Byerley Turk

Born in 1680

The Byerley Turk was born in Serbia in 1680 and served as a warhorse.  He survived the battle of the Holy Warbut  and was captured at the Siege of Buda by James Fitzjames.

Fitzjames returned to England and the horse was acquired by Captain Robert Byerley of the Queen Dowager’s Horse, later known as the 6th Dragoon Guards.

Quality with undeniable strength and courage

In 1690 Captain Byerley and the Byerley Turk were involved in the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland and it was here that the prowess of the Byerley Turk stood out.  It was recorded how Byerley escaped capture while on reconnaissance, due to the superior speed and courage of his stallion.

Having endured the battlefields of Hungary and Ireland, sea passages and long arduous journeys, there can be no doubt that the Byerley Turk was a horse of great quality with undeniable strength and courage.

Robert Byerley was promoted to Colonel and returned to his home in County Durham, but upon the marriage to his cousin Mary Campbell, he acquired Goldsborough Hall, near Knaresborough.

The Byerley Turk only covered a small number of mares, but his genes continued through to the progenitors Herod and Eclipse.