page_title: Gypsy horse
section_title: Uses
hierarchical_section_title: Gypsy horse / Uses
caption_attribution_description: Tinker
context_page_description: The Gypsy Cob, also known as the Traditional Gypsy cob, Irish Cob, Gypsy Horse or Gypsy Vanner, is a type or breed of domestic horse from the islands Great Britain and Ireland. It is a small, solidly-built horse of cob conformation and is often, but not always, piebald or skewbald; it is particularly associated with Irish Travellers and English Romanichal Travellers of Ireland and Great Britain. There was no stud-book or breed association for horses of this type until 1996. It is now considered a breed and can be registered by the Traditional Gypsy Cob Association.
  From about 1850 travelling people in the British Isles began to use a distinct type of horse to pull their vardos, the caravans in which they had just begun to live and travel. The colour and look of the breed were refined in the years after the Second World War. Horses of this type were first exported to the United States in 1996.
context_section_description: Gypsy Cobs are shown and traded at traditional horse fairs, of which the Appleby Horse Fair is the largest in Europe. Many Travellers and Romani travel to the fair in traditional horse-drawn caravans and vardos. American photographer John S. Hockensmith documented such a journey in 2004, travelling with and photographing the Harker family's 60-mile (97 km) journey to Appleby in bow-top living wagons. Capstick and Donogue also published photographs taken at Appleby Fair, some vintage, and Jones published photos taken at Yorkshire horse fairs, some from the early 1900s.
  In North America, the first known show classes dedicated to the Gypsy Horse were held at the Colorado Horse Park on 28–29 August 2004, during its annual draught horse show, employing the breed standard of the Gypsy Cob Society of America, now the Gypsy Horse Registry of America. The first Gypsy breed show, the Ohio State Fair Gypsy Vanner Horse Show, sponsored by the Gypsy Vanner Horse Society, was held in 2005 in Columbus, Ohio. Currently there are a number of breed shows for the Gypsy Horse in the US and Canada.
  In the United States, the Gypsy Horse is used in many equestrian sports, by amateurs and youths. In 2004, the United States Dressage Federation accepted the Gypsy Vanner Horse Society as an affiliate member, allowing horses registered with GVHS to compete in its dressage and dressage-related events. The Gypsy Horse Association was accepted into the USDF programme in 2008; two other coloured horse associations had joined by 2011.
caption: In harness
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