A pair of horse breeders  were in England looking at draft horses to import to the U.S. While driving along a country road one evening, they saw a little black and white spotted stallion across a moonlit field. He was unlike any horse they had ever seen - a compact draft-type horse with a full mane and tail. He came flying across the field to greet them with his feathered feet flying. They returned the next day and talked to the farmer who owned the field. The farmer said that the little stallion belonged to a gypsy who kept a band of mares that looked just like the stallion.

The couple managed to meet the gypsy who was part of an itinerant population of gypsies who keep bands of horses throughout the English countryside where they are attended to by the children. Although 80% are sold for the meat and riding trade in England, the gypsies value 20% of their breed as true quality horses and keep these horses for themselves. They do not have a name for the breed, and the horses go by colorful names such as Bill's Good Stallion, etc. Only the most beautiful, even-tempered horses are deemed worthy to pull the gypsy caravans.

They spent 2 years researching the criteria and breeding valued by the gypsies. They came up with the name Gypsy Vanner horses after viewing a photograph in an old book. Eleven years ago, they introduced the breed to America at the Kentucky Horse Park and the rest, as they say, is history. Although many horses bred by the gypsies have been imported to America, the horses of Gypsy Gold and the registry known as the Gypsy Vanner Horse Society safeguard the standards of the true Gypsy Vanner horse as prized by the gypsies themselves.