George "Bay" Middleton

Who was George "Bay" Middleton?

Capt. William George "Bay" Middleton was a noted English horseman of the 19th century. He was equerry to John Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer, who was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1869-1874 and 1882-1885.

He was privately tutored at Wimbledon, gazetted to the 12th Lancers in 1865, and stationed in Cahir in County Tipperary. He rode his first Winning Race in 1867 at Cork Park. He joined the Lord Lieutenant's staff as an extra Aide de Camp in 1870, where he was based at the Viceregal Lodge in Dublin, was promoted to Captain and left services. Middleton was one of the best and most popular riders in the United Kingdom. When the Empress of Austria hunted in Ireland, he was her pilot. He repeatedly rode the winners over the stiffest steeplechase courses, including the Punchestown Grand National. Besides being distinguished as a horseman, he was a good cricketer, belonging to the Jockey Cricket Club.

His nickname "Bay" was either a reference to his reddish-brown hair, or derived from the name of the winner of the Epsom Derby winner in 1836.