From showjumpers and hunters to miniature Shetlands, Susan Cook has spent most of her life around horses and few events mean more to her than the Royal Highland Show.
The Shallochmill Shetland Ponies breeder, based near Girvan in south Ayrshire, will head to Ingliston this year with a team of five home-bred miniature Shetlands, continuing a journey which first began almost 40 years ago.
“I started off with showjumpers and hunters,” she said. “The first time I ever went to the Highland Show, I won the working hunter class. We were complete rookies and absolutely over the moon.”
That first success came in around 1987 with a home-produced horse, and Susan admits it was enough to leave her ‘hooked’ on the show from then on.
Over the years she has competed successfully in working hunters, showjumping and Highland pony classes, while this year will also mark her first appearance with a Clydesdale.
“I’ve nearly got the full Scottish set now,” she laughed. “Highlands, Shetlands and a Clydesdale. I’m stopping there though.”
Despite decades spent around larger horses, it was actually a top-level showjumper who introduced her to the world of miniature Shetlands.
Susan owned a talented mare jumping at 1.30m and 1.40m level, but the horse hated travelling alone and would become stressed in the horsebox.
“I thought I’d buy a miniature Shetland to keep her company,” she said. “It worked perfectly.”
That first pony travelled around the country alongside the showjumper before Susan eventually decided to try showing her.
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“I took her in the ring once and got last,” she said. “And I thought, if I’m going to keep a pony around, I want a good one.”
That decision led her to Pinglewood Stud, Warwickshire, where she bought two mares, Pinglewood Holly and Pinglewood Zola, more than 20 years ago.
“I was only meant to buy one, but it was a long journey home for one pony, so I brought two back,” she said.
Both mares are still at Shallochmill today and remain an important part of the stud’s foundations.
“Zola is actually the granny of the filly that won junior champion at the Highland Show last year, so that’s quite nice.”
At first, the Shetlands were something of a sideline while Susan continued competing with bigger horses, but the interest steadily grew.
A major turning point came after buying Halstock Orla from Devon.
“She wasn’t anything spectacular as a yearling or two-year-old, but when she turned three and I started showing her, she just came into herself,” Susan explained.
Orla won junior champion at the National Stallion Show before heading to Ingliston for Susan’s first Highland Show with a miniature Shetland.
“She won the class at the Highland, which was a huge moment for me,” she said.
At the time, miniature Shetland classes were still relatively new to the Royal Highland Show schedule, but their popularity quickly grew.
Today, Shallochmill is home to around 35 miniature Shetlands, alongside Highlands, a Clydesdale, Mediterranean donkeys and a Dexter cow.
“I do it all myself, so I don’t really want any more,” Susan said.
Temperament is one of the biggest priorities within the stud.
“I wouldn’t keep one with a bad temperament, no matter how good the breeding was,” she said.
While many of the ponies are bred with the show ring in mind, Susan also sells ponies into family homes and therapy settings.
“Not every foal is going to turn into a champion, but they still need to have a purpose,” she said. “Some have gone on to therapy work or homes with children, so temperament matters just as much as conformation.”
Handling starts early, with foals well used to people from a young age.
“They’re all friendly and well handled,” she said. “They’ll come and sit with you in the field. They’re just lovely wee animals to have around.”
Susan’s background with performance horses has heavily influenced how she judges movement and conformation in her Shetlands.
“With showjumpers, if they don’t move correctly you end up with soundness problems,” she explained. “I’ve carried that over into the Shetlands.
“They need to move properly, track up and use themselves well. I don’t like them too tiny either because you lose movement and substance.”
One of the biggest influences on the stud has been stallion Kerswell Sprite, bought seven years ago.
“He’s really stamped his stock,” Susan said. “Nice heads, good movement and good temperaments. He’s had a huge influence on the stud.”
Rather than sticking rigidly to one bloodline, Susan prefers to mix different lines carefully while avoiding breeding too closely related ponies.
“I study pedigrees a lot,” she said. “There are certain bloodlines I really like and others I avoid, but I don’t want everything bred the same way.”
The stud usually breeds around six or seven foals a year, although there are 10 on the ground this season.
Managing native ponies has also taught Susan the importance of keeping them naturally.
“The big sport horses were always rugged up and fed hard, but these ponies are different,” she said. “People can be too kind to them.
“They were bred to survive in harsh conditions, so they do best living out and being managed naturally.”
Most of the herd lives outside year-round, with grass management playing a major role in keeping them healthy.
Susan believes quality breeding has become increasingly important as interest in miniature Shetlands continues to rise again.
“They went through a stage where they were almost being given away, and now they’re back in demand,” she said. “These things go in cycles.”
However, she worries that some breeders are focusing too heavily on producing very small coloured ponies rather than concentrating on overall quality.
“I’d rather breed six or seven good ponies than 20 average ones,” she said. “Colour’s fine, but movement and quality still have to come first.”
That approach appears to be paying off.
At last year’s Royal Highland Show, Susan’s home-bred ponies enjoyed a particularly successful week, with Shallochmill Haile taking junior champion honours and Shallochmill Tutti Frutti winning the yearling class.
But for Susan, one of the proudest moments came during the grand parade.
“Hearing ‘bred by Shallochmill Stud, Girvan’ being read out over the loudspeaker over and over again was brilliant,” she said.
“To hear your own stud name announced like that at the Highland Show was probably as exciting as winning.”
This year she returns with another full team of home-breds and hopes to continue building the stud’s reputation.
Despite the competitive side of showing, Susan says the Highland Show remains one of the highlights of the year because of the atmosphere around it.
“It’s a full week away with friends who all have the same interests,” she said. “Everybody helps each other out and wants everybody to do well.
“You’re running about leading ponies, helping folk get ready and cheering everybody on. It’s just good fun.”
Her husband Stuart, who runs plant hire business Robert Cook Limited, has also become firmly drawn into the horse world over the years.
“When I met him, he had a dog,” Susan joked. “Now he’s got 40 ponies, donkeys, a cow and everything else that comes with it.”
Although originally less interested in horses, she says Stuart has become particularly fond of the Shetlands.
“He actually loves the ponies now,” she said. “He’ll walk round the field in the mornings before work checking them all.”
Looking ahead, Susan hopes to continue refining the breeding programme and producing home-bred ponies capable of competing at the highest level. “You’re always trying to improve and breed something better,” she said. “The dream would be to win the supreme championship at the Highland Show with a home-bred pony one
day.”
For all the championships and rosettes, though, Susan believes the real attraction of Shetlands is much simpler. “They’re clever, affectionate and full of character,” she said. “I always say they’re addictive. People buy one and then come back for another.
“They’re just brilliant wee ponies.”
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