The Cleveland Bay is a breed of horse that originated in England during the 17th century, named after its colouring and the Cleveland district of Yorkshire. It is a well-muscled horse, with legs that are strong but short in relation to the body. The horses are always bay in colour, although a few light hairs in the mane and tail are characteristic of some breed lines. It is the oldest established horse breed in England. The ancestors of the breed were developed during the Middle Ages for use as pack horses, when they gained their nickname of "Chapman Horses". These pack horses were cross-bred with Andalusian and Barb blood, and later with Arabians and Thoroughbreds, to create the Cleveland Bay of today. Over the years, the breed became lighter in frame as they were employed more as carriage and riding horses. The popularity of the Cleveland Bay has greatly fluctuated since it was first imported to the United States in the early nineteenth century. Despite serious declines in the population after the Second World War, the breed has experienced a resurgence in popularity since the 1970s, although only around 550 horses existed worldwide as of 2006.
They have been patronized by members of the British royal family throughout their history, and they are still used to pull carriages in royal processions today. The breed has also been used to develop and improve several warmblood and draught horse breeds. Today they are used for farm work and driving, as well as under-saddle work. They are particularly popular for fox hunting and show jumping, both pure blooded and when crossed with Thoroughbreds. The Cleveland Bay is a rare breed, and both the United Kingdom–based Rare Breeds Survival Trust and the United States–based Livestock Conservancy consider the population to be at critical limits for extinction.
Characteristics
The Cleveland Bay generally stands between , and is always bay in colour. Bright bay horses (bays with a more reddish tint than normal) are the most preferred by breeders, followed by ordinary bay, dark bay and then light bay. This preference for brighter shades of bay was originally stated in the official breed standard, although this stipulation has since been removed. In some bloodlines of the breed, light, grayish hairs in the mane and tail are known as a characteristic of pure blood. White markings, except for a small star on the forehead, render the horse inadmissible to the stud book. Horses are expected to have complete black points, including completely black lower legs. Legs that are red below the knees and hocks are considered faulty in colour, although they do not disqualify a horse from registration.
The occasional red legs that appear in the breed are thought to come from chestnut Thoroughbred stallions that were crossed into Cleveland Bay and Yorkshire Coach Horse bloodlines at some points in the history of both breeds. The uniformity in colour is encouraged as it makes creating matching driving teams and pairs very easy. When the breed was first developed, the horses almost always had a countershaded dorsal stripe, but these disappeared with the outcrossings of the 18th century.
The breed has a large head, slightly convex profile, and a long, well-muscled neck. The withers are well muscled, which often makes them less pronounced, the chest is broad and deep, the shoulders are muscular and sloping, and the croup slightly sloping. The legs are short in relation to the body, but strong and well muscled. The legs have little or no feather, as the breed was developed partially for working in the heavy clay soils of its native country, where heavy feather led to increased disease prevalence. They are hardy and long-lived horses, and docile in temperament. In the early twentieth century, when a breed standard was issued by the British Cleveland Bay Society for use in judging shows, a section was added on the movement of the horses, describing the desired action, especially at the trot. This was included in part because military potential was still considered a factor in evaluating harness horses and a good trot was necessary for an artillery horse. It was also evaluated because breeds with large action at the trot often also have a potential for jumping. The combination of desired characteristics means that the breed is useful for breeding show jumpers, eventers and steeplechasers (the latter especially when crossed with Thoroughbreds).
Part-bred horses can be registered under certain conditions. A horse with at least one grandparent may be registered in the UK stud-book.Rules and Regulations. Cleveland Bay Horse Society. Archived 9 May 2008. The Australasian society refers to part-breds as Sporthorses; they require at least 25% Cleveland Bay blood.
Uses
The Cleveland Bay is a versatile horse and is still used today for many tasks, including driving and farmwork. The horses are used as heavy hunters, as they are powerful and able to carry a man weighing for a full day of hunting over large obstacles and through heavy clay. When crossed with Thoroughbreds, the resulting progeny are lighter and faster, but still strong and heavy of bone. When show jumping was first beginning as a sport during the mid-nineteenth century, Cleveland Bays were among the initial stars. Two mares, Star and Fanny Drape, were two of the top performers. Fanny Drape was known to have cleared a stone wall with a rider on her back, and a bar while being jumped in-hand. In 2006, a Cleveland Bay stallion named Tregoyd Journeyman was used as a model for a new horse figure by Breyer Animal Creations, and the stallion participated in that year's Breyer model horse festival.
British royal horses
In the 1920s, Cleveland Bays replaced black Hanoverian horses in the British royal stables. Of the two types of carriage horses at the Royal Mews, the Windsor Greys pull carriages of senior royal family members, and the Cleveland Bays pull dignitaries and do other work. Post is driven daily between Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace with two Bays pulling a Clarence Brougham. Purebred and crossbred Cleveland Bays make up the majority of the bay horses in the Royal Mews, the British royal stables, where they receive intense training to desensitize them before they are put to work drawing royal carriages. The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery predominantly use bay-colored horses of several breeds; those pulling the limbers and caissons are frequently Cleveland Bays. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, used the breed during the 1970s and 1980s in combined driving competitions, borrowing horses from the Royal Mews and returning them for state duties.
History
Developed in the Cleveland area of Yorkshire, England, the Cleveland Bay is said to be the oldest of the established English horse breeds, and the only horse native to Britain that does not belong to the heavy horse group. The closest breed in type is the Irish Draught, which shares common ancestors with the Cleveland Bay.
Development
The earliest breeding of the ancestors of the Cleveland Bay was done in large part by English churches and monasteries, to meet a need for pack horses to carry trade goods between abbeys and monasteries in northeast England. These medieval horses gained the nickname of "Chapman Horses" because of their use by itinerant dealers known as "chapmen". What is now the Cleveland Bay is thought to have been developed from Barb, Iberian, and Andalusian horses crossed with Chapman Horse mares. The Barb blood came mainly from horses imported by wealthy young men on their Grand Tour of Europe, bought off the docks in Marseille, France, and transported back to England.
The Andalusian or Iberian blood came from horses bred at the royal stud in Córdoba, Spain, and gifted to English royals, such as King Henry VIII, by the King of Spain. The stallions were often available for breeding to local horses, and the first infusion of Iberian blood was added to the native Chapman Horses. The Iberian horses also made their way to the outlying estates of English nobility, and were then taken by Oliver Cromwell's men after the English Civil War. Once in the hands of Cromwell's men, many of the stallions were made available for locals to cross with the existing Chapman Horses, adding a second infusion of Iberian bloodlines. In the late 17th century, a second infusion of Barb blood was added when Cleveland breeders purchased horses directly from soldiers at Tangier, or from the Moors themselves.
Between 1685 and 1785, it is believed that this early Chapman Horse/Andalusian/Barb type served as the foundation stock for the Cleveland Bay. During this century the type grew bigger due to better feeding, and by 1785, had developed through selective breeding into the "agricultural type" Cleveland Bay. This original type was heavier and more draught-like than the breed of today. This was due to a need for strength more than speed on the farms and poor roads of 17th- and 18th-century England. As roads improved, and speed became more important in the late 18th century, Thoroughbred and Arabian blood may have been added. The resulting horses were used extensively as coach horses, and were lighter of frame, with a well-arched neck and powerful shoulders, making for a flashy carriage horse.
Thoroughbred blood is believed to have been added by some scholars, in spite the claims of breeders that the Cleveland Bay was "free from taint of black or blood", meaning either Thoroughbred "blood" or the Old English "Black" and its descendants. The addition of Thoroughbred breeding is thought responsible for Cleveland Bays born with red legs (as opposed to the black normally associated with bay horses), generally the result of a chestnut Thoroughbred sire in the family tree.
A 2019 genetic study of the Cleveland Bay breed also revealed genetic similarities to the now-extinct Turkoman horse, the Connemara Pony, and the Irish Draught. A separate 2020 study also found that three of the maternal lines in the modern-day Cleveland Bay likely originated from Iberian or Barb mares.
Establishment
The British Cleveland Bay Horse Society was formed in 1883, and the first stud book was published in 1884. The 19th century saw the export of many Cleveland Bays overseas to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the United States, India, Russia, France, Germany, and the European continent. In the early 19th century, Cleveland Bays were first imported to Maryland, Virginia, and Massachusetts in the United States, and in 1884 the Upperville Colt & Horse Show was created in Virginia by Colonel Richard Henry Dulany to showcase his imported Cleveland Bay stallion and the offspring of the stallion. The Cleveland Bay Society of America was formed in 1885, and by 1907 over 2,000 horses were registered in the studbook. The stud book began publication in 1889, although horses were registered who had lived as far back as 1860. Judging from the descriptions of the earliest registered horses, it is possible that many of the "Cleveland Bays" registered were actually Yorkshire Coach Horses; however, all were registered as Clevelands, and that is what they are known as today. Over 2,000 horses were registered with the association by 1907. The horses were of interest to Buffalo Bill Cody, who drove four Cleveland Bay stallions in his Wild West Show.