Cleveland Bays are one of the few "pure" breeds, with no recent outcrosses. Cleveland Bays have remarkable uniformity of size, conformation, soundness, stamina, disposition and color.

The Cleveland Bay is unique in its carefully maintained purity. While the warmbloods of France, Germany, Sweden, Poland, Hungary and other European countries have produced a number of good individuals, their pedigrees are riddled with recent Thoroughbred, Arabian and other outcrosses.The Cleveland Bay was used extensively last century to improve the European breeds! Registration in the European warmblood studbooks carries with it no guarantee or even probability that their offspring will inherit their excellence with any consistency. Currently several of the Continental breeds, having lost their own foundation stock by too much cross breeding, are coming to the Cleveland to reintroduce bone and substance.

The Cleveland Bay breeds true. Foals resemble very closely their dam and sire; each foal is very similar to each other. Breeders with a large foal crop sometimes have problems distinguishing one foal from another.

Bella Donna Farm has exceptional Cleveland Bay horses for sale.

The ancestors of the Cleveland Bay, known as Chapman horses, can be traced to the selective breeding practices by a far-sighted Abbott in the Cleveland hills (North Yorkshire, England) in 1231, where they were kept as a breed apart. Over the centuries of breeding, only minimal additions of outside blood have been allowed, this being the Barb and some Andalusian, both from the mid 1500's to 1600's.

North Yorkshire is also the origin of the Thoroughbred. This county, from about 1660 to 1740, by breeding desert-bred imported Arabian stallions to native British race mares, the D'arcys of Sedbury, the Darleys of Aldby, and other breeders, evolved the race horse now known as the Thoroughbred.

Between 1707 and 1780, thirty-two of the first offspring of the Arabian foundation sires of the Thoroughbred (the original, oriental type) were bred to Cleveland Bay mares.

It is certain that after the 18th century there was no other infusion of alien blood. By then the Cleveland had emerged as an unmistakably fixed type.

The Cleveland Bay is on the endangered species list. In the 1950's there were only four purebred stallions and 5 of their offspring left in the entire world. Queen Elizabeth II intervened and purchased a stallion, Mulgrave Supreme, who had been destined for export to the United States. He was made available to breeders of pure and partbred Clevelands with enormous success. Within 15 years of his purchase, the number of stallions in Britain had increased to 36.

There are approximately 500 Cleveland Bays worldwide. In 1996 there were 53 purebreds in North America (including five in Canada), and several thriving studs in New Zealand, Pakistan and Australia, and the bulk of them (350 or so) in Britain. There are several in Japan as well: the Imperial Household has been importing CBs for many years.

The Clevelands Bay is known as the great improver, or up-grader, of other breeds. They are in demand for cross-breeding with Thoroughbreds to produce 3-day eventers (dressage, field jumping, show jumping), jumpers and dressage horses. They are known as a coach horse, sport horse, carriage horse and Hunter Prospects.

During the war years, the Cleveland Bay was the favored breed for war use. During the two World Wars, approximately 1.5 million horses died. (On the Western Front alone, the Allied losses were 48,000 horses each month of all breeds.) Many of those horses that died were Cleveland Bays. It is interesting to note that the British War Office only discontinued its premiums to stallions in 1960.

Thus the Cleveland Bay has three reasons for its decline, two of which are directly related to the popularity of the breed:

In the 1960's, the Cleveland Bay started to make its come-back when the age of the recreational horse took hold. In 1983, the first purebred Cleveland Bay foal was born in the United States, after a hiatus of 25 years. However, in 1994, only 22 purebred fillies were registered world-wide.

The Cleveland Bay is noted for its sturdy legs and large, tough "blue" hooves. The cannon bone is flat-front, 9" minimum. Cleveland Bays mature between 6 and 7 years, and are very long-lived. They will sometimes have a very pronounced Roman nose, which derives from the Iberian influence. The Cleveland Bay is hardy and is an easy keeper considering its size.

The Cleveland Bay is native to an area with an abundance of gumbo clay and water with a high iron content. The Cleveland was used for farming in this heavy clay land and it could haul very heavy loads in deep going. Today, the Cleveland has established itself as a heavy hunter able to jump out of clay almost from a standstill. A trait that lends itself well to the jumping disciplines is the boldness of the breed. The breed is also noted for its endurance ability, and its exceptional disposition. The British War Office prized this horse for war use because of its strength, endurance, hardiness, disposition, tractability and unflappability.

The Queen is patron to the Cleveland Bay Horse Society and was its President in 1984. Lt. Col. Sir John Miller, the former Crown Equerry, was President from 1987-89. Though retired from the Royal Mews, he is in charge of the Royal Stud at Hampton Court, where purebred Cleveland Bays are once more being bred.

The breed has long enjoyed royal patronage. George II was an enthusiast and King George V owned and/or breed 26 partbreds and five purebreds.

King George V Cup
The breed's most coveted award for stallions is the King George V Cup, annually competed for by ten Premium stallions in England.

Height: 16 to 16.2 hands, but height should not disqualify an otherwise good sort.

Colour: Bay with black points, i.e., black legs, black mane and black tail.
Grey hairs in mane and tail do not disqualify.
White is not admissible beyond a very small white star. Legs which are bay or red below the knees and hocks do not disqualify, but are faulty as to colour.

Body: Wide and deep. The back should not be too long, and should be strong with muscular loins. Shoulders should be sloping, deep and muscular. Quarters should be level, powerful, long and oval, the tail springing well from the quarters.

Head and Neck: Head should be bold and not too small. It should be well carried on a long lean neck.

Eyes: Large, well set and kindly in expression.

Ears: Large and fine.

Limbs: Arms, thighs and second thighs should be muscular. Knees and hocks should be large and well closed. There should be 9 inches upwards of good flat bone below the knee measured at the narrowest point on a tight tape. Pasterns should be strong and sloping and not too long. Legs should be clear of superfluous hair and as clean and hard as possible.

Feet: One of the most important features of the breed; the feet must be of the best and blue in colour. Shallow or narrow feet are undesirable.

Action: True, straight and free. High action is not characteristic of the breed. The Cleveland which moves well and which is full of courage will move freely from the shoulder, and will flex his knees and hocks sufficiently. The action required is free all round, gets over the ground, and fits the wear-and-tear qualities of the breed.