Libby of Croila (Owned by Carol Rafferty, Kingussie) at the HPS Breed Show in 2002 with Deer Saddle. Libby is a yellow dun mare and is what we call "a right good old fashioned stamp" of a Highland Pony mare. Libby often competes in-hand and also under saddle. Carol has had a lot of success showing this mare under saddle as well as having won the Working Highland Pony Trophy at several of the Scottish Shows. This picture shows Libby with a "Glenstrathfarrar" style of deer saddle which is much more common than the "Combination" style saddle seen elsewhere on this website. When doing film work in Glenfeshie a few years ago for the Musto Clothing Company, Carol and Libby assisted. the other pony there for Musto was Megan of Creag Dhubh who had grouse panniers. Grouse Panniers are used to carry the "day's bag" of birds home from the hill when out grouse shooting.

I will try and post a picture of one of our ponies with panniers on here very soon. I will also include some guidelines on how to correctly show a "deer pony" for those Highland Pony owners who have never taken a pony to the hill.

Noire of Croila at Blair Atholl 2005 with a Combination Deer Saddle being ridden by the "pony boy" or ghillie, in this case Joyce Wilkinson. Ruaridh's fiancee. The combination saddle is used to take deer of the hill in the same way that a normal deer saddle does but it is much more comfortable to ride in. It is not normally the ghillie that rides however and on a real Highland shooting estate it would be one of the guests that would ride out to save them walking out the hill, especially shooting guests in their later years but who still enjoy their sport. The combination saddle has normal stirrups like a riding saddle and saddle flaps too but has breechings front and rear with tying straps just like a normal deer saddle. You can see a drag rope hanging in case one hind has to be dragged behind and of course we still use a surcingle in leather as a safety in case the normal girths would burst to ensure the saddle does not slip and injure the pony.

Ann Arman has imported four mares and two stallions to Canada. Both stallions, Glenbanchor Corryvreckan and Glenbanchor Lewis have a lot of Croila breeding in them. She apparently drives the stallions as a pair. The now famous picture on the left is two Coulmore mares and is not actually the stallions. Ann and her husband, Ernie, run a cattle ranch, Circle H Ranch, in Lone Butte, British Columbia, Western Canada. Ann's family has the long-established Coulmore Stud just North of Inverness and I am sure most people will know Mrs Scobie her mother. I remember flying with her on the plane from Inverness when she was flying out to see her daughter to make sure that all the ponies had arrived safely at Circle H. She was very proud that her daughter Ann shipped ponies over to Canada and we are glad that she chose the two Stallions bred by Mrs Sally Leslie-Melville because of their high quality and of course their Croila Bloodlines.