WOW!!! Are you sure that is the same horse?
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Yes, indeed! Scroll to bottom of page for the twitter entry (2016) https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/features/1-unrecognisable-four-star-eventer-9-bits-fantastic-horsey-social-media-week-606461
He kept up at a high level for quite some time: https://www.britisheventing.com/about/people-and-horses/horse-profiles/MULRYS-ERROR-42976
Google his name & check for images----well known for the size of his feet and had his own twitter account for a while.
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My friend’s Connemara x Cob (about as Irish a mix as you can get lol!) came second in the Badminton grassroots BE100 back in 2013 `
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I was recently discussing cobs with a friend and said the same thing, except that I still feel there’s an untapped market for cobs in the USA - the show cob type, I mean. All the unflappable nature of a QH but much better feet overall, and known for being weight carriers.
I could totally see show cobs at the hunter shows too - you’d think the US market would lap them up!
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The horse I half lease is built like a large show cob and has gone training level with his owner very successfully and gets compliments wherever he goes.* We joke he’s an Amish WB. Supposedly he’s half Friesan, 1/4 TB and 1/4 Clydesdale. He fears nothing, but is also a fan of hijinks. I have seen other horses built like him around. The weight and fitness is a challenge.
- some are colorful, like the woman who exclaimed “look at that fat a$$!” as we went by in a warmup. When I started laughing hysterically, she clarified that she was a big fan of his very solid behind.
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Yes draft cross TB, Paint, or QH is another option for the North American lower level jumper or eventer.
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Most aren’t that tall, some are but it isn’t a hard search to find one in the 15.3 to 16.2 size.
I have two IDSHs, one is mostly TB by breeding, he is, errrr… A good boi but not what you want. There are days he isn’t what I want either 
The other is actually mostly QH by breeding, with Irish and Dutch from the sire. There are all sorts of crosses for the IDSH label. Most of them are known for being kind, gentle, easy, laid back. My 2 yo is this, and her sire is well known for ammie-friendly babies. Some IDs and IDSHs lines are known for being more of a pro-ride, lucky me that’s my gelding. My vet is an FEI vet and travels to vet at events, and she is always sending me pics of horses there who are all Irish crosses.
For size etc, my gelding is just a hair under 16h (maybe 16h with pads and shoes) and generally is in a med-wide tree; my filly is somewhere around 15.1h and a heckin chonk. She is a midyear baby so just turned 2 in July, I anticipate she’ll grow another hand.
Feel free to PM me if you have questions, I don’t breed so I’m not trying to sell you anything!
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Yeah - like a lead brick 
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The US has their own equivalent of the hairy cob. It’s the PMU. Sometimes called “American Warmblood” or “American Sport Horse”. The general combination is cold x hot, usually the cold on top. Different areas used different breeds: in the early 2000s most of the ones I saw in the NE were Percheron x Appendix, but I did see Clydes and Belgians too.
These guys could be purchased for sub-$200s in the early 2000s. I had two that I backed and started, but most of my experience comes from them being bought and flipped by a pro local to me. She would go with a trailer and pick up a bunch of them from Canada, back them and sell them as hunt and/or event horses after one season. I usually exercise rode them once they became client horses for one of my trainers. My sample size is only about fifty of them over the years but every one of them was amenable and uncomplicated. Some were cheeky in a good way. Most had huge feet, big heart, but not very athletic for speed pursuits. Their preferred speed was “snacking”. They made great hacking and hunt horses, but Training was about as far as they could go.
There are even people breeding these horses specifically for hunt horses in MD and VA, crossing them back on more blood or a 7/8 blood horse. It makes a hardy, athletic horse.
It’s worth pointing out I have three horses in our barn that are what you want: AA material, doesn’t need a program, honest, love bareback hacks in the woods, bop around lower level, good with kids – two are TBs and one is an STB. So it might be worth keeping an open mind and not shopping specifically for breed.
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Great to hear that you (and others!) have horses with the key characteristics I’m looking for - I’ll reach out to you when the time comes, I know we’re both in MA 
The idea of the cob is a fantasy/dream right now, I will definitely be open to all breeds/types when the time comes. Certainly, just for logistics, and likely budget, looking domestically and locally in the northeast/mid atl region for the right horse only makes sense before looking abroad.
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Many of the current UK show cobs are pure Irish Draught who aren’t tall enough to be show hunters. A real cob is a definite type but as they become rarer, and so harder to find, a heavyweight hunter-type that hasn’t quite got that extra ‘something’ in the show ring may be clipped and hogged and fattened up to become a show cob. “Maxi cobs” are a fairly recent invention and, personally, I’m not convinced.
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If you want Irish, short and good at eventing, look at Connemara crosses or even taller purebreds. Not as hairy as Cobs but likely to be more talented jumpers. They usually move well enough to do tidy dressage. Temperament varies between breeding lines in my experience - some are plods, some are hotter.
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I’ll clarify my original post - cobs I’ve had firsthand experiences with here are all of the traditional (hairy cob) type.
I’ve known some lovely draft crosses back in the States that would check all your boxes, OP. Plus, wasn’t Mulry’s Error a Clyde/TB cross? Thought i saw a video where Ben discussed his breeding. My absolute favorite field hunter in Virginia was a 3/4 TB, 1/4 Clyde gelding. Great brain, super athletic, sturdy, but very well put together.
The North American show hunter market would definitely not accept a UK-type show cob, at least not at the USEF level. Too heavy, generally too much knee action, and from what I’ve seen watching Royal Windsor and other Working Hunter classes, not at all the type of jump or picture they want. That’s not a dig on show cobs, it’s just a reminder the systems have very different styles and ideals. Not less than…just different. The type could be very useful for lower level hunters or all arounders for sure.
I still agree that Connies could potentially be a great fit for you OP. A friend of mine is having the time of her life on her young connemara mare. They just started eventing and she’s been a dream to bring along.
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If you want something like an RID in a smaller package, I would STRONGLY suggest you look at Connemaras and Connemara crosses.
And they “come out of the womb knowing how to jump”!
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Another pony is the New Forest. It is the least pony in type and so tends to run under the radar but they are fast, agile, good minded and thrifty. 14.2 max to be registered in the UK but taller accepted in the US. Forest Nymph
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With the Connemaras, do keep an eye out for Hoof Wall Separation Disease. It’s a genetic condition in the breed. It’s autosomal recessive, so it won’t show up unless both parents carry it, but it can be pretty awful to manage, and the Connie registries have somewhat of a mixed record on dealing with it.
Note that a Connemara cross will not be affected as long as the other parent has no Connemara blood. E.g. a TB/connemara F1 cross may carry it but won’t be affected.
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With Connies, I worry about the pony attitude- aren’t they a bit sassy? Also, tbh, I don’t know that my budget would get me a well bred and started Conn/ISH/RID. Budget will probably be at or under (likely under) 20k and I know that doesn’t go too far over here, and even over in UK my guess is the nicer prospects fetch more than I could afford with import costs- which is partly what led me to think more of the furry beasts with lower price tags.
Ah well, lots of great info to consider here so thank you all! I still have a couple years to mull over it all and hope prices come down, at least a little bit!!
You’re describing my current guy to a T (they even look similar!). He’s a Gypsy Vanner/warmblood cross, and is far more athletic than he appears at first glance. Game for anything, steady as they come, puppy dog personality with enough attitude to keep it interesting. He was easily jumping 3’6+ courses with a pro and also taught a few beginners to jump crossrails before landing with me as the perfect re-rider mount. Definitely more on the lazy side but perfectly willing to move forward if you ask correctly. I’d guess there are plenty of similar draft crosses that would fit your bill, but it may take more time to vet them as individuals instead of looking for a particular breed. I would never have gone for my current horse on paper but he’s exactly what I needed!
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They are more like morgans. Cobs are built to trot and to pull things and be the family horse. That they are also used as jumping and dressage horses is somewhat secondary to their original breeding. They should be an all around horse that a family would have had to ride and drive and maybe hunt too. They should be sensible enough that someone in the 17-1900s with limited horse experience can buy one, learn to harness it and it will keep them safe.
The piebald/ skewbald ones were typically travelers/ farm animals in Ireland and most native breed exclude those colors for that (classist!) reason so the bloodlines will be quite separate. Those piebald cobs can have absolutely anything bred into them, you never know.
Show cobs are another story as they can be a bit more like a small heavy hunter or a large pony than a typical all -purpose cob.
Pure bred connemaras can be a lot of horse, they often jump as high as a horse and are strong and big. Not usually first pony or non-competitive kid material.
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I paid 600 for my gelding (barn seizure, not perfect nor ordinary) and 4k for my filly as a long weanling. Horses cost what a buyer is willing to pay - neither was advertised at the price I paid.
Oddly I didnt haggle on the price of my grade but perfect pony, wrote a check and ran away cackling with mad glee.
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