The Dash of Blood

Few people today have heard of the Yorkshire Coach Horse. Yet in the 1880s foreign leaders, colonial settlers, the English royal family, American millionaires and someone as unlikely as Buffalo Bill sought the prestige of owning one.

Thanks to the dedication and determination of a band of pioneering Yorkshire farmers, with the backing of some prominent and wealthy patrons, the Yorkshire Coach Horse - a cross between a Cleveland Bay and a Thoroughbred racehorse - became the Rolls-Royce of its day.

No specialist knowledge is required to enjoy this entertaining and surprising book. The story of the Yorkshire Coach Horse takes us on a remarkable journey, from a small farm near York, to the world of liveried luxury in London, and onwards to the plains of Colorado, the dusty streets of Rome and the bushland of Australia. It reveals the extent to which horses were once a vital part of everyone's life, and follows the dealings and struggles of the Yorkshire Coach Horse Society as it fought to keep this beautiful animal at the centre of world attention.
 
Few people today have heard of the Yorkshire Coach Horse. Yet in the 1880s foreign leaders, colonial settlers, the English royal family, American millionaires and someone as unlikely as Buffalo Bill sought the prestige of owning one.

Thanks to the dedication and determination of a band of pioneering Yorkshire farmers, with the backing of some prominent and wealthy patrons, the Yorkshire Coach Horse - a cross between a Cleveland Bay and a Thoroughbred racehorse - became the Rolls-Royce of its day.

No specialist knowledge is required to enjoy this entertaining and surprising book. The story of the Yorkshire Coach Horse takes us on a remarkable journey, from a small farm near York, to the world of liveried luxury in London, and onwards to the plains of Colorado, the dusty streets of Rome and the bushland of Australia. It reveals the extent to which horses were once a vital part of everyone's life, and follows the dealings and struggles of the Yorkshire Coach Horse Society as it fought to keep this beautiful animal at the centre of world attention.