Hools Shetland Pony Stud
Hools Shetland Pony Stud is run by Kelly Peace assisted by her Mum Jane and her daughter Layla. The stud consists of approximately 24 Standard Black Shetland Ponies used for breeding, showing, riding and driving.
The Beginning – 1958
The stud began in 1958 at Hools Farm in South Ronaldsay, Orkney, when my grandmother, Ivy Edith Mathers Cromarty, along with her eldest son Arthur and daughter Jane, purchased a black Shetland pony filly, ‘Shona of Lynn’ (5455M), from Scotty Watson of the Lynn Stud in Kirkwall, Orkney.
In 1960, ‘Shona of Lynn’ (005455M), by ‘Majestic of Lynn’ (001566S) and out of ‘Sunray Girl’ (005214M), had the first registered Hools Shetland Pony foal, a filly named ‘Hope of Hools’, sired by ‘Spear of Marshwood’ (001675S).
‘Spear of Marshwood’ went on to sire the first three Hools ponies: ‘Hope of Hools’ in 1960, followed by ‘Harra Broo of Hools’ and ‘Helga of Hools’ in 1961.
In 1962, Scotty Watson put Ivy in touch with Mrs Cox of the famous Marshwood Stud, where she purchased two ponies, ‘Janet of Marshwood’ and ‘Jacinth of Marshwood’.
Ivy was also given the Premium Stallion ‘Spaniard of Marshwood’ as a gift from Mrs Cox, largely because of his bad behaviour when he was in Shetland. He was prone to jumping into people’s gardens and eating their cabbages! This turned out to be a stroke of luck for Ivy, as ‘Spaniard’ produced some top-quality progeny and also won the local County Show three times.
‘Janet of Marshwood’ (5568M), was born in 1958, sired by ‘Sprinter of Marshwood’ (1423S) and out of ‘Jane of Marshwood’ (5277M).
‘Janet’ – The Foundation Mare
‘Janet’ became the main foundation mare for the stud, and her bloodlines can still be found within Hools ponies today.
‘Janet’ produced 12 foals for Hools, including ‘Janey of Hools’ (7146M). Born on 2 June 1968, Janey was sired by ‘Fireless of Marshwood’ (1849S). She was a wonderfully versatile Shetland who could turn her hoof to anything, including Lead Rein, First Ridden and broodmare work. She was also Overall Champion at local shows on numerous occasions.
‘Janey’ even appeared in a 1984 edition of National Geographic Magazine, being ridden by Kristen, Ivy’s granddaughter, in the Lead Rein class at the County Show. Kristen was wearing wellington boots and, as she remembers it, holding on for dear life!
‘Janey’ was mostly shown by Arthur Cromarty, Ivy’s son. Arthur and his wife, Laura, took over Hools Farm in 1974, where their commitments turned towards breeding and showing Limousin cattle — “more viable than ponies,” as Arthur would say!
The stud, however, continued under the care of Ivy’s daughter, Jane Elizabeth Peace (née Cromarty).
Jane’s Early Years
My mum, Jane, got her first pony, ‘Betty’, at the age of three. She remembers that Hools ponies had always been an important part of life on the farm and were even used to help the local community.
During one particularly stormy winter, when the roads were blocked with snow, the ponies helped take coal, candles and essential groceries to residents of the nearby fishing village of Herston at low tide. Mum remembers it well… mostly because it meant time off school!
After finishing grammar school, Jane became the first Orkney girl to travel to Edinburgh to train as an animal nurse at the age of nineteen. Before starting her course, she spent five months working with the celebrated pony breeders Mr and Mrs Cox at their Marshwood Stud at Castle Douglas.
Her work included exercising the famous Marshwood driving ponies, as well as preparing and training ponies for shows. It was hard work, but a fantastic experience and one that gave Jane an invaluable insight into the world of breeding, training and showing Shetland Ponies.
Jane was also fortunate enough to be invited, along with Ivy, to the Holland Centenary Show by the Dutch Stud Society in 1966. So off they went, flying from Edinburgh to Amsterdam!
The programme was outstanding, with a huge variety of showing classes, driving, pony gymkhana and a pageant — something they had never experienced before and would never forget.
As life moved on, the stud took more of a back seat for Jane, as her time was spent taking me to Pony Club and helping my dad with his Thoroughbred horses.
Hools Goes International
Greek mythology had its flying horse, Pegasus — but so did we!
In 1966, ‘Orkney Wedding of Hools’ (5994), a skewbald filly foal by ‘Florin’ (1851S) and out of ‘Illona of Hools’ (005994M), became the first Shetland Pony to fly on Faroes Airways from Kirkwall to Copenhagen. She was sold to Mr and Mrs Jantzen of Rytegaard, Denmark.
Then, in the spring of 1967, Mr and Mrs Jantzen purchased a black colt, ‘Spaniardson of Hools’ (1954S).
Born in 1964, ‘Spaniardson’ was sired by ‘Spaniard of Marshwood’ (1484S) and out of ‘Janet of Marshwood’ (5568M).
Ivy was invited to Denmark in March 1968, where she showed ‘Spaniardson’ at the Danish Stallion Show. He was judged Best Four-Year-Old Stallion, another wonderful achievement for the Hools bloodlines on the international stage.
Hools Goes Stateside
Not to be outdone by my grandmother, in 2018 we exported our first Hools pony to the United States of America!
‘Hools Elberry’ made the remarkable journey from Orkney to California, flying via Amsterdam — a total distance of approximately 6,500 miles!
Since then, two more Hools ponies have made the journey across the Atlantic, with ‘Hools Miss Juanita’ and ‘Hools Sea Lord’ also finding new homes in the United States.
It is a fantastic achievement for the stud and another exciting chapter in the Hools story, with our ponies now continuing the Hools bloodlines on the other side of the Atlantic.
The Third Generation
I guess I was destined to follow in my granny and mum’s footsteps. From the age of two, I had my first Shetland pony gelding, ‘Scapa Too’, purchased from the late Archie Jamieson of the Scapa Stud in Orkney, which has sadly since dispersed.
I continued to ride, show and drive until I was eighteen, when I moved away from Orkney.
When I returned in 2007, I naturally fell back into the stud. I wanted to put my own stamp on the breeding programme and, after seeking advice from my grandmother, we both set off to the Aberdeen Sale in October.
It was there that Granny introduced me to her late friend, Harry C. Sleigh. He invited us along to St Johns Wells for tea with his wife, Ann, and afterwards showed us around his famous Wells ponies.
I was amazed at the quality of Harry’s ponies, and my first question was, “Do you have any for sale?”
He picked out a five-year-old filly, ‘Wells Perrier’, by ‘Wells Royal Command’ and out of ‘Wells Patience’. Perrier was to become my own foundation mare.
As well as purchasing ‘Perrier’, I thought it would be good to reintroduce some of the old Hools bloodlines back into the stud.
After lots of research, emails and phone calls to various people, we traced two fillies that descended from ‘Judith of Hools’, a daughter of ‘Janet of Marshwood’, my Granny’s most successful mare.
These ponies were bred by George and Barbara Tait of the Merkisayre Stud in Shetland. Everyone knows how much George loves his ponies, so it took a lot of begging to acquire ‘Merkisayre Poppy’ and ‘Merkisayre Be-Bo’!
In 2009, with a mixture of old and new bloodlines, Granny, Mum and I travelled north to Shetland to attend the S.P.S.B.S. Breed Show, the first to be held in the Isles.
We had success with ‘Merkisayre Poppy’, who won a strong Black Three-Year-Old Filly class.
After the class, George Tait sneaked into our pen and tried to take ‘Poppy’ back to his own pen, claiming that he had sold us the wrong pony!
The Present Generation
2010 saw the arrival of my first foals — two fillies and three colts — all sired by ‘Wells Highlight II’, a five-time Royal Highland Show Champion.
The most successful of these has been ‘Hools Rising High’ (Wells Fyona x Wells Highlight II).
After passing his stallion assessment, ‘Rising High’ was leased to June Brown’s Shoormal Stud in Shetland as a three-year-old. He attended three shows and won two Championships.
‘Rising High’ was lightly backed for riding in 2014 and continued his showing career with considerable success. In 2015 he travelled to the National Stallion Show at Ingliston, where he finished second in a large class. He also won Orkney Horse of the Year 2015, an amazing achievement competing against so many different breeds and riders.
He went on to compete in the Ridden M&M at the prestigious Blair Horse Trials in 2016, followed by winning Overall Reserve Champion Shetland Pony at the Royal Highland Show in 2017.
‘Rising High’s’ ridden career highlight came in 2019, when he qualified for and competed at the Horse of the Year Show in Birmingham.
‘Rising High’ was exported to Germany where he is a breeding Stallion.
The Hools ‘J’ Line Returns
In 2013, all the hard work of researching and reintroducing old bloodlines really paid off. The Hools ‘J’ line was reborn with the arrival of the filly ‘Hools Janet’, sired by ‘Wells Masterclass’ and out of ‘Merkisayre Poppy’.
‘Janet’ has enjoyed a highly successful showing career, winning numerous Championships at shows throughout the years. Among her many achievements are three Orkney County Show Championships, as well as being awarded Senior Black Champion at the 2019 S.P.S.B.S. Breed Show.
Like ‘Hools Rising High’, ‘Janet’ was also broken to ride and competed in the Lead Rein class at the 2019 Royal Highland Show, demonstrating the versatility that is so important to the Hools breeding programme.
She is exactly the type of Shetland Pony we aim to breed — possessing good bone, substance and movement, together with the temperament and versatility required for showing, breeding and performance work.
‘Janet’ has also made her mark as a broodmare, producing six super foals to date: four fillies, one of which was exported to Germany, and two colts.
For Hools, ‘Janet’ represents much more than a successful show mare. She is the continuation of one of our most important historic bloodlines, bringing the Hools ‘J’ line back into the stud and helping to secure its future for generations to come.
Breeding Versatile Ponies
Over the years we have also broken several Hools ponies for riding, including ‘Heather of Hools’, ‘Hools Ann’, ‘Strocherie Ennya’, ‘Hools Eudora’, ‘Hools High Definition’, ‘Hools Major High’ and ‘Hools Janet’ to name just a few.
‘Ennya’ has been particularly successful, winning several Lead Rein Championships and even competing at the prestigious NPS Scottish Finals at Blair Castle.
Her son, ‘Hools Major High’, followed in her footsteps. He was ridden by my daughter Layla and has also been ridden by a ten-year-old, competing in the Riding Club Dressage League.
In the winter of 2015, ‘Major High’ was trained to become a driving pony, once again demonstrating the versatility we aim to produce within our Hools-bred ponies.
In 2026, two more Hools ponies are competing on the performance circuit: ‘Hools Explanation’, a six-year-old gelding, and ‘Hools Dark Ivy’, a six-year-old mare.
‘Explanation’ has been broken and brought on by Layla and is now competing in ridden classes, while ‘Ivy’ is competing in Lead Rein classes.
It is particularly special to see another generation of Hools ponies competing under saddle and continuing the tradition of producing versatile ponies for both the show ring and performance work.
Toots Cromarty
Ivy’s youngest daughter, Toots, had the special honour of having a Hools Shetland Pony named after her. In 1965, ‘Toots of Hools’ was born, forever linking her name with the family’s pony-breeding history.
In her younger days, Toots was actively involved in eventing and showing, while also continuing Ivy’s other passion for breeding Clydesdale horses.
Nowadays, Toots runs Hilltoft Peedie Ponies, where she provides pony treks and therapy work, continuing her lifelong involvement with horses and ponies.
She acquired ‘Hools Voyager’, a gelding by ‘Wells Discovery’ and out of ‘Wells Vicci’, and trained him for both ridden and driven work.
‘Voyager’ and Toots have competed together at numerous shows, both locally and further afield, including Glamis Castle, the S.P.S.B.S. Breed Show and the Royal Highland Show.
‘Voyager’ has become an integral part of Peedie Ponies, proving once again the versatility of the Hools bloodlines and their ability to turn their hoof to almost anything.
And Toots isn’t finished yet! She has her sights set on another Hools pony, ‘Hools Sea Master’, who she hopes to start training for driving this winter.
It seems the Hools tradition of producing ponies for showing, riding and driving is very much alive and well across the family!
Remembering Ivy
In 2020, sadly, my grandmother Ivy passed away aged 97.
Ivy’s lifelong love of ponies and her enthusiasm for the breed have been passed down through the generations, with her daughters Toots and Jane, granddaughter Kelly and great-granddaughter Layla all having an active role in the stud.
One of Ivy’s proudest moments came on home soil at the Orkney County Show in 1965, when Hools Stud won every class apart from the foal class.
Her influence on Hools Stud can still be seen today, not only in the bloodlines she established, but in the passion for breeding, showing and producing versatile Shetland Ponies that she passed on to her family.
The Fourth Generation – The Future
My daughter Layla was born in 2012 and was quickly involved in life at Hools. Every morning after getting up, she would look out of the window and count the ponies!
At just 18 months old she started riding ‘Strocherie Ennya’, before moving on to ‘Hools Major High’.
Layla has competed at shows in both Orkney and Shetland and was also one of the youngest people to take part in the historic tradition of the Riding of the Marches, an event where roughly 100 riders travel around the boundary of Kirkwall every August.
Her biggest early success, apart from appearing on the front cover of the S.P.S.B.S. magazine in Winter 2014, came when she won the Lead Rein class at the local Riding Club Winter Woolie Show in 2015.
It has been wonderful to watch Layla grow up around the ponies and develop her own love of riding, showing and breeding. She is now not only riding and competing herself but is also breaking and producing Hools-bred ponies for the next generation.
The Coloured Hools Ponies
After several years of admiring coloured ponies around the countryside, Layla received a piebald Shetland mare for her eighth birthday from her grandmother Jane — ‘Mill of Towie Megan’.
Megan was in foal to the black stallion ‘Hools Mischief’ and produced her filly foal in 2020, ‘Hools Ocean’.
In August 2022, Layla was finally able to show ‘Megan’ for the first time, achieving 3rd place in the Yeld Mare class at the East Mainland Show.
Layla is now developing her own line of coloured Hools ponies, crossing her piebald mares with her mother’s black Hools stallions. Her aim is to establish her own herd of coloured ponies, combining the distinctive colouring she loves with the established Hools bloodlines.
It is an exciting new chapter in the Hools story — and another step towards the next generation of the stud.
So, after more than six decades, the Hools story continues to evolve.
From Ivy buying that first black filly, ‘Shona of Lynn’, in 1958, through three generations of family involvement, countless show-ring successes, ponies exported overseas and Hools-bred ponies competing under saddle and in harness, the original aim remains the same — to breed quality, versatile Shetland Ponies with good bone, substance, movement and, above all, the temperament to turn their hoof to anything.
With Layla now actively involved, the fourth generation is firmly taking its place within the stud.
The Hools story continues… watch this space!
To date (2026) there has been 227 foals registered with the S.P.S.B.S.
Since 1958 the stud has won the Champion Shetland Pony at the Orkney County Show 13 times with 9 Reserve Champions, 6 Supreme Overall Horse and 5 Reserve Supremes.
In 2015 Hools won Supreme Horse, Champion Shetland and Reserve Shetland, Hools last achieved that same result in 1965!
In 2022 Hools won Supreme Horse, Champion Shetland, Reserve Shetland and Junior Champion with all Homebred Ponies.
Orkney County Show Results
East Mainland Show Results
Some old Photos
