Cleveland Bay E-Newsletter! - CB news from around the world
AWHA GALA SHOW, Sydney June 2007 - Cleveland Bays ring ALBUM
The Cleveland Bay is the last and only remaining Pure Breed of Warmblood horse left in the world today.
Pure Cleveland Bay horse is recognised as a world heritage and has been placed on the endangered breeds list
Cleveland Bay has been a foundation of Hannoverian, Holstainer, Trakener and Oldenburg breeds, as well as contributing to the breeding of Morgans and Standardbreds.
The breed's stud book was closed in 1884
World's record breaking jump of 17'1" was made by Jimmy Wofford on his Cleveland Bay cross
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth is an active breeder of Cleveland Bay Horses and the Patron of the breed
Very informative 5 min video about Cleveland Bays available for download at the Cleveland Bay Alliance Web Site (USA): http://www.clevelandbayalliance.com/horsetv.htm
The following BREED FACTS are part of the collection published by Linda Yaciw on her Clevelands Rock web site:
"It is not only genetically stable, but emotionally stable. The Cleveland temperament is calm and equable, unflappable. ...A Cleveland sire or a half-Cleveland dam tends to ensure progeny that uses its head and takes its time in confronting obstacles in the hunting field or on the event course or in the show jumping ring." Ref: "Cleveland Bay Horses" by Anthony Dent, 1978, pp 68
"When crossed with a Thoroughbred, the offspring (Cleveland Bay/TB crosses) have that extra turn of speed which has made them the outstanding three-day-event horse. In fact, all four reserve horses of the British Olympic gold medal winning team in Mexico were young partbred Cleveland Bays, which, considering their rarity, is no mean achievement." Ref: "Cleveland Bays" by Joanna Dorman, unidentified document, circa 1975
The bone of a Cleveland Bay is more dense than most other breeds, similar to an Arabian. Ref: Cpl. Gary Hart, Dawson Creek RCMP
The Cleveland Bay originated in Britain, in the Cleveland area of Northern Yorkshire, and is the oldest of the indigenous breed of English horses.Yorkshire is known as the source of two breeds, the Thoroughbred and the Cleveland Bay. The Cleveland Bay breed is thought to have evolved from crossing native bay colored mares with Oriental stallions during the 17th century. Shaped by a harsh environment, a horse of durability, longevity and quiet disposition resulted. These characteristics, combined with the uniformity of bay color, size, and substance, developed a versatile breed used as hunt horse, coach or pack horse, and as an agricultural worker. Originally known as the Chapman horse, after the salesmen who exclusively used Cleveland Bays, the breed excelled as an all-arounder. During the peak of the breed's popularity in the late 1880s, the Cleveland Bay Horse Society of Great Britain published the first volume of its Stud Book, which contained stallions and mares selected for the purity of blood.
With the advent of the mechanical age, the numbers of Cleveland Bay horses rapidly declined. They were further decimated by their popularity as artillery horses during World War I. The Cleveland Bay survived in the region of it's birthplace during these difficult times, but in the 1960's only five or six mature stallions were known. The Queen of England became the Patron of the breed, and her Royal Mews continues the tradition of using Cleveland Bays and crossbreds in ceremonial duties.
The first Cleveland Bays were imported to Australia in the late 1890's by Major Philip Charley, who was a very strong advocate of the Cleveland Bay and used its characteristic longevity and fertility, together with its natural ability for jumping, to improve his cavalry mounts. It was not until 1975 that the Australasian Cleveland Bay Society was formed and stud book records have been kept since that time. The introduction of Cleveland Bay blood to our local stock has produced horses for the competitive arenas in dressage to Grand Prix, State level showjumping, driving and cross-country as well as horses for pleasure and the police force.
Height: 16-17 hands
Weight: 1225-1500 lbs
Girth: 82-86" >
Bone: 9"
Colour: Bay - black points, mane and tail, a small white star is permissible
Great substance.
Clean-legged with excellent feet and flat cannon bones.
Immensley powerful quarters that contribute to jumping ability and dressage.
Strong powerful shoulders allow movement with ground covering power, which is ideal for carriage work and dressage.
Moves with ground covering power.
Long lived.
Prepotent, transmitting uniforminty in type and substance.
The Cleveland Bay has successfully been cross-bred to Thoroughbred types to produce outstanding performance horses in dressage, driving, and jumping. It is through these quality animals that breed recognition is becoming known. With the increase of numbers of Cleveland Bay purebreds, some are competing along with breeding duties. Although listed as an endangered breed with less than 500 world wide, Cleveland Bay lovers from Britain, North America, Japan, New Zealand and Australia are dedicated to the conservation of this unique horse.
The Cleveland Bay purebred and part-bred registry is maintained and supervised by the Cleveland Bay Society of Great Britain. Only pure-bred Cleveland Bays sired by a stallion awarded the Certificate for Pure Breeding are eligible for registry. Inspection and approval of stallions and mares by the British Cleveland Society is done every three years or as warranted. Part-bred Cleveland Bays are eligible for registration as Cleveland Bay Sport Horses
Message from the CBHS:
"If you already own a pure-bred Cleveland Bay please make sure it is registered with this Society. A Cleveland is a valuable horse and it is important the Society is aware of its existence. The Society also maintains a register for part-bred horses. To be eligible a horse must have at least one great, great, grandparent entered in the stud book. If you have an unregistered pure or part-bred the Society will be pleased to help you in the registering of your horse."
For more information on The Cleveland Bay Society of Australasia Inc or this breed, contact Jean Goldfinch 03 6248 4103 or visit the web site http://www.clevelandbays.com.au
The Cleveland Bay Horse Society United Kingdom: http://www.clevelandbay.com
The Cleveland Bay Horse Society The USA: http://www.clevelandbay.org
Origins of the Warmblood by Henk Minderman www.equiweb.co.uk/studs/origin_warmblood.htm
More Cleveland Bay Web Sites from around the world on our "Links" page.