Shales Horse

ORIGINS
The Shales horses are direct descendants, and the modern equivalent, of the Norfolk Trotter or Roadster. The Norfolk Roadster was the pride of 19th-century England and its genetically dominant blood had a great influence on the breeds of both Europe and the US. It represents an under-pinning element in the development of most of the warmblood breeds as well as many of Europe's heavy horses. It is also at the very root of the American Standardbred harness racer.

THE NORFOLK ROADSTER
The foundation sire of the Standardbred was the 18th-century Thoroughbred stallion Messenger, a descendant of Blaze. Blaze's son, Original Shales, founded the dynasty of Norfolk Roadsters, and is responsible for the present-day Shales Horse, as well as for the high-stepping modern Hackney of the show rings. The trotting Roadster originated from the same source of eastern blood as the Thoroughbred racehorse, and for some time during the 17th and 18th centuries the Roadster's development ran parallel with that of the Thoroughbred.

The difference in the breeds' subsequent development lay in the social structures from which they sprang. The Thoroughbred was the result of the landed gentry's interest in racing and hunting. The Trotter, on the other hand, was a utilitarian horse developed largely by the agricultural community to meet their requirements for a travelling horse that could be either ridden or used in harness. For such a purpose the trot was an essential pace.

Up to the 19th century these formidable Roadsters were used more under saddle than otherwise. Their owners, in the English sporting tradition, took great pride in the prowess of their horses, and delighted in staging matches that resulted in some extraordinary records. Remarkable as they seem now, they were nonetheless commonplace among men who thought little of riding 100 km (60 miles) or more in a day. Those early trotting Roadsters could carry a heavy man at speeds of up to 25-27 km/h (16-17 mph) over some distance and on ground that afforded far from perfect going. It was only when the roads had improved sufficiently that the emphasis shifted to the harness horse, but for many years the Roadster continued to excel in both roles.

Even when the Hackney, a harness horse also descended from the Norfolk Trotter, was firmly established, some breeders, such as Lord Ashtown in Ireland, preserved "the old riding type" at his Woodlawn Stud in Co. Cork until about 1941, while the Monson family at Walpole St Peter, in Cambridgeshire, had a Hackney strain that produced predominantly grey hunters up to the Second World War. The Monson horses of this strain, such as Monson Cadet and Monson's Walpole Shales, feature strong] in the pedigree of the stallion illustrated these pages, Finmere Grey Shales.

THE MODERN SHALES
The modern Shales Horses have been bred by the Colquhoun family since 1922, when Elizal Colquhoun, bought a two-year-old colt Findon Grey Shales in Devon. Findon G Shales had been bred by Charles Monsol and with Black Shales had stood at the Duchy of Cornwall Tor Royal Stud for some years. The colt, bred by HRH The Prince of Wales (later the Duke of Winds was called Royal Shales. The grand-daug of Royal Shales out of Katinka, whose in line went back to the Thoroughbred, the Tetrarch, was a mare called Silver. In 1950 she gave birth to, Silver Shales sire of Red Shales and grand-sire of Finmere Grey Shales.

Versatility has been the hallmar. of the Shales breed, and indeed, S Shales was hunted, driven, and was a top-class polo pony as Shales horses, "quality cobs" of al 1.52 m (15 hh), are still ridden anddriven in the old tradition. Blessed the stamina of their forebears, they are hardy, extraordinarily good-tempered, and have an enviable record for producii competition stock. Outcrosses, for what now a rare breed, are confined to the occasional Thoroughbred, a practice that was followed in the development of the Hackney well into the 19th century.