Farewell to outstanding breeder and producer

By Tom Best for the NPS

Outstanding breeder and producer of native ponies and former National Pony Society (NPS) president William (Bill) Ireland died on 15 January, aged 83, after a long illness.

Bill was brought up in the Colchester area as one of four children. His parents were farmers, who in 1985 diversified by buying the Auchineden Estate north of Glasgow, near Blanefield. This brought Bill to Scotland, where he remained for the rest of his life despite the sale of the estate in 1990, the year he met his lifelong partner, Catherine Farrell.

During this time, Bill bought an unregistered pony for driving but then looked for something better to drive and show. He bought Dales colt Slaypits Black Magic, who took him to the top as a breeder and exhibitor.

Bill never settled for second best and this remarkable stallion launched him into the limelight in the in-hand show rings of central Scotland and won the first of many mountain and moorland (M&M) championships at the Royal Highland Show in 1995. By 2012 Slaypits Black Magic achieved the amazing record of siring five of the Dales ponies competing at the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS), all bearing the Kilmannan prefix for which Bill became famous.

Bill set about gathering a group of well-bred mares for his newly formed stud of Dales ponies with the selection of Trimdod Black Velvet either a stroke of genius or good luck. Time would tell that it was surely the former.

An ideal partner for Black Magic, this mare bred a dynasty of show champions, in-hand and under saddle, who took the show ring by storm and placed the Dales breed in a position not previously known. Bill bred a type of Dales pony full of quality with a riding rather than driving action well suited to the ridden M&M classes.

Breeding for purpose was at the heart of Bill’s breeding programme and Richard Telford was the person to take the Kilmannan ponies to the top in the show ring. This he did with amazing success, winning major titles across Britain including at HOYS and Olympia. He was an obvious choice of producer when Bill decided to diversify his interests into the Suffolk breed, which he knew as a child.

Bill was an NPS council member for almost a decade, during which time he was treasurer and president, a position he held with great pride. As he came to the end of his breeding career, Bill entrusted the last of his Dales ponies to Richard.

Bill was a keen ringside supporter and those who met him found a quiet, modest and friendly enthusiast who enjoyed his ponies and his success, which he bore with great humility. He was very generous in his sponsorship and freely gave of his time for the NPS.

Without doubt an outstanding breeder and exhibitor of any native breed in recent times, Bill Ireland and his Kilmannan ponies have earned their place in native pony history.

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2025, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

You may also be interested in: