My Love Affair with the Cleveland Bay

All my life I was meant to have a Cleveland Bay. A simple yet bold statement now, but if you had said the words ‘Cleveland Bay’ to me in 1995, I would have said “Pass, what’s that?” I should also confess that as I celebrated the New Year into 1995, I did not actually own a horse at all. In fact, I never owned a pony, did pony club, went hunting etc, but like all little girls, I did love Black Beauty - a sociable horse who liked other horses and people, a well mannered hack, his mistress rode him side saddle, and he worked alone in the dog cart or with Ginger as part of a driving pair. I know now that if Black Beauty had been a Cleveland Bay he would have had all these admirable qualities AND taken the master hunting, galloping all day in the field and jumping out of the deepest ground. In fact, from my experience of them, I think the Cleveland Bay Horse Society should be renamed the Really Useful Horse Company.

THE HAND OF FATE

I learned to ride in the 1950’s, in the little village of Llanwrtyd Wells, in Wales. My first lessons were a birthday present from my grandmother. Llanwrtyd was a popular Pony Trekking Centre and on the first day of each season, a local ‘celeb’ led the trek out on his Olympic showjumper – a horse called ‘Foxhunter’. One hour a week of riding was all my parents could afford and owning a pony of my own was out of the question. I lived for that one hour. The first holiday I ever bought for myself was a week of pony trekking in Wales. After that, wherever I holidayed in the world, I always found a horse to ride, but I did not actually buy my own horse until I had been married for 25 years.

I was sitting in my vet’s surgery in Reading in 1994 when I spotted an advertisement for carriage driving lessons. I had always had a hankering to drive a horse but the lessons were a bit pricey. It did motivate me to take up riding again though. The yard ‘Foxhill Stables’ just south of Reading was, in the 80’s and early 90’s, the biggest film yard in the country. With more than 40 driving horses and 400 vehicles, they provided horses and carriages for many famous and well known TV series and films - the sleigh from BBC ‘Tales of Narnia’, the Shetland pony hearse from ‘Allo Allo’, the gold coach built for ‘The Slipper and the Rose’ also used in the Three Musketeers, and the curricle used in Wuthering Heights.

I arrived early one afternoon for my first lesson and found everyone still at lunch. All the horses had names on their stables and so I walked around and said hello. The instructor returning from lunch informed me I would be riding Shadrack. “Good” I replied, “We have already met”. In fact we were already in love – “Just one look”, as they say. He was both handsome and friendly, and I was soon hacking every weekend and when pennies permitted, I would book a driving lesson. During my second riding lesson I had happened to ask if Shadrack was broken to harness. I was told he was and I could drive him next time… if I wanted.... yes, I very much wanted. Soon I was having as much fun with him in the cart as in the saddle.

Shadrack’s film career and the demands on the coachman Haydn Webb meant my lessons were a bit stop/go. One was cancelled because Shadrack was still in Edinburgh filming with Julia Roberts and another when he had to go to Pinewood Studios. Despite his busy film career, Shadrack had one problem - he didn’t winter well. He needed to be stabled and then became quite a handful bucking, and so during the winter of 1994, no-one was allowed to ride him – although he was still a star in harness. As the winter of 1995 approached I knew he would be grounded and I was determined to buy him. So in November 1995 I did, and then bought a 1910 Ralli Car and patent harness at Reading Carriage Sales in May 1996. He stayed at livery at Foxhill, where he continued with his film work, and he never bucked again. If anyone has a video of the 1997 Dance to the Music of Time series from Channel 4, you will see in Shadrack in the first episode pulling a Norfolk Cart and trotting down Eton High Street!

Taking up the reins in 1995

Shad put to the Ralli Car demonstrating a perfect axle turn (1999)

ENTER THE CLEVELAND BAY

At the 1996 Newbury Show I was stopped in my tracks by a handsome bay gelding – Shad’s twin! He was a Cleveland Bay x Thoroughbred. Then Carriage Driving magazine published an article on the Cleveland Bay with photos of the stallion Borderfame Prince Charming and his yearling son Stoneridge Bendigara, who now stands as a stallion in the USA. It just so happened that years later we purchased Bendigara’s full sister Stoneridge Merindah Jundah (Aboriginal for ‘beautiful lady’)

Above: The very versatile Borderfame Prince Charming

All of a sudden, I was a woman with a mission to own a Cleveland Bay. One thing puzzled me though: whenever I mentioned my wish to buy a CB, I was warned that they were difficult and stubborn horses! I now know that this is a breed of great intelligence and power, which needs firm handling, as demonstrated here by Edward Delville-Lindsay, the handler of pure-bred Folds Veronica (below right), who stands at 17.2hh. As you can see he was unfazed by a 4 year old tiger!

In 1997 we moved to Scotland and purchased a property with room for our horses. My husband in his mid 50’s became an Equestrian member at Gleneagles and learned to ride for the first time. When the time was right to buy him a horse, we decided to look for a CB. I happened to see an old CB gelding advertised for sale in the local ‘free ads’; he was by Mulgrave Royal out of Blackhall Lady Zara but had never been registered with the Cleveland Bay Horse Society. I was put in touch with Barbara and (the late) Derek Martindale (Stainmore) who had owned Mulgrave Royal.

The old gelding checked out – his sire and dam produced many foals over many years and there were quite a few CBs in Scotland who had not been registered. I also learned that Mulgrave Royal had a fantastic temperament, ran with mares and covered in-hand wearing just a headcollar. Because I had been told so many bad things about CBs, we decided to ask a Senior Instructor at Gleneagles to assess the gelding. Her verdict was that his temperament was wonderful – a perfect ride for my novice hubby – but she did not think he would vet, which proved to be the case and so sadly we did not buy him.

However, we now had two sires on our ‘Look For’ list, but we did not want a very tall Cleveland Bay. Fate again intervened – two mares appeared on the Society’s ‘For Sale’ list, one by Borderfame Prince Charming and one by Mulgrave Royal, both a perfect 15.2hh! So, we went shopping for one Cleveland Bay and bought two – as you do. Acorn by Mulgrave Royal was not backed but Merindah, who is my husband’s horse, could not have been a better buy for a novice rider. She has never given him a moment’s anxiety and in the hands of the wonderful Barbara McVean (above left) gave a very good account of herself as a small show hunter.

FRANCE CALLING

Now that we had two pure-bred Category 1 Rare Breed mares, we thought we owed it to Queen and Country to breed from them, knowing the decline of the breed’s numbers. We felt our place in Scotland was not suitable, and had been looking for a retirement home in France for two years without success. Friends in Scotland had just found a small farm in the Loire and we decided to look around the area. Providence took a hand in our future again - the week before we left for our holiday, a small stud farm in the Loire region was advertised in Horse & Hound – in fact, the only time I have ever seen this region advertised in that magazine.

We viewed on the Saturday and again on the Tuesday, made an offer and went home to sell our Scottish house. This was in May. In November I moved to France to live on my own with three horses, while my husband continued to work in Scotland. A friend was horrified, and said to my husband “You have bought a farm with 30 acres and 15 empty loose boxes? I hope you have hidden the cheque book”. Wise advice!

Barbara Martindale has been a good friend and advisor to me over the years. Last year we decided to buy a stallion and she informed me that Whippletree Stud had a quiet young stallion for sale. We bought four year old Afondale Highlander (Tregoyd Journeyman – Baydale Tempest) and Beamish Rosemary (Tragquire Jason - Stainmore Briar Rose) who was in foal to him. Journeyman now stands in the USA and was the horse chosen by the model makers Breyer when they wanted to make a model Cleveland Bay. Again, he was renowned for his quiet temperament. Rosemary was a Champion filly foal at Hexham rare breed show, where the show judge described her as ‘delightfully self-possessed’.