The Highland breed lost one of its most dedicated and committed breeders with the sudden passing of a former breed president, Mrs Hilary Barker, at the end of April.

Mrs Barker’s introduction to the Highland breed began in 1978 when she was appointed conservation officer for the Parks and Recreation Department of Glasgow City Council. Her enthusiasm for the Highland breed soon brought its rewards in both the show and sale ring for the Glasgow City Council’s Pollok fold, making the Highland cattle there a 'must go and see' attraction within the city.

That same enthusiasm saw Hilary elected to the council of the Highland Cattle Society on no fewer on three occasions and taking on a three-year presidential role in 1991.

To say Hilary was very much a hands-on president would be something of an understatement. She was part of the team who were responsible for the Highland Cattle Society’s largest ever promotional exhibit, the Festival of Food and Farming held in Hyde Park, in the spring of 1989.

In the autumn of 1993, Hilary – along with myself (Angus Mackay) and Jack Ramsay – organised the first overseas Highland workshop in Bremen, northern Germany, followed by the first European open day staged at the Austie fold, in the east of the Netherlands.

Hilary’s great forte was in the layout and design of the society’s promotional exhibits and demonstrations. Both the Festivals of Food and Farming and the Highland breed demonstration held at the Royal Highland Show in conjunction with the first international Highland breeders gathering in 1995, were the result of her artistic talents.

I well recall when the secretary, Hamish Wilson, Allan Prentice and Hilary were putting the finishing touches to the society’s breed stand prior to the opening the following day. We had left Hilary putting the final touches to the backdrop, a highland landscape of some considerable proportions where she used her artistic talents to wonderful effect.

The following morning, it was more than a little apparent that Hilary was not long finished, so we spent the morning keeping our visitors well clear of this great work.

To put it bluntly, we were all ready to go but as they say the paint was still wet. Those of us who knew Hilary well will know exactly what I mean.

What we must not forget during all the aforementioned was that Hilary was in the process of developing her own Highland fold at Mid Torrie Farm, where along with her late husband, Bernard, she had developed a garden centre, Ben Ledi Plants, specialising in plants best suited to Scottish gardens.

They were also very much to the fore in the promotion of Highland beef sold under the name Barkers Highland Beef, which was a big feature at Stirling Farmers Market where both Hilary and her husband were very much at the forefront during the early years of the farmers market movement.

Hilary’s own Highland fold, without doubt, could have featured much more in both show and sale ring had she not spent most of her spare time helping others, in particular new Highland breeders, in the development of their own folds. Nothing gave her more pleasure than to watch them grow and gain success.

It would be quite wrong to say that Hilary ever retired, but on giving up full time employment several years ago, it gave her the opportunity to focus and further develop her artistic talent centering on her favourite subject – Highland cattle.

She painted animals set within the landscape of the Highlands, in all locations and varying weather as befits our terrain. I count myself lucky to be able to look each day at one of her paintings, a naturally posed cow and calf pair wading on the shoreline together on a hot summer day.

Her highly unique and original painting style can stand comparison with the very best of the great Highland artists of the past and has found favour with Highland cattle enthusiasts word wide. Like most great artists, the appreciation and value of her work will only increase over the years to come.

For all her eccentricities, Hilary was one of the most talented and warm individuals you could meet and a very true friend to all who had the pleasure to get to know her. She will long be remembered by all especially those within the world of Highland cattle.

ARM