Cleveland Bay History
An excerpt from "A Tale of Cowboys and Englishmen"
Written by Pam Burke
Published in the Havre Daily News June 2012
The specifics of how this all-purpose horse breed came to be were not recorded at the time of its origin. It is, however, well-documented that the breed originated during the Middle Ages in the Yorkshire County area of England. Named for the county district where the horse was predominantly bred and its breed-standard color, the Cleveland Bay is the only non-draft horse, or warmblood, breed developed from native English stock.
Breeders wanted a light draft-type horse of outstanding strength, stamina, movement and hardiness to use for farm work, hauling, packing or riding. And their easy-going temperament made them even more desirable.
When the carriage was invented in the 1500s, Cleveland Bays were the logical horses to pull these ground-covering coaches, and the breed's popularity spread farther afield.
The Cleveland Bay horse maintained great to moderate popularity into the 1800s, when technology changed history for them, and many other horse breeds as well.
A major decline in Cleveland Bay numbers occurred in the mid-1800s, when the railroad system was extensively developed — and the numbers would take another hit in the early to mid-1900s as machinery supplanted the horse on the farm and over the road.
But in 1883, a group of breeders, recognizing the danger of losing this unique breed, came together to form the Cleveland Bay Horse Society. Their preservation and promotional efforts paid off, especially in the U.S. and Australia, where enthusiasts imported thousands of horses of pure and part-Cleveland Bay breeding stock.
Tom's grandpa purchased his part-bred Cleveland Bays during the heyday of the breed's popularity in the U.S.
Eventually, though, the breed fell victim to its own popularity and capabilities, as well as technological advances.
England's Cleveland Bay herds were depleted by exportation — for use in work, driving and riding, but also as bloodstock to improve other breeds, especially other European warmblood breeds. Then World War I took its toll when Cleveland Bay horses proved their mettle once again, but this time on the battlefield where many were casualties of war.
By the 1960s only a handful of certified purebred Cleveland Bay stallions were known in England. When one of those stallions, Mulgrave Supreme, was slated for export to America, Queen Elizabeth II, whose grandfather bred Cleveland Bay horses, intervened. She purchased the young stallion and made him available to the public. This one act revitalized the Cleveland Bay breed in England and brought attention to the horses as an outstanding sporthorse for modern competition.
Breeders wanted a light draft-type horse of outstanding strength, stamina, movement and hardiness to use for farm work, hauling, packing or riding. And their easy-going temperament made them even more desirable.
When the carriage was invented in the 1500s, Cleveland Bays were the logical horses to pull these ground-covering coaches, and the breed's popularity spread farther afield.
The Cleveland Bay horse maintained great to moderate popularity into the 1800s, when technology changed history for them, and many other horse breeds as well.
A major decline in Cleveland Bay numbers occurred in the mid-1800s, when the railroad system was extensively developed — and the numbers would take another hit in the early to mid-1900s as machinery supplanted the horse on the farm and over the road.
But in 1883, a group of breeders, recognizing the danger of losing this unique breed, came together to form the Cleveland Bay Horse Society. Their preservation and promotional efforts paid off, especially in the U.S. and Australia, where enthusiasts imported thousands of horses of pure and part-Cleveland Bay breeding stock.
Tom's grandpa purchased his part-bred Cleveland Bays during the heyday of the breed's popularity in the U.S.
Eventually, though, the breed fell victim to its own popularity and capabilities, as well as technological advances.
England's Cleveland Bay herds were depleted by exportation — for use in work, driving and riding, but also as bloodstock to improve other breeds, especially other European warmblood breeds. Then World War I took its toll when Cleveland Bay horses proved their mettle once again, but this time on the battlefield where many were casualties of war.
By the 1960s only a handful of certified purebred Cleveland Bay stallions were known in England. When one of those stallions, Mulgrave Supreme, was slated for export to America, Queen Elizabeth II, whose grandfather bred Cleveland Bay horses, intervened. She purchased the young stallion and made him available to the public. This one act revitalized the Cleveland Bay breed in England and brought attention to the horses as an outstanding sporthorse for modern competition.