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Of the three horses that were the ancestors of the modern thoroughbred, the first and greatest was undoubtedly the Byerley Turk. This book gives an account of the life of this breed, extending from the palaces of the Ottoman Empire to the streets of London and beyond, and featuring a cast of historical figures. It begins in 1679 in a remote Balkan village, where a seyis - a penniless groom - finds himself caring for a remarkable young foal. Believing it destined for greatness, and seeing a chance to escape his own humble circumstances, he begins schooling the animal in the disciplines of war. Hewing closely to the historical record, the author goes on to trace the fortunes of the Turk and it...
This is the true story of the most remarkable horse in history. Foaled in the lavish Ottoman stables of the Topkapl Palace in the late 1870s, this dark bay stallion was hard schooled in the disciplines of war. Until now, his remarkable story has never been told.
The incredible story of the most remarkable horse in history. In 1678, a beautiful mahogany bay Karaman colt is foaled in the Balkans. Yet this is no ordinary colt: he is destined to become the magnificent Byerley Turk, the first Foundation Sire of the thoroughbred line. In 1683, in diamond-and ruby-studded harness of the glittering Ottoman sipahi, the young horse fights as a charger at the Siege of Vienna. Seized as an exotic prize from the Siege of Buda three years later, he is ridden across Europe to the Royal Barracks of King James II in Hounslow, England, where he is acquired in 1687 by Captain Robert Byerley. In 1690, as a charger in the ranks of King William's army, he faces sabre and cannon at the Battle of the Boyne, but not before romping past the winning post at Downroyal and snatching the King's Plate. The stallion died at the age of 25 in 1703. Until now his story has never been told. Yet on every racecourse in the world today, his bloodline thunders on.
Laced with numerous anecdotes about the horses and their owners, the book is both entertaining and informative and should be enjoyed by racing and non-racing horse enthusiasts alike.
Polo, horse-racing, show jumping, endurance riding, ploughing, pit ponies, mounted police, carriage driving: all these different activities require different tack. Paula Sells shows how the tack used in 27 different disciplines has become specialised for each. She describes the tack rooms and their contents, conversations with the owners and the history, current status and challenges of each discipline. Each tack room has been selected for its importance in the discipline it represents: Badminton House (Duke of Beaufort's Hunt); the Household Cavalry; the dressage, eventing and racing tack rooms of Carl Hester, Mary King and Andrew Balding. Tack rooms are treasure houses of traditional and innovative modern craftsmanship. The wide range of tack they hold reflects its evolution through our social history and the changing partnerships with horses in modern culture.
In 1704 a bankrupt English merchant sent home the colt he had bought from Bedouin tribesmen near the ruins of Palmyra. Thomas Darley hoped this horse might be the ticket to a new life back in Yorkshire. But he turned out to be far more than that, and although Mr. Darley's Arabian never ran a race, 95% of all thoroughbreds in the world today are descended from him. In this book, for the first time, award-winning racing writer Christopher McGrath traces this extraordinary bloodline through twenty-five generations to our greatest modern racehorse, Frankel.The story of racing is about man's relationship with horses, and Mr. Darley's Arabian also celebrates the men and women who owned, trained an...
In a monumental and important work for the Thoroughbred industry, author and pedigree researcher Avalyn Hunter provides extensive pedigree analysis of every American classic race winner from 1914 through 2002.
A dandy story for all horse lovers and worthy rival to Marguerite Henry's enormously successful King of the Wind . Ms. Henry based her story on this very book, written in 1846 by French author and sportsman Eugene Sue. Here now is Alex de Jonge's immensely readable translation of the original tale—an imaginative mixture of fact and legend recreating the life of the Godolphin Arabian and his constant companion, Grimalkin the cat.
A taut emotional thriller about love, obsession and the secrets that pull a family apart. Donald believes he knows all there is to know about seeing. An optician in suburban Boston, he rests assured that he and his wife, Viv, who works at the local stables, will live out quiet lives with their two children. Then Mercury—a gorgeous young racehorse—enters their lives and everything changes. Viv’s friend Hilary has inherited Mercury from her brother after his mysterious death—he was riding Mercury late one afternoon and the horse returned to the stables alone. When Hilary first brings Mercury to board at the stables everyone there is struck by his beauty and prowess, particularly Viv. A...