The Highland Dale Herd Book
Preserving the Stories Behind Every Highland
Every registered Highland carries more than a pedigree.
Each animal represents generations of thoughtful breeding, careful record keeping, and families dedicated to preserving one of the world's oldest registered cattle breeds.
At Highland Dale, we believe understanding a Highland begins long before meeting the animal in the pasture. It begins by learning the history of the families that came before it.
Our Herd Book is a living record of that history. Through documented pedigrees, DNA parentage verification, and historical herd book research, we are preserving the stories behind the cattle entrusted to our care while building a foundation for future generations.
A Living Record of Our Herd
When we became stewards of the former AAA Quality Cattle herd, we inherited more than registered Highland cattle—we inherited the responsibility of preserving the breeding program established by Beauford Wilson.
Although the herd had been thoughtfully developed over many years, complete photographic records and a comprehensive herd book were not available for every animal.
Preserving that history became one of our first priorities.
Working with our veterinarian, we collected DNA samples from our cattle and submitted them through the American Highland Cattle Association (AHCA) for parentage verification by the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at the University of California, Davis.
Using DNA parentage verification together with existing registration records, we confirmed the documented ancestry of every producing cow in our herd. That work allowed us to complete registration for every eligible producing female and establish a reliable foundation for future breeding decisions.
Today, that information forms the basis of the Highland Dale Herd Book.
Highland Cattle Herd Book
The Highland Dale Herd Book is the living record of our fold and the foundation of our breeding program. Here, you'll find the registered Scottish Highland cattle that call Highland Dale home, along with their pedigrees, maternal families, photographs, and individual stories. Each profile is designed to help visitors move beyond a simple cattle listing and into a deeper understanding of the animal—its ancestry, its role within the fold, and the legacy it represents. As our breeding program grows, the Herd Book will continue to expand, documenting each generation while preserving the history, genetics, and stewardship that define Highland Dale.
Three Maternal Families Shape Highland Dale
Every breeding program develops around influential females whose characteristics continue through future generations.
At Highland Dale, three maternal families have become the foundation of our herd. Each represents a unique combination of ancestry, temperament, maternal influence, and documented pedigree.
As our Herd Book continues to grow, each family will have its own dedicated history, photographs, pedigree research, and descendant records.
Gwendolyn Family
Gwendolyn's pedigree reflects generations of respected Highland breeding.
Her sire, RTH Van Norman, earned Reserve Grand Champion Bull honors at the National Western Stock Show in 2010. Through both her sire and dam, Gwendolyn's ancestry includes influential animals whose pedigrees extend through prominent North American breeding programs and into historic Scottish herd books.
Research into her maternal line also connects Highland Dale to West Wind's Gwendolyn, an influential female recognized for producing numerous champion descendants. While we cannot confirm whether Beauford Wilson intentionally named Gwendolyn AAA Quality in tribute to that cow, the shared ancestry illustrates the depth and historical significance of this maternal family.
As additional pedigree research continues, the Gwendolyn family page will document these connections in greater detail, providing historical context for one of Highland Dale's most influential maternal lines.
Finley Falls Phyllis Family
Finley Falls Phyllis represents another important maternal family within our herd.
Her pedigree traces to LEA Faye, the dam of Finley Falls Duncan, a bull recognized with consecutive Grand Champion Bull titles at the National Western Stock Show in 2017 and 2018.
While championship titles recognize individual animals rather than guarantee inherited performance, studying these pedigrees helps us understand how influential families have contributed to the development of modern Highland cattle.
The Finley Falls family continues to play an important role in Highland Dale's long-term breeding program.
Flanna Family
Flanna shares portions of her maternal heritage with the Gwendolyn family through Skye High Yelene and the influential sire Scott of Craycombe.
Scott of Craycombe earned widespread recognition in Great Britain and remains an important name in modern Highland pedigrees. His ancestry reaches further into historic Scottish bloodlines that continue to appear throughout registered Highland cattle today.
These shared ancestors illustrate how carefully documented pedigrees help breeders understand relationships among animals while preserving the history of influential families across generations.
Looking Beyond Championships
Champion animals become part of Highland history, but championships represent only one chapter in a much larger story.
At Highland Dale, we study the accomplishments of notable ancestors because they provide historical context for the families represented within our herd. Those accomplishments are considered alongside documented pedigree, DNA parentage verification, structural evaluation, temperament, maternal performance, and the goals of our breeding program.
Every Highland is evaluated as an individual.