to a grey Shire stallion known as Shaw's Grey Horse of Scotland. The origins of the breed appear to be Irish, and the name Connors appears prominently in the breed history. In a poorly recorded interview, well-respected breeder Henry Connors gives some of the lineage of the horse. It includes horses with names such as Ben's of Bonafay, Jimmy Doyle's Horse of Ballymartin, Henry Connors' White Horse, The Lob Eared Horse, The Sham Horse, and Old Henry. The Irish cob can be traced to the 18th century but also was long considered a type, not a breed, and varied somewhat in characteristics, though generally was bred for light draught and farm work but was also capable of being ridden. It originated from crossing Thoroughbred, Connemara pony and Irish Draught horses. Beginning in 1996, breed associations and societies were formed in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Among these are the Gypsy Vanner Horse Society (1996), the Irish Cob Society (1998), the Gypsy Cob and Drum Horse Association (2002), the Gypsy Cob Society of America, later the Gypsy Horse Registry of America (2003), the Australasian Gypsy Horse Society (2007), and the NZ Gypsy Cob Association (2012). The first known Gypsy Horses to come to America arrived in 1996, imported by Dennis and Cindy Thompson, who created the Gypsy Vanner name and started a breed society. Names The breed was traditionally known as the Irish Cob. It was often referred to simply as a "Cob", although the term cob defines a short-legged, stout type of horse rather than a breed. Other names are used worldwide for the breed, such as Gypsy Cob, Gypsy Vanner and Tinker Cob, alluding to its association with the travelling community. The first known importers of the Gypsy Horse to North America, Dennis and Cindy Thompson, viewed the breed as unnamed and chose the name "vanner", calling their association the Gypsy Vanner Horse Society. A "vanner" is a light draught horse suitable for pulling a horse-drawn van or omnibus; the term dates to at least 1888. Before the formation of the American society in 1996, the word "vanner" appears in two printed sources in association with these horses. In 1979, Harvey described a Roma-owned horse as "[a] fair-sized vanner, about 15.2hh (15 1/2 hands) high, . . . [c]ross-shire, with a touch of Clydesdale? Lineage is often hard to trace." Publishing in 1993 in the first known