The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
It’s a family affair
Andy Marshall looks forward to his highlight of the year as Kinross Show society president
Kinross may be the highlight of the year for local show society president Andy Marshall but he and his family are also regular Shetland pony exhibitors at events around the country.
It was his mother Catherine who formed the Struie Stud of Shetlands in 1987 to fit in with the farming operations on the 644 hectares of upland grazing at Mains of Struie in Path of Condie.
The stud has now grown to 20 ponies and they share the hill ground with 1,700 ewes and 200 sucklers.
Andy’s wife Nicky and eight-year-old daughter Anna now do most of the preparations along with Catherine’s other granddaughters, Joanna and Caitlin.
The well-established stud is often on the prize list, twice winning the junior championship at the Royal Highland Show – most recently with homebred filly Struie Dawn. She was a three-yearold when she won in 2013, the same year as she was supreme champion in the heavy horse section at Perth.
Another highlight was winning the St John’s Wells pairs on two occasions. The first time was in 2012 and they did it again in 2017.
It is no surprise the Shetland section at Kinross is well supported, Nicky has been the convener for the last five years and says the excellent pens for the ponies makes it easy to exhibit. She is delighted with the number of entries for this year’s event next Saturday.
The family find the Shetlands are a big attraction for visitors as well. In-between classes children get up close or take a selfie.
Andy said: “It’s good to see people watching the livestock getting ready and appreciating them in the show ring.
“Whilst competing in the show ring they are learning valuable lessons about sportsmanship and making friends for life.”
Show day itself is a busy one for the family. Everyone gets up at 5am and when they arrive at the showground it’s just before 7am. That is usually the last they see of one another until well into the afternoon.
To coincide with the Year of Young People, all the trade stands have been asked to make a special effort to involve young people in some way.
Andy will carry out the task of judging the best effort and hopes to see lots of innovative ideas from the 60 plus businesses that exhibit at the show.
He said: “Kinross Show is one of the best small shows around.
“I’m fortunate to have a hard-working committee who, alongside our new show secretary Jane Drysdale, all do an amazing job to ensure that the show goes smoothly.”