90th Birthday Celebration - what a shame...

R

Rollin

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... that during the wonderful programme on STV last night, not one mention was made of the Britain's oldest and rarest horse the Cleveland Bay, bred by our Royal Patron HM Queen Elizabeth II under the Hampton Court prefix.

The spectacle from Windsor made great viewing but whilst the Queen's pedigree cattle and dogs got a mention. Horses gifted to her from overseas, were included in the parade, the Windsor Greys (not a breed!!) were shown off but the horses pulling the Ascot Landau's seem to have played second fiddle to Monty Roberts.

It is particularly sad in view of the recent star letter to Horse and Hound.

It is very frustrating to those of us who love and breed Cleveland Bays.
 
This is a strange trend I've seen in a few programmes in the last four or five years, actually - loads of focus on the Windsor Greys, and on Her Majesty's racehorses, but nary a mention of the Clevelands. I don't really understand why, given that they're a) gorgeous, and b) a rare breed, but there you go. It's a rum do, and no mistake.
 
And they looked gorgeous in carriage procession. We have 5 pure bred and two part bred, 6 of which are mares/fillies. Temperament is fabulous and they can do so many things. If you follow the Cleveland Bay Open Forum FB site, you will see just how much the Americans and Australians are doing for the breed.
 
I always used to admire the Queen's Clevelands when I was at the stockyard in my younger days as when a member of Horse Rangers our horses used some of the paddocks over there.
 
I'msurprised too, seeing as the Queen helped the breed in the '60's. Mind you, the greys are 'pretty' and maybe the powers that BBC prefer to feature the Disneyesque horses than the really rare and interesting ones. It's all dumbing down I think. Such a shame.
 
I think it was just a case of dumbing down for the masses who don't understand horses and wouldn't know one breed from another apart from being able to tell the difference between a shetland and a cart horse (shire or the like - anything heavy is a cart horse to some people however derogatory those of us who love the heavies (you listening Hovis?) that term may be.
 
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