Cruachan III standing 9.1 hands high, is a black Shetland pony stallion; his sire was Harviestown Phyllapine (3003), a Reserve Champion at the Highland Show, and his dam was Harviestown Sylemma (13874).
Originally bought in 1995 by the serving Officers and Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's), he was adopted as the mascot of The Royal Regiment of Scotland in 2009.
Cruachan III lives in Redford Barracks, Edinburgh, Scotland, with a companion Shetland pony called Islay. Both are looked after by a Pony Major, whose duties include their welfare and leading Cruachan III during his many appearances at Highland games, fairs and military parades.
Tack, 2009 - Present Day
Cruachan III wears an in-hand bridle with a red and white diced headband and a snaffle bit .
Over his saddlecloth he wears a black leather roller and crupper. A roller is a type of girth with pads on either side of the back to prevent pressure. A crupper is an adjustable leather strap with a padded loop, which is fitted under the tail at one end, and through a ring on the back of the roller at the other. The crupper prevents the roller slipping forward, and together they stop the saddlecloth from moving.
On the saddlecloth is a stripe of a Lance Corporal and five medals: Northern Ireland, Iraq, Bosnia, The Queen’s Jubilee and an Accumulative Service Medal. The saddlecloth is tartan (Government Tartan 1A) and gold, with an embroidered badge of The Royal Regiment of Scotland.
Continued: History of the Regiment: Mascots
