grand sire Mexico in the mid-80’s, dynamite in a small package! Continuing the legacy, Gimmethegreenlight being shown by “Langbek’s” brother, Frikkie Basson, on his stud career launch day in 2012.

Another feature on the grounds of Varsfontein is the small dam in front of the main house around which beautiful gardens and trees have been established. Interestingly, the dam was created when the mud was dug out to form the bricks to build the house.

It’s not just the buildings that have changed over the years, but also the way things are done. In the early years, mares and foals were stabled every night and it was common practice for one groom to lead a mare and foal together. Currently the mares and foals live out in the paddocks and they are led individually.

The National Yearling Sale in Germiston has remained the farm's primary yearling sale throughout the years. The main change has been the size of our draft. Above are the Varsfontein yearlings pictured in the walking ring in 1983 and in 2019.

Mrs Kalmanson loved to drive the Varsfontein Izuzu truck.	With Carl’s help, Mrs Kalmanson was able to turn her vision for Varsfontein into a reality.