With the death of Robert McAra Davidson of Carse of Trowan Farm, Crieff, the Highland Pony world loses one of its most notable characters.
A stalwart of the breed, there was not much that Rab, also known as Bob, didn’t know about Highlands, writes Polly Pullar.
His lifelong passion was forged early under the auspices of his mother, the formidable, hard-grafting Mitchell, who started the revered Trowan prefix.
Like her son, Mitchell was a legend. Both could swiftly cast critically scrutinising eyes over the animals of fellow Highland pony breeders. Both were eminent judges.
Beginnings
Born at Parkneuk, the son of Robert Davidson, the family farmed at West Lochlane, Crieff, before buying Carse of Trowan in 1947.
I first met Rab in one of the Royal Highland Show’s numerous watering holes. Instantly remarkable were the fulsome walrus moustache and trilby and the life-changing pinch of snuff that was integral to any meeting.
While I nearly choked on the snuff, that inauspicious start did nothing to mar our subsequent close friendship, and I was privileged to relish his numerous eccentricities and kindness for the next 40 years.
Robert had friends all over the country. If you were in, you were there for life, and he was generous to the extreme.
Friendships
All his friends have hilarious stories about time spent in his company, yet he was in many ways a paradox, for he could be equally shy and retiring.
Whatever the circumstances, great craic was guaranteed. Many of the sagas involved the infamous parties at the Highland Show when both Highland and Clydesdale horse competitors retired to his livestock float for an eternal night of celebration.
If the revellers were not unearthed in Rab’s lorry, then you would find them at the camp of MillIsle Clydesdales.
Rab was also a devotee of Clydesdales and their characters, having accompanied them on a ship to Canada during the 1960s.
After his mother died in 1989, Robert’s first foray to Horse of the Year Show was with Trowan Mayfair produced by Jill Cousens.
Partnerships
Then following a partnership with Mary McColl Smith and her brilliant daughter Rose Macpherson that endured for the rest of his life, Trowan Callan and Trowan Moulin represented the versatility of the ponies in both working hunter and the ridden sections of this notable show.
However, it was the Royal Highland Show that Robert lived for, missing only one year in nearly 60 when his mother was judging.
His best result there was winning both the in-hand and ridden championships in the same year with two homebred full siblings Trowan Madonna and Trowan Moulin, the latter expertly ridden by Rose Macpherson.
The often-fatal disease, equine grass sickness, tragically afflicted some of Rab’s ponies, though, after a long haul at the Dick Vet in Edinburgh, the beautiful stallion Ruaridh of Mendick miraculously recovered.
Fundraising
By avoiding haircuts each year until the Highland Show when the shears came out, Rab raised considerable funds for research into a disease feared by every horse owner.
Rab loved a bargain and spent much time in the salesroom at Kinbuck where his great friend the auctioneer would knock down much haberdashery to the Comrie Fox. When it came to food, sell-by dates were ignored.
The evidence was piled high around his house amid bags of kindling, turnips, charity shop treasure, faded photographs and hundreds of rosettes. But visitors given a parting gift from the freezer were perhaps less enthusiastic.
Community
Rab was a cherished supporter of the Comrie Hogmanay Flambeaux and once turned up with a pony as a mascot. Unsurprisingly spooked, the poor creature was hastily returned to the farm and livestock subsequently banned.
He was also an active member of Monzie Kirk, and his local Braco Show.
He leaves a legacy of excellent Trowan bloodlines and a wealth of stories and special memories. And he leaves a gaping void, for we will never see his like again.
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