Virginia Highlander Horse Association
1463 Teas Road
Sugar Grove, Virginia 24375
www.highlandfarm.iceryder.net
Located in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia near Mount Rogers, a wonderful breed of small, naturally gaited horses known as Virginia Highlanders were developed. They are the culmination of the efforts of a breeder named William M. Pugh, who began a quest for a smaller, gentler horse that would be perfect for women and children. He also wanted an enduring horse with easy gaits that anyone could sit. He set these traits as high criteria on his horse farm.
The process began around 1960 when he brought home a small Arabian–Tennessee Walking Horse mare from Kentucky that foaled a lovely colt the following May. The colt appeared to have been sired by a Welsh Pony. He was exceptional in that he was small, flashy looking, extraordinarily gentle, and could both trot and single-foot like none other. The foal was named Pogo and he became the inspiration and prototype for the Virginia Highlander.
The small, naturally gaited Virginia Highlander is gentle and easy to train. Susan Slider
Today, half a century after the birth of Pogo, the beautiful green pastures of the Highland stud farm are dotted with the legacy of Pugh’s dream—small horses with correct conformation, gentle character, and eye-catching color patterns.
Breed Foundation
Focusing on his dream, Pugh developed a breeding program that has continued since its inception in the 1960s. He bred Pogo to specially chosen mares and selected only the best offspring for further breeding. His efforts produced a unique breed founded upon the combination of several others: Welsh and Hackney Ponies for their hardiness, Arabians for their legendary endurance and “sparkle,” and American Saddlebred and Tennessee Walking Horses for their gait. As the final key ingredient, he carefully added Morgan blood for their size, powerful compact correctness, and gentle, tractable temperament. A distinct breed began to appear out of this blend.
From a continuation of this mix, Pugh produced his foundation stock. As soon as he got a stallion that met his expectations, the previous stallion was sold. The yearlings and mares that did not fit into his vision for the breed were also sold.
Pugh’s two foundation stallions were Pugh’s Red Cloud and Shadow of the Ridge. By 1991, these two stallions and twenty mares formed the foundation of the new Virginia Highlander Horse Association.
Pugh’s Red Cloud was a beautiful reddish chestnut with a flaxen mane and tail, flashy blaze, and stockings. Many of the breed’s second generation broodmares are Red Cloud daughters. The foundation mares Pugh picked varied from black to white in color, with many having sabino and/or overo pinto characteristics.
Shadow of the Ridge is a blue roan sabino pinto with flaxen mane and tail. Shadow shows the type that Pugh felt was the perfect example of what he wanted to achieve in the breed. He was Pugh’s personal mount and was known locally as “a Cadillac among riding horses,” exactly what a Virginia Highlander should be. Pugh continued riding Shadow well into his seventies.
As a Breed
While its larger cousins in the horse world are easily found, well gaited small horses under 15 hands seemed to be quite difficult to locate. Pugh wanted horses like this that were also nice tempered and had large pony size, but retained the horse conformation. The Virginia Highlander fills this niche. Due to its size, it is easy for women, children, and older riders to mount, and even men, both young and old, have enjoyed its soft ride and responsive personality.
A trotting pony on a trail ride with big horses will be hard pressed to keep up without bouncing the rider all over the saddle. A gaited Virginia Highlander, however, can easily keep up and not leave the rider fatigued and sore. Additionally, it has a kind personality, keen intelligence, good health, and soundness.
Although the breed is quite rare, registered Virginia Highlanders can be found in nine states, including Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Missouri, Kansas, and Pennsylvania. The number of registered non-foundation stock is now over two hundred, thus proving Pugh’s dream has come to fruition. More importantly, many families have come to know and love this friendly type horse.
Pugh’s daughter, Ellen Pugh Cooper, and her husband, Paul, continue the tradition of the original Highland Farm, tending the horses and fields. They are seeing renewed interest in the breed and expect the numbers to grow. After many decades of development, this small compatible mount offers now, more than ever, what buyers are currently looking for—a horse gentle enough for grandchildren and large enough to carry baby boomers comfortably.
Standards
Small, gaited grade mares with no Appaloosa blood and no more than one-quarter Quarter Horse can be bred to Virginia Highlander stallions to produce foals qualified for registration in the Virginia Highlander Horse Association.
Virginia Highlanders are constructed like horses, but of a smaller, more compact nature. The overall impression of the breed is of an intelligent and correct animal with the promise of power and balance under saddle. Both stallions and mares show the grace and compactness so favored by Pugh.
Their heads tend to be short, clean, and pleasant with straight or slightly concave profiles. Their eyes are wide set and large, reminiscent of their Arabian ancestors. They have good flare of jaw and short, well-set mouths with large nostrils. Their necks are well set with a long, clean throatlatch.
The breed as a whole is short backed and well coupled with correct angulation in the long, sloping shoulders; it has a good set of withers for correct rotation of the shoulder, allowing a ground-covering gait to be achieved with little effort. The hips are long and powerful, with evidence of the Morgan ancestry showing in the length of hip and the strong angulation in the stifle joint. Morgan influence is also evident in strong muscling throughout, but especially evident in the well developed gaskins. Without exception, the breed has short cannons, long, well angled pasterns, and round, flinty, hard hooves.
The tail is usually lower set. Nearly all members of the breed have heavy, long, flowing manes, tails, and forelocks. Some have almost marcel like curls appearing in their manes, while others have manes so abundant that it falls on both sides of their necks. Like feral horses, their tails are often thick and heavy to provide protection as they turn their tails to the cold mountain winter winds.
Temperament was of vital importance to Pugh, who selected only the best. The breed—from stallions to mares or youngsters—is trusting, calm, receptive, and easily trained once its confidence is gained.
Most Virginia Highlanders, if not all, are naturally gaited, although nearly all trot and some quite strongly. The majority are blessed with a natural single-foot gait that was Pugh’s preference, and all show a long-strided, ground-covering flat walk.
Those that are strongly gaited show a typical gaited horse rocking-chair canter, while others have a more classic canter.
The average size of a mature Virginia Highlander is between 13 and 14 hands, with a few individuals above or below. The breed comes in all colors; black, white, chestnut, and bay with sabino/overo characteristics, commonly appearing both with and without roaning. Appaloosa color patterns and characteristics are not evident, nor are they allowed in the breed.
Pugh believed the limestone rich soil of his farm and the Blue Ridge Mountain climate made for an ideal location in which to breed and raise horses, but it could get cool and inclement. A former cattle farmer, he felt that horses were better left outside in all but the very worst icy rain type of weather. As a result, the Virginia Highlander is a hardy breed and an easy keeper.
Virginia Highlanders are versatile and can transition all the way from pleasure riding to competing in 4-H or Pony Club shows. They can jump easily and, above all, are equine athletes. They also compete in gymkhana, speed and agility events, and in trail and pleasure classes against all breeds, both gaited and non-gaited. After gaming all day, they can then turn around and willingly give the smoothest trail ride ever experienced.
As a trail horse, a show horse, or a devoted family pet, the Virginia Highlander wins hearts and admiring glances wherever it goes.
Credit: Catherine Stuart and the Virginia Highlander Horse Association