Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...
Neuvy-au-Houlme
Neuvy-au-Houlme () is a commune in the Orne department in northwestern France.
Neuvy-au-Houlme is the site of the historic Thoroughbred horse breeding farm, Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard, and the standardbred farm, Haras du Ribardon.
See also
* ...
in the
Orne
Orne (; nrf, Ôrne or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.department in
Lower Normandy
Lower Normandy (french: Basse-Normandie, ; nrf, Basse-Normaundie) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Lower and Upper Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy.
Geography
The region included three departme ...
purchased by
Marcel Boussac
Marcel Boussac (17 April 1889 – 21 March 1980) was a French entrepreneur best known for his ownership of the Maison Dior and one of the most successful thoroughbred race horse breeding farms in European history.
Born in Châteauroux, Indre, ...
in 1919. Widely respected, Marcel Boussac was called "the greatest of French breeders" by John P. Sparkman, an editor with '' Thoroughbred Times''. Boussac's highly successful operation produced a number of racing champions through its numerous top foundation broodmares and world class sires.
Among the many top runners from Haras de Fresnay-Le-Buffard were Corrida, Djebel, Pharis, Ardan, and
Marsyas
In Greek mythology, the satyr Marsyas (; grc-gre, Μαρσύας) is a central figure in two stories involving music: in one, he picked up the double oboe ('' aulos'') that had been abandoned by Athena and played it; in the other, he challenged ...
Whirlaway
Whirlaway (April 2, 1938 – April 6, 1953) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the fifth winner of the American Triple Crown. He also won the Travers Stakes after his Triple Crown sweep to become the first and only horse to w ...
and sold the
mare
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than fo ...
La Troienne
La Troienne (1926–1954) was one of the most famous and influential Thoroughbred broodmares in twentieth century America. She produced 10 winners including two Hall of Fame inductees while at stud, while her daughters in turn produced many nota ...
Idle Hour Stock Farm Idle Hour Stock Farm was a 400-acre (1.6 km2) thoroughbred horse breeding and training farm near Lexington, Kentucky, United States established in 1906 by Colonel Edward R. Bradley.
Beginning with the sire, Black Toney, and a roster of quali ...
in Lexington, Kentucky who became one of the most influential mares to be imported into the U.S. in the 20th century. He also bred raced, and ultimately sold
Ambiorix
Ambiorix (Gaulish "king of the surroundings", or "king-protector") ( 54–53 BC) was, together with Cativolcus, prince of the Eburones, leader of a Belgic tribe of north-eastern Gaul (Gallia Belgica), where modern Belgium is located. In the n ...
German occupation of France
The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...
the
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
s seized some of the best racehorses in the country including those at Haras de Fresnay-Le-Buffard who were shipped to
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
to be used for breeding at the German National Stud. Following the end of the War in 1945, some of these horses were recovered and returned to
stud
Stud may refer to the following terms:
Animals
* Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding
** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred
Arts and entertainment
* Stud (band), a British progressive rock group
* The Stud (bar), a gay ba ...
Tourbillon
In horology, a tourbillon (; "whirlwind") is an addition to the mechanics of a watch escapement to increase accuracy. It was developed around 1795 and patented by the Swiss-French watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet on June 26, 1801. In a tourbill ...
(1940, 1942, 1945)
* Pharis (1944)
* Goya II (1947, 1948)
* Djebel (1949, 1956)
In the late 1970s, Marcel Boussac's business empire ran into severe financial difficulties that led to bankruptcy. Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard was sold to Fresnay Agricole S.A. who owned it for only a short time before selling it to
Stavros Niarchos
Stavros Spyrou Niarchos ( el, Σταύρος Σπύρου Νιάρχος, ; 3 July 1909 – 15 April 1996) was a Greek billionaire shipping tycoon. Starting in 1952, he had the world's biggest supertankers built for his fleet. Propelled by both ...