The Black Isle Show will no longer feature a full-day horse show due to financial losses.
Organisers have confirmed the show’s Wednesday horse show is to be ditched and the event will now run under a different timetable.
In a statement, the society said: “The directors regularly do analysis of costs and income streams and identified that last year the Wednesday horse show had lost a five-figure sum when accounted for separately. The directors were aware that this could be the case as the exercise had been done previously and the result was also a loss but of a lesser magnitude.
“Rising compliance costs of running a public event were cited as the reason for this. Unfortunately the result of this was the decision by the directors and general committee to not continue with the Wednesday horse show from this year as its loss-making status presented a conflict to the charitable aims and objectives of the society.”
The society said its charitable status meant its objectives were to “advance education of the general public in relation to agricultural matters, and to promote for the benefit of the public the interests of the agricultural and farming communities”.
It said it now planned to focus solely on these core activities.
This year’s event will feature a preview evening on Wednesday August 3 – the day which would have been the horse show.
The evening will run from 4pm to 9pm and feature a showjumping competition with a Puissance class, a vintage tractor parade and full ring attractions including the sheep-shearing competition.
The second day of the event on Thursday August 4 will run as normal with competitions for cattle, sheep, native Scottish horse and pony breeds, and fur and feather.
The society has also confirmed its bursary scheme for young agricultural students in the north, which launched last year, would continue with enhanced funding available to applicants.
In addition, the society said it was looking into developing a long-term strategy for the show to encompass new attractions such as live demonstrations of rural skills and a dedicated countryside and sporting area.
“Further modernisation and ongoing maintenance of the showground will be carried out to augment the large capital investment made by the society in the last 12 years which included – permanent buildings, food and craft hall, tarred roadways, new toilets, permanent electricity supplies and many more smaller improvements which enhance the experience of the visitors to the show,” added the society