OLYMPUS
"Monarch of all he surveys"

Index of Breeders Pages Shetland Islands' Pony Show and Sale Introduction As we enter into the Millennium we are proud of the fact that for well over two thousand years there have been Shetland Ponies in Shetland. Because of the islands' isolation in the past, the characteristics of the pony, especially its small stature and hardiness, are firmly imprinted in its genes. This same isolation has ensured the purity of the breed. The harsh climate of our islands has, through natural selection and adaption, given us the pony we know today with its special protective winter coat and flowing thick mane and tail. The accompanying scarcity of good grazing has given the pony an efficient conversion rate for food and ample milk yield. These adaptions to the environment have ensured its survival. Because island ponies are in their natural environment they are extremely healthy and fit, but over the past two hundred years they have been exported all over the world with remarkable success, simply because they have the ability to adapt to new and very different environments. A Shetland pony, properly broken, makes an ideal ridden or driven pony. They have been the first mount of some famous riders, and can hold their own in competition with larger native breeds.

For further information about the Shetland Pony in Shetland, please contact our secretary:        Miss Sonja Flaws        Pony Breeders of Shetland Association        3 Gostagert        Sandness        Shetland        ZE2 9PL        Tel: 01595 870 717        Fax: 01595 870 727        e-mail: sonja.flaws@talk21.com