Shetland Pony Trading

14/05/2026

After SPSBS Breed Show - Orkney 2026 Show Dinner

The Shetland Pony Breeders of Orkney would like to invite you to join them on Saturday night after the show, at the Pickaquoy Centre in Kirkwall.
Buffet dinner, music, bar and raffle - Adult tickets £30.00 each, Primary school & under free of charge - time is still to be confirmed but we will contact everyone with tickets in the run up to the show, to confirm.

ENTRIES CLOSE 31st MAY

SPSBS Breed Show - Orkney 2026. Details for entry form information

08/05/2026

⚠️ Biosecurity Reminder ⚠️

Due to the current outbreaks of Strangles and Equine Influenza within the equine community, we would like to remind all exhibitors to take extra care when attending shows and events with their ponies.

Please ensure good biosecurity practices are followed at all times, including:

• Avoiding unnecessary contact between ponies
• Not sharing water buckets, feed bowls, or equipment
• Washing/disinfecting hands and equipment regularly
• Monitoring ponies closely for any signs of illness
• Staying at home if your pony is unwell or has been in contact with infected horses

The health and welfare of all ponies attending our events is extremely important, and we appreciate everyone working together to help reduce the risk of disease spreading.

Thank you for your cooperation and support.🐴

08/05/2026

🐴The wait is over! The new Spring 2026 edition of the Shetland Pony Stud-Book Society magazine is now available!

Packed with all the latest news, show highlights, results, and plenty of beautiful Shetland pony moments!💙📖

📬Members’ copies should now be on their way, and any pre-ordered copies are in the post from the office today!
💷Price: £4.25 each
📮£5.50 including postage

Thank you for your continued support — we hope you enjoy this spring issue and a wonderful read celebrating our amazing Shetlands!🐾✨

20/04/2026

👕 Breed Show Clothing Orders – Don’t Miss Out! 👕

If you’re planning to purchase specific clothing for this year’s breed show, please make sure to place your order by 24th July. This allows us enough time to have everything stitched and ready for collection in Orkney this August.

All available clothing can be viewed on our website, where you’ll find details on sizes and colour options for each product.

To place an order:

📞 Call us on 01738 623471
📧 Email: [email protected]

Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you at the show!

01/04/2026

Wishing all our members world wide a Happy Easter🐴🐥

19/03/2026

Judges Seminar, 8th March 2026, Solihull Riding Club

First of all, I would like to thank Mrs Davenport for organising this first seminar of the year. Steve Rendall outlined the Society’s Safeguarding Policy in the Rulebook and encouraged judges to take a safeguarding course. There are several free online courses available.

Rachel Bown gave a presentation on the history of the breed, with pictures of ponies explaining conformation and movement with emphasis on breed standard, quoting: the most salient feature and essential feature of the Shetland pony is its general air, vitality, stamina and robustness.

Following on from this, Debbie Spears spoke on ridden classes, how to split the ring and what is expected for LR, FR, Novice, Open ridden, including acceptable bit. Concerns were raised about the correct way of going for the breed as this is not always understood. Topics included overproduction in the ridden ring and clipping.

Mary Davenport reminded judges of rules relating to SPSBS Panel judges, (Rule 4), these rules have to be adhered to both at the time of accepting an invitation and on the day of judging. Emphasis was put on the importance of exemplary behaviour as ambassadors of the Society.

Steve Rendall reminded everyone that Council updates the rulebook every October. Judges will have the rulebook mailed with their annual return form.

A lively discussion followed with very important points raised. Council will consider all suggestions carefully.

Council to look at a possible mentoring scheme for prospective judges in addition to stewarding experience prior to the assessment.

Suggestions from the floor included office emails to add a footer with the office telephone number. Regular updates from the office to members, a sub-committee for judges selection and online renewal for membership. This is already available on Grassroots.

Steve Rendall said that the Society has a Social Media policy in place which has to be upheld at all times, any issues arising are taken very serious by Council and due process is followed.

Future Seminars: Council plans to publish areas (dates when venue is confirmed) for 5 years ahead. The office will acknowledge receipt of applicants and details to be send out with an agenda prior to the seminar.

I would like to thank all involved in this seminar, a lot of time goes into the preparation, and it was pleasing to see so many of you in attendance. Unfortunately, I could not travel due to a broken leg. The next seminar is scheduled at Shetland House, Perth for the 31st October 2026.

Further information will be published on Facebook and the Website in due course.

Riders Minds - https://ridersminds.org

Riders Minds is an online resource dedicated to supporting the mental health and well-being of all. We are open to everyone, of all ages, levels and experience. We offer a wealth of practical information and a 24/7 helpline.

Free Call 0800 088 2073 or if you prefer to message then text: 07480 488 103

To access the live chat, click the chat button on the to be connected to one of their trained counsellors.

**********************

Alison offers several free safeguarding courses which start at just 2hrs in length.
It is the world's largest free online empowerment platform for education and skills training, offering thousands of CPD-accredited courses.

https://alison.com/courses?query=safeguarding%20adults

Kindest wishes
Corinna

16/03/2026

We were delighted that 20 year old Emily Mayfield represented the Society at the inaugural National Pony Society Mountain & Moorland Young Persons M&M Zoom meeting on Thursday 12th March.
This new initiative from the NPS brings together young representatives from the Mountain & Moorland breed societies - our next generation of handlers, riders, and breeders - to talk and collaborate with others who have a passion for their native breeds.
Emily described it as a real honour to represent the Society and said the meeting was 'fabulous', with a huge range of ideas discussed and shared amongst the young representatives and attendees.
The meeting was hosted by the NPS' M&M representative, Mrs Janet James, who later thanked all participating breed societies, commenting, “All of the representatives were a credit to their Breed Society, enthusiastic, sharing their ideas, keen to be part of a wider group, and much more, which was excellent.”
Are you a society member aged 18–30? We have the opportunity to nominate another young person to represent the Society alongside Emily at the next NPS Young Persons M&M zoom meeting in July.
This is a great chance to share your ideas, represent other young members, and take part in discussions that help shape the future of the Society.
If you would like to be considered, please submit a short written response of at least 150 words explaining:
• Why you would be a suitable representative for the society, and
• What you feel you could contribute to the meeting and wider discussions.
Please send your responses to [email protected]
We’re looking forward to hearing from our young members and reading your responses.

09/03/2026

13/02/2026

Good Afternoon All 😊

Here’s a little round-up from the office this week…

A couple of large batches of membership cards have left the office 🎉So if you’ve paid but haven’t received your card(s) yet, don’t worry — they’re either on their way to you or you’re still on my processing list.

Just a reminder that you have until 28th February to update your membership. After this date, a late payment fee will apply.

We’ve also had around 50 show affiliations come into the office over the past month, I’ll be starting on the show calendar as soon as possible with the shows that are fully paid and submitted correctly.

Finally, the deadline for magazine adverts and articles is 31st March. For more information, please email Pauline at [email protected]

Thanks everyone! 😊

13/02/2026

From Brenda Laing supporting the SPSBS Breed Show

Hello - would you be able to advertise the above on your FB page please - just in case anyone would like to support the Breed Show in Orkney 2026?
I’m trying to sell 500 tickets at £2 each. The winner would receive the one ply shawl which I’ve knitted - so if someone buys 5 tickets their name would go into the draw 5 times and it will be drawn at the Breed show tho I’d like to hand over the cash early into 2026 so that it’s in their account to help them plan ( such things as entry fees etc 😉) Thank you

Please contact Brenda directly