Origins and development of the Cleveland Bay

The Cleveland Bay breed has its origins in the Northeast corner of Yorkshire in the North of England in the region known as Cleveland. Precisely how the breed evolved is not known and there is a certain amount of speculation about this.  What is generally agreed is that within this region in the Middle Ages were a strong and hardy breed of horse, which was put to general agricultural and transport work. Such a type must have developed over the ages through careful breeding to incorporate the essential qualities for the varied demands of the farming of those days. Such qualities as soundness, power, stamina, quiet temperament, economy of keep, sure footedness would be the essentials of the day.   

Sportsman (Stallion) - Foaled in 1876

This breed was local to the area and the view that was earlier put that the Cleveland found its origins in the British war-horse is now discounted. Certainly a breed of horse which fits the early descriptions of the breed was used by the monasteries of the area to transport huge packs of wool and there are reports of this breed being used as pannier horses to transport iron ore from the hills to the coal mining areas for smelting. Whatever the early origins of the breed it resulted in a very useful, ubiquitous type of horse.

Through the port of Whitby came all sorts of imports from all parts of Europe and the Mediterranean. Of particular interest though came a type of import that was quite different to anything else before and this was a selection of stallions from North Africa including the Arab and the Barb.  Inevitably these were crossed with local horses and over a period of time, through persistent crossing, there developed a new breed of horse which became fixed in type and reliable in its prepotency to consistently reproduce horses of a like kind. They had become fixed in type and were to become an identified and separate breed. Such horses would be the earlier forebears of the Cleveland Bay. 
Interestingly it is believed that those same Arabian horses put to the same type of mares, but bred specifically for racing that was a developing interest of the time with races being over a four-mile distance. Again by careful selection of sires and dams a breed of racing horses developed from the same origins as the Cleveland Bay but this time with a different purpose. This breed developed into the British Thoroughbred.  

Sunflower (mare) - Foaled in 1862

The name Cleveland Bay though was not applied to that early horse and it is more likely that the breed was known as the Chapman horse. At that time one of the ways in which goods were traded around the country was by packhorse with strings of loaded horses traveling the district selling and buying goods. These travelers were known as chapmen and the same name became applied to the horses that they used. As many of these were from the Cleveland district they would have been Cleveland Bays but not yet known by that name. Local shows in North East Yorkshire held classes for Chapmen horses and by tracing through their records it is possible to see the name used prior to the name Cleveland Bay.

Being powerful horses made such horses very suitable for pulling the early coaches, which were built strongly and were really heavy because of the roughness of the roads. This left them very well placed, for when the revolution came in road making with the arrival of macadam, they had already proved their worth as coach horses. Now a much faster speed was possible but now the Cleveland Bay was not fast enough. However, by crossing the Cleveland with the now well-established thoroughbred an altogether speedier, powerful horse developed which had the soundness and stamina for the new job of coaching. This ‘new’ breed became known as the Yorkshire Coach Horse and eventually for a time had its own separate studbook. These horses were a tremendous success and were popular all over the world and commanded good prices. They were also very popular with the affluent people of influence in London where it was the height of fashion to drive in the parks of the capital which a showy pair of Yorkshire Coach Horses. (continued below the photo)

Broomgrove Pride (Stallion) - Foaled in 1895

Note:  It is interesting to make comparisons between Broomgrove Pride and today's Cleveland Bay horses to see just how breeders have managed to preserve the breed type!
This success had a devastating effect on the Cleveland Bay as the Yorkshire farmers as breeders naturally ‘followed the money’ rather than breed pure bred Clevelands. The breed reduced to dangerously low numbers and in order to halt the decline any further, in 1884 the Cleveland bay Horse Society was formed. The new society attempted to catalogue all the remaining Clevelands and to substantiate their pedigrees. Up until that date breeding pedigrees had rarely been recorded and many were merely passed from mouth to mouth or were anecdotal. Painstaking research was conducted in the ensuing years to ensure that only the purest of Clevelands were registered in the studbook. If there was any hint of blood from out side the Cleveland breed then entry was strictly prevented. A breed standard was determined and from the date of the foundation of the Society all Clevelands have to have their pedigree substantiated before admission. Progress was made in halting the decline in the breed but the demand for Yorkshire Coach Horses had been reduced already because of the development of the railways.  

The next blow to the Cleveland Bay came from within agriculture its self with the increasing availability of the tractor following the cessation of the 2nd World War. Things became dire at the end of the 1950’s and in the early 60’s. Stallions were reduced to four in number and there was the threat that one of these might be exported. Fortunately Her Majesty The Queen stepped in at the last minute and bought this one and then made it available to ordinary breeders through the Cleveland Bay Horse Society.

Blossom (mare) - Foaled 1878

This was of major importance to the survival of the breed as this was a time of great concern for the Society. Through the great resolve, determination and dedication of only a handful of resilient Yorkshire breeders and two in the south of England, the breed survived and has been increasing steadily since. Now there are about 450 mares of breeding age, of which only about half ever breed, and about 45 stallions. A nucleus of Clevelands is being bred in Australasia and in North America. Japan had imported Cleveland for use in the Royal palace but there is no information available about these although they have been breeding them for may years.

Being such a versatile horse, Cleveland Bays can now be seen filling many roles in the horse world. Many are used in the Royal Household and can also be seen in the arrival parade of The Queen at Royal Ascot. Others are police horses. Clevelands have accompanied the winner of the Grand National. They are Mounties horses in Canada, dray horse for breweries, carriage horses for weddings and hearse horses for funerals. Part bred Clevelands can be spotted in every conceivable sphere of the equine world and have been particularly adept at dressage, show jumping, as hunters and they make a wonderful, sensible leisure horse.

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