After leaving Bunratty, and 9 of our fellow travelers to depart from the airport in Shannon, the remaining 10 of us headed back towards Dublin for our post-night stay, so we could depart the next morning from Dublin Airport. On the way, we stopped in Kildare at the Irish National Stud and Japanese Gardens.We all agreed that even we would be comfortable in these beautiful stalls for their coveted stallions!
From the Irish National Stud webpage: "The lands around Tully have been associated with the breeding of horses since about 1300, when it is likely that war horses were bred here for the Knights of Malta.
However, the first record of the setting up of a stud farm is in 1900, when the lands were purchased from a local farmer James Fay, by Colonel William Hall-Walker, who later became Lord Wavertree.
As 'Willie' Walker approached middle age, he turned his attention to the owning and breeding of racehorses, quickly turning the farm at Tully into one of the best studs in Europe at the time.
During this period Colonel Hall Walker also decided to have a Japanese Garden built on a boggy site near Tully House. The Garden was laid out by an eminent Japanese landscape gardener Tassa Eida, assisted by an army of local labourers.
In 1916, Colonel Hall Walker presented his Stud to the British Government for the purpose of founding a British National Stud. Under the guidance of its first director, Sir Henry Greer, the National Stud continued to maintain the high standard of bloodstock production set by its predecessor. In 1943, the newly formed Irish Government took over the land and buildings at an agreed valuation. In 1945 the Irish National Stud Company Ltd. was formed and it officially took over the running of the Stud on 31st August, 1946. Since then it has continued to expand and develop and is now a source of national pride and an international tourist attraction."
The guide who took us on a tour was very entertaining. He said that they were offered $45 million for one of their stallions by a horse farm in Kentucky, and the offer was turned down! He explained how a stallion was evaluated for success. "Well," he said, "you of course look at the bloodlines of the birth stud and mare as well as how many races they've entered and won, but you also have to look at the horse himself. You want a horse that has the head of an Irish prize fighter, the shoulders of a baker, and the swagger of a hooker." That got quite the laugh!
They also have some miniature horses (shown above) there at the Stud and one had recently given birth to a foal.
On the grounds there, you can also find the ruins of Black Abbey. From the Kildare website:
From the Irish National Stud webpage: "The lands around Tully have been associated with the breeding of horses since about 1300, when it is likely that war horses were bred here for the Knights of Malta.However, the first record of the setting up of a stud farm is in 1900, when the lands were purchased from a local farmer James Fay, by Colonel William Hall-Walker, who later became Lord Wavertree.
As 'Willie' Walker approached middle age, he turned his attention to the owning and breeding of racehorses, quickly turning the farm at Tully into one of the best studs in Europe at the time.
During this period Colonel Hall Walker also decided to have a Japanese Garden built on a boggy site near Tully House. The Garden was laid out by an eminent Japanese landscape gardener Tassa Eida, assisted by an army of local labourers.
In 1916, Colonel Hall Walker presented his Stud to the British Government for the purpose of founding a British National Stud. Under the guidance of its first director, Sir Henry Greer, the National Stud continued to maintain the high standard of bloodstock production set by its predecessor. In 1943, the newly formed Irish Government took over the land and buildings at an agreed valuation. In 1945 the Irish National Stud Company Ltd. was formed and it officially took over the running of the Stud on 31st August, 1946. Since then it has continued to expand and develop and is now a source of national pride and an international tourist attraction."
The guide who took us on a tour was very entertaining. He said that they were offered $45 million for one of their stallions by a horse farm in Kentucky, and the offer was turned down! He explained how a stallion was evaluated for success. "Well," he said, "you of course look at the bloodlines of the birth stud and mare as well as how many races they've entered and won, but you also have to look at the horse himself. You want a horse that has the head of an Irish prize fighter, the shoulders of a baker, and the swagger of a hooker." That got quite the laugh!
They also have some miniature horses (shown above) there at the Stud and one had recently given birth to a foal.We were lucky to catch one of the stallions coming in from the paddock with a groomer. What magnificent animals they are!
On the grounds there, you can also find the ruins of Black Abbey. From the Kildare website: "The abbey ruins are in the grounds of the Irish National Stud. The Knights Hospitallers or Knights of St. John of Jerusalem founded the Black Abbey sometime before 1212 at Tully. The Abbey thrived under the patronage of the various Lords of Kildare but remained a Hospitaller preceptory until it was surrendered to the Crown during the Reformation. It was known as the Black Abbey because the Hospitallers wore black habits in the preceptory."
