CONTINUING a great run of form at the National Stallion Show, John Watson’s black stallion collected the champion sash in the standard section before going on to stand supreme Shetland for the second year in a row. 

That’s no mean feat considering the number of Shetland entries outnumbers the Clydesdale and Highland entries put together, but John’s Kerloch Rupert is no stranger to the tickets having also secured the supreme Shetland honours here back in 2014 as well as the Shetland title at the Great Yorkshire Show last year. The nine-year-old by Stow Review was bred by Mrs S Moro out of Burnbank Veda, and has a select number of mares to cover at John’s stud near Hartrigge, Jedburgh.

“I was very privileged to judge some lovely ponies but the champion is a cracking example of the breed and fit for purpose – you could pop a saddle or harness on him,” said the judge of the standard section, Mrs Wendy Toomer-Harlow, a former shower of Shetlands who now drives teams of heavy horses. 
“He’s very well put together, has a lot of presence and really fills your eye,” she added. 

Following Rupert all the way through from the stallion class to stand reserve supreme Shetland was another by Stow Review in the shape of Harry Sleigh’s Wells McCoy. This four-year-old out of Whitefield Pryde is another with some top titles to his name having stood supreme horse at the Royal Northern Spring Show as well as champion at the Royal Highland and reserve junior here, all last year, on his only other outings.

In the miniature section, judge Norman Blackburn, who runs the 50-year-old Newton stud, picked out Douglas Robertson’s Terregles Denzel as his champion. Having not shown at the Stallion Show for a number of years, Douglas thought he’d ‘give it a go’ and brought out the five-year-old stallion by Valsheda Flash out of Hermits Polly Flinders. On his show debut, Denzel is the first pony bred by Douglas, of Little Balmae, Ash Road, Terregles, Dumfries, and has been broken to drive. 

John Lawrie’s Edinburgh-based Milday stud secured the best of the rest of the tickets when his Milday Midnight Noir stood junior champion and reserve miniature while Milday Bella Boo stood reserve junior. The two-year-old colt, Midnight Noir, has stood first and second in his class on his only other outings and is by Tawna Rubus and out of Kinnoul Tabitha. 

See this week's issue of The Scottish Farmer, out February 18, for all the leading awards from the National Stallion Show.