The sale came out of the blue, especially in the midst of a worldwide pandemic.
“This February I was contacted through my Bighorn Clydesdale Facebook Page by a lady wondering if I had any black fillies for sale,” explained Lacey Unterschute, owner of Bighorn Clydesdales. “This became a bigger conversation -- one that ended with a yearling and a two-year-old now residing in Scotland.”
“I had a vet(erinarian) out to inspect both fillies -- called a pre purchase exam -- to assure the buyers that the horse were healthy and sound,” explained Unterschute.
“After making sure all vaccinations required were administered, they were placed in quarantine at a facility near Calgary where they flew out of. A minimum of 30-days of quarantine is needed.”
They ended up staying longer due to waiting on flights.
Unterschute explained the company in Britain that deals with shipping horses by air was focused on getting 300 equestrian horses to the Summer Olympics in Tokyo and that caused delays in getting her Clydesdales on an airplane.
Each horse also needed to be microchipped and each received their own equine passport for international travel.
And “like if travelling to the US, they each needed a negative Coggins test and health papers drawn up prior to departing,” noted Unterschute.
The horses finally flew direct from Calgary on Sept. 7, to Luxembourg.
“They were looked over by a vet to ensure all was well, documents were checked and after they had a bit of a rest they were put on a trailer and continued on,” said Unterschute.
They were ferried over to Dover, England.
They arrived in Newmarket, where they stopped and had another rest.
“The last day they travelled through England up to their new home in Scotland,” said Unterschute.
Unterschute said she is awe of the trip her mares took.
“Oh what I would have given to be able to see the countryside that they saw out of their trailer windows,” she said.
They arrived late Sept 10, (11th in Scotland).
The sale was a special one for Unterschute.
“I have sold horses all over the US and Canada but this was the first international sale for me,” she said.
But, why the interest from a country where the breed originated?
Unterschute said in the past much of the best black Clydesdale stock was exported to Canada for big prices, and that all but left the black horses extinct in their native country.
“With reduced numbers of black Clydesdale numbers in Scotland it's a wonderful feeling to know you have hopefully contributed to future generations of these beautiful horses back in their ancestral country,” she said.
As it is Unterschute herself is a relative newcomer to raising the big horses.
It was only in 2002 that the first Bighorn bred Clydesdale was born - a black filly.
That was the beginning of Bighorn Clydesdales, said Unterschute.
That first mare came from long time Clydesdale breeder, the late Greg Gallagher.
Unterschute said Gallagher and her father often helped each other with harvest and other work. One year Greg offered to pay her father and he refused.
“One day I was drawing a picture of a horse and Greg said ‘Oh you like horses’,” she said, adding “he has a twinkle in his eye.”
Soon, Greg brought the young artist a yearling mare. He would later breed the mare to a stallion for her, and her path was set.
The two fillies sent to Scotland are a granddaughter and great granddaughter of ‘Donegal Dr. Pepper’ - the 2011 World Clydesdale Stallion and supreme horse at that show in Madison Wisconsin. He was bred and raised by Gallagher.
“I had used ‘Doc’ for a couple of years,” said Unterschute. “I retained a couple of mares and sold a couple of stallions off Doc before he sold him. One stallion is currently being used in Ontario at a breeding farm.”
Lineage can be traced back to original mare
Today, Unterschute has between 20-30 horses at any one time, most still tracing their linage back to the original mare.
“All are registered Clydesdales, mostly black, with a white face and four white feet,” explained Unterschute.
“I have two black stallions that I use for breeding mares. I had 11 mares with these two this summer for April 2022 foaling.”
So why Unterschute’s love of the big black horses?
“Anyone who has been around a Clyde can't help but to fall in love with them,” she said. “They are people pleasers.
“Many people think that they are only a hitch or carriage horse. But people are beginning to realize that with their calm nature they make excellent riding horses.”
And, what of the now Scottish lassies?
“I do hope to be able to see Skye and Raya again,” said Unterschute, adding she has an eye on an upcoming event.
“There have been World Clydesdale shows in Canada and the USA, but next year is the first time that Scotland will host the World Show, (Oct. 20-23),” she said. “As of right now they plan to show them (the two mares) at this show. It would be a dream to see them in person at this show.
“We will have to wait and see what the future brings. COVID-19 and the shape the world is in then will play a big factor if travel is an option for us.”
Also Lacey and husband Brett have three boys; 1 month old Kayce; Declan 4 and Jasper almost 6-year-old that makes it hard to get away, she added.
But the event is alluring.
“The World show discussed having a 'Breeders Tour" immediately following the show, where they would take breeders from Canada and the USA to the farms and breeders in the UK,” said Unterschute. “They want to build relationships between breeders to strengthen the bloodlines of the Clydesdale to ensure a healthy future for these beautiful horses.”
Unterschute said she is proud to be part of strengthening the breed in its native country.
I'm happy that some of these good black bloodlines found their way back to Scotland,” she said. “It’s only right that’s where they should be.”
