Appleby Fair Gypsy Colored Cobs & Gypsy Cob Rescue Sanctuary  Appleby Fair Maiden (Fairy) Contents: About Appleby Fairy Gypsy Coloured Cob stud farm Detailed and impartial origin, history, breed description, uses of these cobs and dispelling some of the "new" mythology and growing misinformation re the breed and other hybrids that are being developed from it. We hope you enjoy the site and benefit by some of the extensive research Mrs Dunkley has done with respect of the breed.   About Appleby Fair Gypsy Coloured Cob Stud Farm Mrs. Dunkley, tho born and raised in England, had an Irish Mother who, annually, took her to Galway for her summer holiday. It was on these summer vacations that she fell in love with the fancy little coloured cobs that the Travellers (Gypsy's, Tinkers) drove to town on market day. She would sit up in the front bedroom window of her grand-dad's house on Prospect Hill and watch as they clip clopped up the cobbled roads and dream of the day she would have one of her own. Many years passed and she eventually became well known one of the foremost conservators of Dales ponies, accepted as having a good eye for a great pony and fearsomely protective of her breed, but she still dreampt of one day having a little Gypsy Coloured cob (aka Vanner, Irish Cob, Tinker Cob etc.....) For many years the Dunkley's waited for the right opportunity and cob to fit the bill. Eventually in the fall of 1999 their attention was, again, drawn to the breed, by way of a simply gorgeous in-foal piebald mare that Colin accidentally came across when attending to another shipment of Dales ponies destined for North Amercia. After tracking down her Gypsy owner and a bit of hard negotiation, he agreed to sell her to Colin making Appleby Fair Maiden or Fairy to her friends the first of, Appleby Fair Gypsy Coloured Cobs, the then newly established addition to the Canadale Stud. Fairy is as near perfect specimen of her breed as you will find. Standing 15.1 hands, she has an excellant small & pretty pony head and is well put together with excellant conformation. She has good even markings of as near 50x50% as one will ever see, showing black in her forelock, mane and tail and having two brown eyes, which is highly prized in these cobs. She is considered "a keeper" (expensive or not for sale) by the Travellers (Gypsies, Tinkers). Her temperament is both gentle and willing. In her first foaling, one month after her arrival, she produced a super little black and white colt foal, by one of the best Gypsy piebald stallions in Essex England. Fiddler is also super in every way and has been kept entire, for breeding purposes. Fairy, in 2001,  produced another black and white colt, Appleby Fair Legend, by a different  English exported stallion. Being another great cob he too was retained and kept a stallion.  In 2002 she produced a gorgeous black and white filly Appleby Fair Gypsy Blessing, Ceildah to the family, out of an Irish imported stallion and she is currently in foal for this year by another highly rated black and white English imported stallion . Fairy has proven herself in terms of type and temperament, fertility and quality of her offspring. She consistantly produces excellant stock. It is hoped that this too will be a filly to add to the growing herd. In the fall of 2000 Mr & Mrs Dunkley got together with another breeder of IRISH Gypsy Coloured Cobs in a form of co-op to maintain breed diversity whilst strictly adhering to breeding PURE and TRADITIONAL Irish Gypsy Coloured Cobs and through that co-operative the Dunkley's have acquired another stunning filly that is out of Willowwind Caira and by Appleby Fair Gypsy Fiddler... she will be Appleby Fair Kiss o' the Blarney and it is the Dunkley's sincere hope that in future years through and the number of Irish Gypsy Cobs that are available for the horse enthusiast to purchase at fair prices for TOP QUALITY. It is the Dunkley's sincere hope that this partnership with Willowwinds can be maintained in years to come and that through breeding and, possible, foal exchanges and future imports, by both farms, that can grow and produce quality PUREBRED foals at FAIR prices for the North American Irish/Gypsy Coloured/Tinker Cob enthusiast to enjoy. The Dunkley's hold Mr. & Mrs. Kramer of Willowwind farm in high regard, and as a leading authorities on Irish/Gypsy ColouredCobs AND the Dales Pony on this continant, and being renowned for quality of stock AND for integrity amoungst breeders AND buyers the Dunkleys endorsement is a recommendation that anyone can believe in.                             Fairy as featured in Scholastic's Book "Passion for Ponies"   About the breed Breed Name: some people believe it is ALL in the name..... These cobs go by many names They have been called: Travellers Horses ( 'osses in dialect) as well as Gypsy cobs, Gypsy Coloured Cobs, Tinker Cobs, Irish Cobs, Irish Coloured Cobs, Pikey Ponies, and the most fashionable of today, the Gypsy Vanner horse or now the newest the Drum Horse. Some of these names are honoring the breed and some disrespectful, not to the  horses or cobs but more to the people who developed them... the Travellers or Gypsy people. What is true is that whatever you call them they are remarkable and beautiful cobs or horses  worthy of respect for themselves.    Origin: British Isles (England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales) & Europe Many attribute the breed to being almost exclusively Dales crossed with large draft breeds of colour. Mrs Dunkley's research challenges this theory. It may be that there may be a little more Dales influence on the cob side, owing to the Travellers (of the British Isles) deep love of attending "Appleby Fair" which is held, annually, in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, but this leaning toward the Dales would be minimal in her opinion. The Travellers have a good eye for an, 'oss whatever its breed and it is more likely that many cob, sized and structured, breeds would have gone into the recipe that produced the Gypsy Cob... she believes that any heavy draft pony from the regions the Travellers visited would have been included, some examples of these would have been the Yorkshire Dales Pony, The Cumbrian Fell Pony, the Scottish Highland the Welsh Cob, Connemara bred to the Clydesdale or Shire to add even more bone density and the coloured element to the breed. The Gypsy Coloured Cob, aka all the other titles, is what is known as a LAND RACE breed, basically, a mixed breed or mongrel developed for purpose, type and colour therefore any pony or horse that the Traveller believed would bring some improving quality to the offspring would not be left out of the mix. History (breed development): There are several proposed breed history's and to remain impartial I am going to include a synopsis of each... and you can use your sense and or judgement to decide which seems more likely. Some will choose the more mystical and romantic others will select the one that is almost certainly more close to reality, whichever you choose what is certain is that bearing in mind the nation that developed the breed and their tendancy towards romance and mystique and the lack of education within this nation, owing to its transient nature, there are no written records or documents to support any history. Breed Description: Uses (Past and Present day): The primary use for this breed always has been and always will be HARNESS WORK.... It was designed and maintained as a draught cob/horse for pulling the covered Gypsy Wagons or Caravans or Vardos, as they they are known. Of course you can ride these cobs, but the really best of PURE and TRADITIONAL breeding and type will ride less gracefully than a horse bred exculsively for the task. There are those that promote this breed as being able to win dressage and show jumping competions. Be fair to the breed and don't believe them. If they are breeding a lighter sort of cob then it is NOT a true Gypsy Coloured cob (aka all the other titles). Drum Horses... this is the latest hybrid to gain interest.. let us dispel the rubbish about drum horses. Drum horses are ANY horse that is LARGE and carries a drum for parade work for Royalty or the Military.... if you look at any historical photos of drum horses they are distinct in that the have NEVER been one type or colour. Mrs Dunkley keeps an extensive collection of items depicting drum horses purely for education purposes for the Gypsy Cob and they are NOT all coloured cobs with heavy feather, tho resently there has been coloured heavy feathered horses in the Queens service historically she has had many solids WITHOUT any feathering whatsoever. The Queen has in the past been GIFTED her drum horses from Ireland and has never ever been known to breed them. Now Appleby Fair wants it made clear that we have no issue with people "creating" a new breed by hybridising from other breeds.. but feel that to misinform to create a market for them is not ethical. Mrs Dunkley has seen these so called Drum Horses and they are beautiful. It would be a shame however if this new breed was to fall prey to the recent trend of people selling off beautiful LARGE sized draft horses in favor of smaller draught cobs and ponies which are easier and more economical to maintain. Hopefully this will not befall this new breed.                              Appleby Fair Gypsy Legend also featured in  "Passion for Ponies"   Breed Status: Numbers in the thousands under no threat of extinction. Sadly the mixed heritage of this breed and the indescriminate breeding of mares leads to many lesser quality animals that either end up in meat market auction sales or sold cheaply to people who neglect and abuse them. An example of such abuse the Dunkley's had direct experience of... Mr. Dunkley was an officer in the Essex Country Fire and Rescue Service prior to his emigration to Canada in '91. Whilst undertaking that job he and his watch (crew) were awarded a citation by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for rescuing eleven Gypsy Cobs that were tethered and neglected on common land on his patch during a drought. The cobs had dragged themselves and their anchors into ditches for water and had become trapped in danger of dying in the muddy ditches. They rescued them and the horses were taken by the League for the Protection of Horses. The Dunkley's still have the press clipping of the event, not knowing at the time that they eventually would have Gypsy Cobs of their own. Just recently in a similar situation in the same area...  in Tilbury Essex, to five Gypsy Cob's or Vanners, will be destroyed for wandering into housing estates and causing traffic accidents. It is the understanding of the Dunkley's that these horses were rounded up and destroyed.This is just one area, but it should be know that many Gypsy cob foals and weanlings are found dead on common land in England and Ireland the result of hooligan kids riding them until they collapse and die of exhaustion. This is a common and not always cherished breed that frequently finds itself on the end of ill treatment. However it is worth pointing out that with a new interest from North America, many Gypsy's and European Horse dealers (or traders) are rubbing their hands with delight at the prospect of scalping huge sums for this mongrel breed and extreme caution should be exercised when dealing with people selling or importing these horses. Recently we were at a huge show in Ohio where there were TWO seperate English dealers who had imported numbers of these cobs for taking to this show for sale. They are also recruiting North Americans to act as their agents offering huge profits for their assistance. Use good sense, if it sounds too good to be true it is. Trust your instincts investigate people, get references and check them, and you are more likely to get satisfaction from a dedicated and long term BREEDER then a dealer any day... a dealer wants to sell a horse, put his money in his pocket and never hear from you again. Dedicated breeders with a reputation to protect will behave much differently.   Buying and Importing a GOOD Gypsy Cob: For breeding stock it is recommended that one buys as near perfection is can be obtained. Look for quality of type. Good conformation, colour,  temperament and health. For these things one really has to see what one is buying. Mr. and Mrs Dunkley have seen many poor specimens of imports that have been purchase for breeding, from club footed to wall eyed, undersized to ill mannered. Breeding stock these aforementioned types should be avoided at all costs. Through imports and selective & careful breeding Appleby Fair occasionally has some really noteworthy Gypsy cobs for sale. We will, also, happily seek top quality stock in the U.K. for clients. An import budget guideline would be in the range of $7,500 + (U.S. direct into the states) depending on quality for under two years old stock and owing to quarantine requirements allow 13,000+ for mature (even U.K. prebred mares) breeding stock. Canadale is currently working to develop an official society , club or registry for North America on the same lines as those that currentl exists for this breed in Europe, there are laws of tradition which the Dunkleys through their English and Irish roots, experience and reasearch can speak to being the foremost authority on this breed, too, in North America. We will adhere STRICTLY to the PURE and TRADITIONAL type and standards for the breed As this develops we will include updates to keep everyone up to speed. For more information on the true history, type (unofficial breed standard), temperament, availability of stock, imports, costs, etc.... with respect of these super cobs, contact them direct by mail, phone or e-mail canadale@hurontel.on.ca   Standing at Stud Appleby Fair Gypsy Fiddler: Black and white four year old English import stallion. Conforms exactly to breed type and is gentle as a kitten. 70/30% black, so puts more colour on his foals, for the very white mare. He has foals on the ground that are just super. Stud Fees $1,000.00 NFFR (No Foal Free Return)   Appleby Fair Gypsy Legend: Absolutely BEAUTIFULLY marked two year old, black and white, stud, out of English imports. He is gentle and has brilliant action. A really BIG boy in the making... will put even percentages colour on his foals AND size too... Stud Fees $1,000.00 NFFR (No Foal Free Return)                              The quality shows!   URL:http://www.canadaledalesponystud.com Layout, design &  revision Copyright © Canadale Dales Pony Stud. All rights reserved. Prepared by: C. Dunkley. February 2001. Last Modified: May 2003.