The Highland Pony Society set to celebrate its centenary at The GWCT Scottish Game Fair this summer
The Highland Pony Society is set to celebrate its 100th anniversary at this years’ GWCT Scottish Game Fair when the event returns to Scone Palace in Perthshire from Friday 30 June to Sunday 2 July.
To mark the milestone, The Highland Pony Society will showcase the rare breed in the main arena as well as oversee the Fred Taylor Memorial Trophy for Working Hill Ponies. The popular showing competition will take place on the third day and attracts entrants from all over Scotland. Last year, Balmoral Alpine, a 17-year-old grey mare owned by the late Her Majesty the Queen, took home the top prize.
The Highland Pony Society enjoyed the patronage of the Late Her Majesty the Queen as its Patron, and a large breeding herd remains on The Balmoral Estate in Scotland. The Highland Pony is one of the two pony breeds that are native to the Scottish Highlands and Islands and has evolved and adapted over centuries to suit the variable terrain and often severe climatic and environmental conditions of Scotland. The breed’s essential hardiness is combined with a kindly nature and an even temperament that makes it suitable for a wide range of activities, including sporting estate work.
The aims of the Highland Pony Society, which is based just a 20-minute drive from Scone Palace itself, are: to maintain the purity of the Highland Pony Breed; to promote the breeding of Highland Ponies for riding, driving, showing and other purposes including sporting, forestry and farm work; to encourage the use of superior brood mares and good, sound stallions in breeding programmes; to promote the general interests of the breeders and owners of registered Highland Ponies and to encourage the registration of pure-bred stallions, mares and geldings in the Highland Pony Society’s Stud Book.
The Highland Pony Society’s president, Sylvia Ormiston, commented: “The GWCT Scottish Game Fair is the ideal place to raise awareness of the breed. We want to show visitors what work these hardy ponies are capable of. If you are interested in learning more about this historic breed and how it can provide a green transportation option for your estate, please come and speak to us.”
