Shetland Pony Trading

12/10/2026

There is an email scam going around pretending it’s coming from Corinna Seipp, President. Please be aware as it is using a fake email address.

22/09/2026

14/09/2026

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

14th September 2026

Dear Members,

The meteorological Autumn has started bringing much needed rain to many of us. The dry summer has been trying, yellow fields, reduced harvest and the trees shedding leaves before time. Ponies munching through their winter rations of hay left many of us hunting around to replenish stocks.

The summer has been busy with shows all over the country, but the highlight for me was the trip to Orkney for this year’s SPSBS Breed Show. We took a day to explore the Islands, it was most interesting to visit some of the prehistoric sites. Personally, I am very curious about farming on Orkney and had an interesting chat with a local farmer about rearing and selling cattle on Orkney.

The ISPC (International Shetland Pony Committee) Meeting started off the weekend on the 21st August at the Orkney Hotel in Kirkwall with Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands and France attending. Unfortunately, the representatives from Poland could not be with us this year. We had a very productive meeting, please look out for a more detailed report in the next magazine. In the evening members gathered at the Kirkwall Livestock Centre for the Societies AGM. We were greeted by bagpipes playing, a very fitting official opening for the 2026 Breed Show.

At the AGM we reviewed last year’s minutes, looked at the annual accounts and voted to keep our accountants, Grant Considine for the next financial year. A vote was taken on the special resolution wording “The minutes, in their complete form without any redaction, are to be made freely available to all members by post, online or by email”. Many members who could not attend had nominated proxys. All the names were read out, and a show of hands was counted – 85% against, 15% for – 66 Members were in attendance.

A proposal for a special resolution to include wording to publish a synopsis of the Council Meeting Minutes in the constitution was voted on and carried. This special resolution will be voted on at next year’s AGM.

On the day of the show the weather was kind, many exhibitors had travelled from the Shetland Islands and the mainland, the classes were well supported and the entries for the child handler classes fit for the Guinness book of records. A little rain accompanied the afternoon classes for a short while but the spectators stayed to the end of the show.

A lovely buffet had been organised in the evening giving much needed sustenance to all who attended.

On Sunday several studs opened their gates, and a constant stream of visitors enjoyed the ponies on show. The hospitality was second to none, a lovely end to a wonderful few days. A big thank you to all who helped to make the 2026 SPSBS Breed Show and the weekend a great success.

Looking forward to October, the sales are starting with Lerwick, the show is on Tuesday 6th October followed by the sale on the 7th October. Aberdeen show will be held on the evening of Sunday 11th October with the sale taking place the following day on the 12th October. The last sale of the year is at Worcester livestock market; the show will take place on Saturday 24th October followed by the sale the next day (25th October).

The Society is hosting the Judges Seminar on October 31st 2026, at Shetland House in Perth. The speaker this autumn is Mr. Brian Williams; we are looking forward to this educational event. Please find details and information on the Society’s page and website.

The office encounters a reoccurring problem when the change of ownership form is not filled in and the pony’s passport is not updated with the names of the new owners. Tracing past owners sometimes proves impossible and takes up a lot of valuable time. This problem occurs mainly when ponies are sold privately or through sales not held under the auspices of the Society. It is vital that the pony is transferred into the new owner’s name to avoid disappointment at a later date when trying to register foals etc. I would also recommend that, if you purchase a c**t with the intention of running him on as a future stallion, you ensure that his dam has been DNA tested. A hair sample can be taken from the dam and stored at the office for future use, should it be required.

Kindest regards
Corinna

President

22/08/2026

We are open at the Breed Show

09/07/2026

Dear Members,

After the sometimes rather wet spring, summer eventually arrived, bringing high temperatures, so hay should be in plentiful supply this year.

Unfortunately, some of us have been in the horrible position of having ponies contract the dreaded Strangles Bacteria. This infection is still making the rounds, with a recent outbreak in the Southwest. If that was not enough to test us, Equine Influenza arrived and spread across some parts of the country. This resulted in most shows requiring vaccinations, with some experiencing low entries as owners had to start the vaccination program on ponies without cover.

At least we have several events to look forward to this year; the 2026 Breed Show is taking place in Kirkwall, Orkney on the 22nd August 2026. Preceding the show on Friday 21st August, the SPSBS AGM will take place at the same venue. I am looking forward to seeing you all for this important occasion.
The SPSBS is also hosting the ISPC meeting in conjunction with the Breed Show. The Society has invited representatives from our European Daughter Stud Books to join us on the beautiful Orkney Islands.

A date for next year’s diary is the 8th August; the 2027 Breed Show will be held at Lincoln Show Ground, a fantastic venue.

Further into Autumn, we start the Shetland pony sales calendar with the show (6th October) and the sale on 7th October at Lerwick, Shetland Isles, followed by the show and sale on Monday, 12th October, at Thainstone Centre in Inverurie, Aberdeen. The last show and sale of the year under the auspices of the Society will take place at Worcester Livestock Market, with the show starting at a new time of 12 pm on 24th October and the sale at the normal time of 10 am on 25th October.
If you intend to sell at the sales, please make sure that your foal registrations are sent to the office in plenty of time; the closing date for this is the 31st July 2026. Is your c**t gelded? Please ensure that you complete the gelding registration form.

The office staff spend many hours tracing previous owners to complete change-of-ownership forms when they were not filled out and sent in with the passport. It is so important that, when you purchase a pony, you check the passport and make sure the pony is registered in the seller's name. The transfer fee is still only £20.

As many of you have already noticed, a new button appeared on our website… Council Minutes Synopsis..! After every Council Meeting since October, I have written a Synopsis to inform you of important decisions and facts. The feedback I have had has been nothing but positive, and I would like to thank you all for voicing your opinion on this new feature.

To finish the year off, Council has scheduled the second Judges Seminar to be held at Shetland House, 22 York Place, Perth, on the 31st October 2026. This seminar is open to all judges, including Trainee Judges and those who are interested in applying to join our Trainee Judges Scheme in the future. Please book your place by the 1st of October; lunch will be provided.

Wishing you a successful summer.
Kind regards
Corinna

SPSBS President

02/07/2026

Please email [email protected] with regards to availability.