Highland Horse boss of Badenoch to stand for Holyrood?
Colourful Badenoch entrepreneur Ruaridh Ormiston is increasingly likely to throw his tammy into the Holyrood ring at next year’s elections.
The Strathy understands he is very close to confirming his intention to run as a list candidate, but he was tight-lipped last night over which party he would be representing.
He has posted on social media about “a new Highlands and Islands Rural Development Party that I am about to launch.”
But last night he would be drawn no further on that.
“It’s too early to go into details yet but I have spent some months looking into the practicalities. I have done a lot of preparation and I should soon be able to say more.
“I can say right now that I hope I will be able to count on like-minded people in the strath and beyond for support, especially friends and colleagues in Highlands and Islands rural economy and communities.
“My passion is to save our people, land and communities from further clearances and to ensure a place and economy for Highland people in the future by celebrating our cultural heritage and revisiting how we were sustainable and net zero in the past.
“The message is clear that we will not let anybody bully us around.”
A man of many parts, he was born 60 years ago in Inverness and was raised in Newtonmore and on his journey to establishing Highland Horse Fun in Kingussie was destined to see much of the world in his other role as an international drilling fluids engineer and project manager both on and offshore.
He retired from the oil and gas upstream industry last year to spend more time caring for his mother, Olive.
At Kingussie his promotional flair has contributed greatly to the “storylands” of Badenoch and he was first to set up a motorhome aire when the licensing regulations were finally relaxed by the Highland Council.