Eriskay Pony Society

It has recently been announced that the RBST approved Doonies Rare Breeds Farm in Aberdeen is to close after 30 years.  The farm, which is one of only 2 such approved farms in Scotland has fallen victim to the regeneration and expansion of Aberdeen South harbour and the land is intended to be used for an energy transition zone.

Aberdeen City Council, who own the land and buildings and did not want to renew the lease, have agreed with Graham and Debbie Lennox that the lease will be terminated later this year which means this incredibly popular attraction will shut down in August with all the stock either sold or moved on to new breeders.

The farm was originally operated by the City Council, with Graham as manager, but was due to be closed in 2008 as a cost cutting exercise.  After negotiations, and a lengthy public campaign to save the farm, Graham and his family took on the lease along with the livestock and, from 2010, ran it as a visitor and educational attraction increasing visitor numbers by 50%.

Generations of children from local school groups, families and tourists have visited the farm to see the rare and native breeds on display, hear all about the role they played and continue to play, in Scotland’s agriculture and landscape and to learn where their food comes from.

The farm is home to a famed herd of English Longhorn cattle as well as numerous breeds of sheep, pigs, poultry, Clydesdale horses and, of course, Eriskay ponies.

Under the Doonies, and latterly Altens, prefix, the Lennox family bred a lot of Eriskay ponies with their foundation stallion, Auchenbrook Ptarmigan, and mares Misty and Rhona, contributing greatly to the overall population of this native pony which remains a Priority breed for the RBST.

On a personal note, my wife bought our first Eriskay, Doonies Brogach, from Graham in 2005 to be followed in 2014 by Altens Alice.  This started our interest in the breed and since then we have gone on to breed two of our own ponies from Altens Alice, using the EPS owned stallion Whitney Harrier.  We also have a young stallion, grandson of Ptarmigan, and it is reassuring to know that the bloodlines established by Graham at Doonies will continue.

The Eriskay Pony Society is incredibly saddened to hear about the Doonies story coming to an end and we want to extend our grateful thanks to Graham, Debbie, and their family for what they have done over the years for Eriskay ponies as well as many other rare and native breeds and we wish them all the best for the future.

Steve McMinn, Chair, Eriskay Pony Society.

The Eriskay Pony Society was delighted to be announced as the winner of the RBST Scotland Food and Farming Sustainability Award for Native Breed Society of the Year 2023. The award was presented to the Society at the Royal Highland Show by the Chair of RBST’s Conservation and Research Committee, Claire Saunders and was accepted by Mary McGillivray, Breeding Advisor, and Nigel McWilliam, Treasurer, on behalf of EPS.

The award reflected the ongoing work that the Society is doing to protect and preserve this Priority breed including the DNA project with Nottingham Trent University, now entering it’s second year, and the placement of stallions around the UK to where they can be of most use to the breeding population. The Society continues to encourage appropriate breeding through it’s use of SPARKS and the availability of breeding grants as well as advice and further support.

This year marks 50 years of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust’s work to save and safeguard the future of rare and native livestock and equine breeds. The Watchlist is the annual situation report for these breeds, reflecting robust measures of the genetic diversity within each breed as well as the numbers of breeding females registered and in 2023 the Eriskay Pony remains in the Priority category.

On publication of the 2023 Watchlist, RBST CEO Christopher Price said ”It is also notable how well the keepers of our rare equine breeds have managed to navigate the impacts of the pandemic, when they needed to work within restrictions which put breeding opportunities at risk. For some of our rare equines the number of breeders is increasing, thanks to a strong equine market and growing appreciation of these breeds’ unique characteristics and modern uses. However we will be keeping a close watch on the impacts of the economic downturn, especially the small pony breeds.”

The Eriskay Pony Society was also present when RBST Scotland held a reception within the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood to celebrate RBST’s 50th anniversary but also to mark the formation of the RBST Scotland Support Group. This was hosted by Jim Fairlie, MSP, and invited guests included MSP’s, Scottish Government officials, RBST Scotland members and the Breed Societies for Scottish breeds on the Watchlist.

Addressing the event, RBST Scotland Support group Chair, Steve McMinn, said ”We want to gain widespread recognition that native livestock and equines are a key part of Scotland’s biodiversity and its national heritage.” He went on to say ”Whilst it is easy to see livestock breeds being part of our heritage and agricultural culture, we should not forget native equines” and ”Overall, RBST Scotland will continue to press the case that native breeds are worthy of support because they are a cherished and fundamental part of our heritage”.

More details about the Watchlist can be found by going to http://www.rbst.org.uk

The AGM of the Eriskay Pony Society will be held on Saturday 22nd April 2023 at the Auchterarder Parish Community Church Centre, 24 High Street, Auchterarder, Perthshire, PH3 1DF starting at 2pm. This will be a blend of in-person attendance and video conferencing via Zoom and members wishing to attend via Zoom are asked to contact the Society in advance, and by the Friday beforehand at the latest, and they will be sent the link. Land line telephone can be used to join the meeting via audio only.

There will be a soup and sandwich lunch served from 12 noon and anyone intending to come for lunch is asked to contact the Secretary, Ruth McMinn (secretary@eriskaypony.org or 01467 681231) for catering purposes. There will also be tea and coffee available so please come and join us if you can.

After the AGM business and open forum, we will be hearing from Judith Barker about her experiences with, and her observations of, the lifestyle, management, behaviour and history of the horses of Mongolia. Judith has been on four trips to Mongolia, including one research expedition with Col John Blashford Snell, CBE, in which she reported to the Royal Geographical Society on the native horses of Mongolia – their lifestyle in the extensive terrain, and management by the Mongolian herdsmen who depend on them for their existence. Judith has just returned from an adventure incorporating riding, the Ice Festival and Reindeer people.

Work is progressing well on the Eriskay Pony Society DNA project which is funded by a generous grant from the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) along with a sizeable contribution from the Society’s own funds.  The project started in spring when owners were asked to submit a hair sample from their pony, using the kit supplied free by the Society, and it was stressed at the time that this was open to all Eriskay ponies, no matter which stud book they were registered in. 

Over 100 samples were collected and sent to Nottingham Trent University’s School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences and Senior Lecturer, Dr Samuel White, has just provided EPS with an update on how the project is progressing. 

Dr White said ‘’Having now extracted the DNA samples from the hair, we have been performing quality checks and optimising our sequencing procedure so we can target the genes of interest.  The extracted DNA is now termed a ‘library’ as it is waiting to be ‘read’ by the sequencer.

We have been reviewing this sequencing method to ensure we evaluate all the regions of DNA that are of value to us, and thus will enable the widescale genomic profiling and integration with breeding data.

As we have now largely undergone the process of optimising this tailored Eriskay specific profiling with the samples, we should be in a position to start running our library when we return after the Christmas break.

Once the samples are fully sequenced, we will then be able to delve into all of the exciting data and start to integrate this with the breeding data for a real-world impact. We are all very much abuzz with anticipation for this novel and highly valuable data and it is so exciting to think soon we will have a genotyping profile of the Eriskay pony for the first time’’.

EPS Registrar, Lorna Holden, said ‘’We are very grateful to all the owners who took part in this project by sending in hair samples from their pony and the information we will get will really help inform our breeding plans.  With the help of the RBST we have already adopted the SPARKS system of selection, which goes some way to help slow down inbreeding, however we recognise that science and technology can give us a much more accurate understanding of the genetics and of our stud book.  It is fantastic to be working with such a committed team at NTU.’’