Every year on her annual holiday at Balmoral, the first thing Queen Elizabeth II would do was visit her beloved Highland pony stud.
The late monarch is said to have named every foal born at the royal residence in Aberdeenshire since a dedicated breeding programme was established in 2007.
But Buckingham Palace has confirmed the Queen’s favourite Highland ponies will no longer be bred in Scotland as part of a move to ‘consolidate’ the breeding programme south of the Border.
The Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association (SGA) said it was ‘saddened’ by the decision, which was both a ‘cultural’ and ‘heritage’ loss.
The late Queen with two of her favourite ponies
Queen Elizabeth with a 5 year old Princess Anne in 1955
Queen Victoria with John Brown
Like a small number of other traditional estates across Scotland, Balmoral has used its Highland ponies – known as garrons – as workhorses during the hunting season.
They would carry equipment and bring back the game carcases in large pannier baskets.
The ponies were first brought to the estate in 1852 by Queen Victoria, who would use them for her Highland journeys with her trusty servant John Brown.
Famed for their hardiness and even temperament, the ponies would also carry picnics for members of the Royal Family as they attended grouse shoots on the Balmoral estate.
It is not known if all the ponies on the estate will be moved, but Buckingham Palace has confirmed the breeding programmes will be based at Hampton Court Palace following the merger.
Sylvia Ormiston has managed the stud at Balmoral for 16 years, building on its legacy since the registration of the first Balmoral Highland Pony in 1979.
It is understood the move also affects a herd of Highland cattle and Cheviot sheep on the estate farm, headed by Mrs Ormiston’s husband Dochy.
Another Highland pony breeder, who asked not to be named, said the ponies and cattle were at the ‘heart of the cultural and natural heritage of Balmoral’.
An SGA spokesman said: ‘The Balmoral ponies have been quite symbolic.
It will be a shame to see them go.
‘It will be a cultural loss and, with the loss of the breeding lines, it will be a heritage loss.’
A keen equine lover since the age of four when she got her first Shetland pony, called Peggy, Queen Elizabeth wanted to breed Highland ponies at Balmoral to ensure their survival.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on the Balmoral estate, during their Silver Wedding anniversary year, September 1972
There are thought to be around 40 Highland ponies on the estate.
Native to the Highlands and Islands, the ponies are heavily relied on as much of the estate is inaccessible by vehicles and at the height of the stag and grouse seasons, hunts have been known to take place six days a week.
During the hunts, ponies are required to carry the deer carcases – which can weigh up to 18st – back to the castle.
Two of the late Queen’s favourite Highland ponies, Balmoral Jingle and Balmoral Curlew, thrived in the show ring and went on to become broodmares at the Balmoral stud.
It is not known how many staff jobs will be lost by the move.
A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said: ‘During this period of transition the royal household is in consultation with staff who will be affected by the change.’