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 packhorse, 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.
During the 19th century, some Cleveland Bays were bred to Thoroughbreds, which produced the Yorkshire Coach Horse, a carriage horse with unmatched ability for speed, style, and power. With the advent of the mechanical age, the numbers of Cleveland Bay and Yorkshire Coach horses rapidly declined. They were further decimated by use 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. Due to the foresight and determination of the Yorkshire admirers, the breed has survived and numbers have grown. The Queen of England became the Patron of the breed, and her Royal Mews continues the tradition of using Cleveland Bays and cross-breeds in ceremonial duties.
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 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 packhorse, 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.