Five Minutes With... CM Sporthorses

After a fairy tale horseback wedding, Craig and Michelle Coburn purchased Michelle’s Grandparents’ lovely property in Minnipa, on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, and a home base for CM Sporthorses was established!

Both Craig and Michelle have been extensively involved with horses all their lives and are now using their experience and knowledge to focus on breeding Cleveland Bay, Warmblood and Coloured Sporthorses.  They managed a Thoroughbred Stud in the Hunter Valley for several years and are now living the dream of breeding their own horses.  Craig and Michelle aim to provide a sane, sensible, sound horse for people who want something a little bit special.

CM Sporthorses are in the process of converting a section of their property into a Veterinary Consulting room/clinic, Artificial Insemination Centre, and a Fodder/ Saddlery/Pet and Agricultural Supplies.

Busy Michelle not only manages CM Sporthorses, but also runs the SA Equine Forum, is Admin Officer for the local SES, Vice President and an instructor at the local Pony Club and is on the local Progress Association Committee.  Michelle manages to do all this despite suffering from the debilitating Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.  However, in the face of this terrible condition Michelle remains positive and loves still being involved with the horses as much as she can, stating that they’re great therapy!

Craig does most of the hands on work with the horses and around the property.  He has done an amazing job updating and improving the amenities since the couple moved to SA and they now have a fully functioning breeding facility.  Craig is also the local SES Unit Manager, an Instructor at Pony Club, volunteers a lot of his time and effort into the local community and is the Secretary for the CBHSA.  He is always busy doing something!

CM Sporthorses have donated a service to the Stallion Service Auction that Horsezone are running next week, so we thought we’d have a quick chat to Craig and Michelle...

Craig and Michelle, living in SA you’re a long way from the regions that were most badly affected by the floods, what made you decide to donate a service to the auction?

Well, we figured it would be our way of helping out a little – we, as I am sure there are many other horse owners and breeders in Australia, are not in a position to say ‘hey, here’s $1000 for you’ and giving to one of the various organisations that are currently taking donations for flood affected people, you are never quite sure where the money will end up – ie: how much ends up in the pockets of the ‘collectors’ of the cash for ‘administration’ purposes....

Donating a service to HorseZone and Equestrian Australia – we know that money raised will go to the horse owners/breeders in need in the affected areas.

We think too, that by donating a service, it lets the affected people know that everyone who has donated and those who have placed bids on those services, are thinking about them, and wanting to support them! 

I believe you’ve organised it so that whoever wins the CM Sporthorses service can choose from your three Cleveland Bay stallions the one they would like?

Yes, whoever wins the service can choose from one of our three Cleveland Bay Sporthorse boys - Billara Beersheba, CM Bedford Forrest and CM Oberon Toblerone (pictured right) – for their mare, dependant on what they wish to achieve with the foal and their mare’s strengths as well.

Each of the boys have their own strengths and one would suit the winning bidder perhaps better than another – so we have decided that it is up to the winner of the service to choose their favourite boy from our Cleveland Bay Sporthorse Stallions.

We would love to have been able to donate three services – however we have quite a few bookings already, and do have to think about what space we have available this coming breeding season.

What are the traits that you love most about Cleveland Bays, especially your stallions?

We fell in love with the Cleveland Bays at different times – I had discovered them and was already hooked on their temperament, their lovely soft eye, their willingness to try whatever they are asked and their inquisitiveness about the world around them, and when I met Craig, he met my ‘baby girl’ that I had bred and it wasn’t long before he was hooked too!

The Clevelands just have such a trainable nature, a level head and don’t tend to have the ‘big’ reaction to things like some other horses do.   The Cleveland Bay is the oldest pure breed of warmblood horse in the world, as much as some don’t like to admit it, and has been a part of the makeup of most of the other WB breeds.

Which sports/disciplines do Cleveland Bays excel at?

All of them!!  Seriously – Clevelands can turn their ‘hoof’ to anything at all.  There are many Cleveland Bay Sporthorses (and overseas – purebreds) performing well in Dressage, Showjumping, Eventing, Competitive Carriage Driving, Vaulting, Stock work and basically anything you want to throw at them – they will do, and do well! 

Partbred Cleveland Bays have competed and done very well in the Grand National Horse Race in the UK, Buffalo Bill used them in his displays and work in the early days in North America, the Queen uses them as carriage horses in the UK, they have competed in Olympic Games, International Eventing, and are also calm and so easy going that they can be used by Adult Riding Club and Pony Club members.

Here in Australia and New Zealand, the Cleveland Bay Sport Horses have proved they have the goods to go to the top with a number of them being exported to North America, the UK, Japan, Hong Kong and Europe.

The Cleveland Bay really is a TRUE ‘Allrounder’!

What other breeds cross well with Cleveland Bays?

The Cleveland Bay is so dominant that when crossed with other breeds, even down to 12.5% CB blood, the traits shine through.

Cleveland Bays cross very well with Thoroughbreds, Anglo Arabians and other WBs, and many breeders have found that they also cross well with Quarter Horses, Clydesdales (and crosses), Stock Horses and a huge variety of other breeds.  It comes down to the horses being bred for a specific job, and using the appropriate blood from other horses to help achieve their goals with breeding a foal.

You’ve had a big start to 2011 with a trip to the Royal Melbourne Horse Show – how did your horses go at the show?

We entered two of our babies in the RMHS, and could not have been happier with the results!

CM Independant Miss (aka Indy - pictured left), an August 2009 born 75% Cleveland Bay filly by our boy, Billara Beersheba,  has been down at Aldinga Beach, just south of Adelaide, at Lyndsworth Lodge with Kath Hurrell and Nicola Chadburn since June 2010.   These ladies have done a FABULOUS job with her training, feeding, turnout and showing (in hand of course at this stage), and Indy really has such a firm relationship with Nikki.  Indy has done VERY well in South Australia since that time, with a couple of Supremes, Champions, Reserves and many placings (mostly 1sts!) between July 2010 and December 2010.  So taking her to Melbourne was just the next step, to see how she would do against the horses interstate!

Indy was an absolute superstar – and had dealt with the big trip from Aldinga Beach to Lara – which took 12 hours with a few rest stops along the way for a walk around to stretch the legs, on the day prior to the show, and then a very early morning on the day of competition.  She was a tired girl, however, despite falling asleep with her head in her feed bag at the side of the float, woke up enough to go into her classes!

She placed well in the Led WB Yearling Filly class – and was up against the progeny of some extremely well known stallions.

In the Cleveland Bay ring, she won both of her classes, and was awarded Reserve Champion Cleveland Bay Sporthorse.    To say we were thrilled is a massive understatement.

In both the CB and WB rings – she was under the judge Mary Hanna – a wonderful and extremely knowledgeable lady!

CM Sorta Sassy (pictured right), also by Billara Beersheba, competed in the Cleveland Bay ring in the same classes as Indy – Sassy was already in Victoria where she had been staying with Arlene Sheen at Lara.

This was her first outing, and she was led by a lady she had never met before – Debbie Fraser-Howe (who incidently has another of our foals but she wasn’t competing at the RMHS), and Sassy was such a gem.

I should also explain that both Indy and Sassy were the only two ‘babies’ and were in against the adult mares and geldings in their classes.

Sassy placed 3^rd and 4^th in her two classes (that of course Indy won), and we could not have been happier with those results either! 

Considering Sassy is out of a little Welsh/Arabian pony mare, for her to place so well against the adult CBSH’s that was an even bigger thrill.

We feel that it is a huge feather in our cap so to speak that two of our youngsters took on the RMHS and did so well!

What are your plans/goals for CM Sporthorses for 2011 and in the future?

Our main goal is to breed some lovely healthy foals, many of which already have a list of people wishing to be notified when the various mares have their foals, and place them with people who will get them out and compete down the track, in hand and under saddle in their chosen discipline.

We are also equally keen to have people who perhaps don’t want to go to the highest levels of competition take our babies on to be their best friends and companions for many years.   

It is important to us that our foals lead happy, healthy lives, and we love to keep in touch with the owners of our youngsters as much as possible.

With the Artificial Insemination side of our new business being in the works at the moment, we are hoping to be able to offer chilled semen to people, which will most definitely increase the amount of services to the boys – at this stage, some people are a little reluctant to send their mares out into the ‘middle of nowhere’ – though when they actually price the transport of the mare to and from us, as we are right on the highway that goes from East to West, they realise it’s not THAT big a task!

We plan on doing Embryo Transfer with CM Independant Miss in a couple of years’ time, so that she may continue her career in the show ring and begin one in the dressage arena.  Our hope is down the track to be able to perhaps sell embryos from some of our mares, particularly those like Indy who are doing extremely well out on the circuit.

Ultimately, we would like to have our youngsters get out and shown a bit more along with the Stallions, however, being a minimum 10 hour drive with the horse float to the closest show down towards Adelaide, it does make it difficult – particularly with our other commitments here at home and the fact that most of the shows are in the middle of breeding season – so the boys are ‘working’ at the time too.

We run our boys with their mares most of the year round, and this makes for happier stallions who are well socialised and happy to go anywhere and do anything that is asked of them.  If they are not with their girls, they often have another colt or gelding with them for company. 

At the moment we have a lovely collection of mares in our broodie herd, however we are always on the lookout for more Cleveland Bay Sporthorse and WB mares who will compliment the Stallions. 

Our goal is to produce a sane, sound horse for riders not only at the top but at any level.  We feel we have achieved this so far, and look forward to continuing to do so as the years go by!

Thank you Craig and Michelle for your time and for donating a service to the stallion auction and we wish you (and your Cleveland Bays!) all the best for the future!