Icarus Park - Bantry Bay RID

Bantry Bay RID

The first purebred Irish Draught stallion to be imported into Australia was ‘Bantry Bay’ in 1976.  Arthur Young, a veterinary surgeon from the western district in Victoria purchased the horse in Ireland as a three year old.  He was purchased as Silver Laughton, but this name was changed upon arrival to Australia to Bantry Bay.  His sire was Dangan King, by Lahinch and his dam was Trespian.  He was a great grandson of the renowned RID sire ‘Laughton’ who also sired many showjumpers, whose decendants are still actively competing today.  He was bred by Mr John Dukelow of Dunbittern, Bantry Bay, south west Ireland.

The horse was steel grey, and stood at 16.2hh and later matured to 17hh.  Arthur remarks that ‘I thought at the time (1976) that he would be years ahead of his time, in that the showjumping/eventing fraternity were not interested in breeding horses for their purposes; content to go through numbers of cheap ex-racehorses to find the odd one that adapted.’

Bantry Bay stood for his first season in 1977, and his last foal crop was 1983.  He was bred only to thoroughbred mares, and produced some lovely stock, competing in eventing, showjumping, hunter trials and on the hunt field.  Sadly he died of colic in July 1983.  Unfortunately also in 1983, most of the yearlings and two year olds by Bantry Bay perished in the Ash Wednesday fires.  Arthur still has a mare sired by him who is in her twenties, and who is still being bred back to the thoroughbred.  He has a two and three year old out of her aswell.