BEN FAERIE
15.3hh 1968 Thoroughbred
By Ben Hawke out of Faerie House (by Vieuxce Manoir)

"I bought Ben Faerie in 1970 when he was a two year old. I was expecting my second child and couldn't hunt, so I was very fed up and decided to go to Ascot sales with my father-in-law to see if I could buy a colt. My husband has always kept stallions to breed tough hunters for Exmoor, and the mares we were usually sent were fairly common, half-bred and less. Knowing this, I wanted to find a Thoroughbred with nice limbs and good looks who would put a lot of quality into that type of mare. I had a picture in my head; he had to be bay with not too much white, and short from the knee to the fetlocks, as I believe that many Thoroughbreds today are weakened because they are too long in the cannon bone.

When we arrived at Ascot sales, inside the very first stable door I opened I saw a gorgeous face looking at me: white star, lovely short limbs; he wasn't very big, only 15.3hh. And I thought, there's my horse. I only had £250 to spend, but we got him for 240 guineas, and I had to haggle with the lorry driver to get him home because I'd spent all my money!

He went to work as a three year old and he never had fewer than forty mares a year, so at a wild guess he must have about 800 children. A lot of them are in the hunting field as it was not until Ginny (Virginia Leng) did great things with Priceless and Night Cap that he began to make a name for himself as an eventing sire. He was capable of putting tremendous speed onto a common mare and, although he was the gentlest of creatures, all his progeny have got immense courage across country, as well as a natural eye for a stride when they jump. They don't like to touch anything or knock a fence down and they have an ability to sort themselves out."

Diana Scott (from Priceless, Champion of Eventing, by Virginia Leng)

The Great Ben Faerie bloodlines
"Ben had a tremendous record of producing good-moving horses and added speed to all his mares. My present breeding policy is to line-breed, crossing my current stallion, Its Without Doubt, who is a grandson of Ben Faerie, with our Ben Faerie mares. This is working well and puts some extra Ben Faerie blood back into the foals. Our stud is now established on Ben Faerie bloodlines, the one exception being the Rolfe stallion, Future Role, whom I bought from the Doncaster sales." Diana Scott

Ben Faerie covered mares in the spring before he died and there is still a pool of young horses by him yet to compete. In 1998 1% of all horses competing in horse trials were by him and [in 2001] there were still 27 of his offspring competing, including Pippa Funnell's advanced ride, Walk on Star.
And, with many now successfully breeding from Ben Faerie mares and Brendon Hill Farm producing the second and third generation of his progeny, this is one Faerie story that may not have an ending for many years to come.

From an article by Carole Mortimer (writing in Horse & Hound, March 2001)

Ben Hawke

Faerie House

Rose of Peace

Vieuxce Manoir

Faerie Dance

La Diva

Owen Tudor

Perfect Peace

Vielle Maison

Brantome

Dante

Faerie Queene

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Brendon Hill Stallions
Brendon Hill Farm, Watchet, Somerset TA23 0LJ
Telephone: Diana Scott on 01398 371481 - email brendonhill@btinternet.com
Telephone Michael Scott on 01398 371254 - email mike@brendonhill-stallions.co.uk