Nicolas Bruyas

A book that fundamentally challenges what we know about the creation of the Thoroughbred. The traditional tale of the creation of the Thoroughbred, centred on three great stallions — the Darley Arabian, the Godolphin Arabian and the Byerley Turk — appears to be largely a deliberate rewriting and distortion of history. After nearly twenty years of research, archaeologist and historian Miriam Bibby has brought local British horses back to the forefront of the story of the modern racehorse, particularly the Scottish Galloway and the Irish Hobby, whose importance was subsequently largely forgotten. This local British genetic contribution to the origins of the Thoroughbred was partly overlooked for political reasons, at a time when some members of the English elite were deeply distrustful of the Scots. The Thoroughbred thus emerged, primarily in northern England and close to the Scottish border, from the crossing of these local populations with numerous Oriental horses — perhaps as many as 200 — including Barbs, Turks and Arabians. Miriam Bibby’s new book, Early Modern Thoroughbred Historiography and its Legacy: Founding Fathers, Forsaken Mothers, is due to be published shortly. The result of nearly two decades of research, it challenges much of the traditional narrative surrounding the origins of the Thoroughbred. amazon.fr/-/en/Miriam-Bibby/…