Sadly she didn't take but went back in April 2000 and was tested in foal for spring 2001. Disclaimer: this is my personal home page: any views expressed here are purely my own, not representative of the University of Dundee, the Highland Pony Society, or any other body.
The first lot of pictures was taken during a private visit to Mrs Joan Alexander's Fourmerk Stud in September 1997. They show two stallions which were standing at Fourmerk that year and one of the yearlings getting a scratch from Joan. The yellow dun stallion, The Bard of Finnlarig, has since been cut, broken to ride and sold on (pictures taken August 98).
Innes of Invervack, the grey stallion, is still standing at Fourmerk, along with homebred grandson Kestrel, see below.
A second lot of photos were taken on a return visit in May 1998. Innes was still at Fourmerk and a homebred black stallion, Kestrel of Fourmerk, was also available. Kestrel won a HPS premium that year and his foals were therefore eligible for a foal grant under the scheme then running (NB the HPS no longer run the Premium or Foal Grant schemes. His first 2 foals, a colt and a filly, had been born within the last month. The filly was Fourmerk Rowan, out of Fourmerk RoseMaree, who I later showed at the Breed Show for Joan - the filly won her class and went on to win others before sadly dying of grass sickness as a 2yo.
OK, this was Bard a few weeks after being backed. Quite a length of stride and going very well.
And here's Kestrel at Ayr Show in May 1999, just before Briagh went to see him for the first time.
Sadly she didn't take but went back in April 2000 and was tested in foal for spring 2001.
Kestrel went on to take two further consecutive HPS Premium awards, and after the third award became the only Life Premium Highland stallion standing at stud in Scotland. He has continued to produce top quality youngstock - though Rowan sadly died of Grass Sickness her full brother Ruaridh won the foal class at the Royal Highland Show in 1999 before being sold on to Derbyshire. Full brother in 2000 was Rannoch who came 7th at the RHS that year and won at Stirling Foal Show in the autumn. He is being retained by Fourmerk as a potential stallion and should be seen out at the shows once these start running again. Another Kestrel filly, Hope (out of Duncrub Holly) is exceptionally pretty and should also be shown in due course, though she was a later foal so may not come into her own until maturity. And of course Briagh is expecting her first Kestrel foal in 2001.
In spring 2001 Kestrel went to be produced under saddle by Jane McNaught, whose successes with the stunning gelding Acorn O'Kinnoull in showing and later WHP classes are well known. Here are a couple of photos of Kestrel in April 2001.
For further details and pictures, why not visit the Fourmerk Highlanders website which I developed for Fourmerk a couple of years ago.
|
E-mail: a.douglas@dundee.ac.uk
|  |
Copyright ©A Douglas 1997 |