Abbey – FS
Acknowledge: Australian Stock Horse Society 40th Anniversary Compendium
See: https://www.ashs.com.au/the-society/about-us/about-us/
See also: https://sconevetdynasty.com.au/australian-stock-horse-society-40th-anniversary-compendium/
Featured Image: A champion performer, ABBEY – FS is also the most influential sire in the Australian Stock Horse Stud Book
This horse is without peer the most influential sire in the Australian Stock Horse Stud Book. Currently (2011) he has almost 40,000 descendants, more than twice the number of his nearest competitor, REALITY – FS.
Everything about ABBEY – FS is exceptional: his breeding, his performance and the people that surrounded him during his lifetime. ABBEY – FS was bred by Harry Ball, a great campdrafter from Frederickton on the North Coast of New South Wales.
Harry was a dairy farmer with little money to spare, so he bred the incredible horse from a borrowed mare, Joy’s Pal, that he had won campdrafts on, and a free service by a horse his uncle campaigned. Although at first glance this may appear to be convenient breeding nothing could be further from the truth. His uncle’s horse was Radiant, a great campdrafter of the day and a full brother to the incredible Radium III. Radiant was by Radium II out os a TB mare, Lady Squires.
The dam of ABBEY – FS, Joy’s Pal, was owned by Hugh Flood, the publican of Willawarrin and named after his wife. Joy’s Pal was by Radium II and out of a Cooplacurripa station mare. ABBEY – FS is one of the Foundation stallions with a double cross back to Cecil through Radium. He possibly also had another cross back to Cecil through the Cooplacurripa station mare.
A jet black colt, ABBEY – FS was born in 1955. Harry was so keen to get started with ABBEY –FS that he broke him in when he was little more than a weanling. He won his first campdraft at Taree at 22 months of age, and people started talking about him, It seems they never stopped.
By nine years of age, ABBEY – FS had own 23 campdrafts, including the Duke of Gloucester Cup in 1961 and 1964, which is now called the World Champion Campdraft. He also ran second in this event in 1962. ABBEY – FS was in his prime, and in 1964 things could not have been better for Harry Ball and his wife Coral. They had a champion horse who had just won the Duke of Gloucester Cup, and a few weeks later, on the 4th June, Coral gave birth to twins. Life seemed to be so good, but everything changed on 23rd July, 1964 when Harry was killed in a road accident.
Coral Ball could never imagine anyone but Harry riding ABBEY – FS, so she retired him from competition and gave him to her friends, Theo and Bonnie Hill to look after him for her. ABBEY – FS changed from champion performer to champion sire. His deeds as a sire have never been matched, as is shown by his incredible number of descendants: over 40,000 and counting.