He’s springy, elastic and light when he’s running, comes up to the mark in time and to spare. His opponents can’t beat him, or match him in cunning, they say we were beat because Dinnie was there.


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Wind Beneath the Stones 2016

 

 

 

We will keep up you updated here with any news on events etc concerning the Dinnie Steens. Please feel free to send us any news via our contacts page.

We would like to take this time to thank Jim & Rosemary Splaine who have been keeping our Donald Dinnie spirits raised with their excellent photos and videos during the pandemic!

Recent News

4th February 2024 - This coming Tuesday sees our first 2024 group of lifters taking on the mighty Dinnie Stones. We would all like to wish Andrew Russell from Northern Ireland, Ross Christie from Scotland, Claire McKinnon from Scotland, Sam Smallwood from England, Steve Cumming from Scotland & Kevin Daniel Smith from Scotland the best of luck! There are still 2 available lifting slots so get in quick with your prequal!!

4th February 2024 - Plans for the 8th annual Donald Dinnie Day Gathering are well under way with all slots for lifting taken. All athletes for the Donald Dinnie Games are confirmed. For any ladies wishing to complete in the Jan Todd Games please feel free to contact us. Prequalification has just one requirement - lift the Dinnie Stones. Ladies strength sports is growing at a fantastic rate and last year's first Jan Todd Games were amazing. With your input and help we can continue to make it grow!

11th August 2023 - Well that's a wrap on the 7th annual Donald Dinnie Day Gathering. I can't even begin to describe how proud I am of how the event has grown and how amazing everyone who was involved is! All the games athletes and Dinnie Stones lifters gave everything they had and put on world class performances. All the Gathering team went the extra mile to make sure everything was perfect. These guys were up from the crack of dawn, drove many miles and moved literally tons of granite. In attendance we had 2 former World's strongest men (Tom Stoltman and Martins Licis) & two former Europe's strongest men (Luke Stoltman and Laurence Shahlaei). We had Scottish strength Royalty with the 3 Stoltman brothers lifting the Dinnies for the first time and all on the same day. We added two more amazing lady lifters to the Dinnie Stones roll of honour. We had the Godfather of Scottish strength Stuart Murray as our head referee ably assisted by Arnolds organiser and first lady Dinnie Stone lifter Jan Todd. Loz Shahlaei blew us all away by completing the full Dinnie Stones carry challenge in a single pickup and adding over 5' to push out his world record. The first Jan Todd Games were amazing and fully lived up to expectations with fierce performances from the ladies. Hannah Linzay was a very worthy winner. Chris Beetham took the Donald Dinnie Games title fending off some very strong competition. A new field record was set on the world famous Brett Nicol Walking Stones. We also paid tribute to our friend Karen Gardner. 

Generous GoFundMe donations from the stonelifting community and our sponsors Steve Gardner, Martin Jancsics & Cerberus Strength allowed us to up the quality of the prizes and provide stunning tshirts. Thanks also to Ballogie Estate for giving us access to the Dinnies & their land and for handling all the necessary paperwork!
With the exception of my mum and dad not being able to make it this year it was as close to a perfect day as I could have hoped for. I'm off to dream up more nasty events for next year lol
For official photos and videos please visit Jim Splaine Snr and Rosemary Splaine's facebook pages

18th May 2023 - Donald Dinnie Games competitors now finalised - click here for full DD Day shedule

16th May 2023 -Richard O'Brien from Killarney in Ireland & Josh Goldthorp from Chilliwack in BC, Canada succesfully lift the mighty Dinnie Stones

24th April 2023 - Former Europe's Srongest Man and WSM competitor Laurence Shahlaei has confirmed that he will be attending this year's Donald Dinnie Day Gathering to attempt to carry the Dinne Stones for the full 17'1.5" to complete the original Donald Dinnie challenge. Laurence also wants to break his current continuous carry world record with the Dinnies which currently stands at an amazing 14'10".

24th April 2023 - Gathering 2023 schedule now posted click here to view it..

18th April 2023 - New dates just released for 2023 lift attempts.

13th February 2023 - Welcome to a new year and a new season. Dates are now available for making attempts on the Dinnie Stones with more dates coming very soon. Please be sure and agree your date before booking any travel to avoid disapointment as the owners only have limited available dates due to other commitments on the Estate. The Gathering Committee are meeting this week to discuss this year's event (7 years this year!). All Dinnie Stone lifting slots at this year's Gathering are gone already but I will keep a reserve list. Some exciting new features planned for this year. Mark the date in your diary! Sunday 6th August 2023. Best of luck to everyone training for this most magnificent challenge! Best wishes, Stevie Shanks & the Gathering Committee

22nd July 2022 - A huge thank you to our latest sponsor to come on board, Cerberus Strength. Your support is very much appreciated!!

"Whether I'm competing at WSM or I'm on the platform at a Powerlifting meet, I need to be able to rely on my equipment 100%. In the gym training or on the world stage, Cerberus never lets me down." Laurence Shahlaei - Europes Strongest Man, 2x Britains Strongest Man & 9x WSM Competitor

7th April 2022 - I'm delighted to announce that Smash & Pass Gymwear will be producing the official tshirts for this year's Gathering. Cheers Levi and Claire!

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14th March 2022 - Events have now been confirmed for the Donald Dinnie Games: Click here for full details

14th March 2022 - Huge thanks to our sponsor, Marcus the Caveman from Team Affinity. Looking forward to working with you brother!

Affinity was born from passion.
A passion that spanned many sports but most recently Strongman. What started off as a trip to the gym to resurrect a broken man and a broken will, has kickstarted a life changing journey and the birth of a CaveMan mentality

7th March 2022 - Huge congratulations to 63kg Chloe Brennan who took the win at the Rogue Record Breakers event at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus Ohio on Sunday 6th March 2022. Chloe successfully lifted the 734lbs Rogue Dinnie Stone replicas which were originally commissioned in Aberdeenshire, Scotland by Gordon Dinnie and brought over to the US by Drs Jan and Terry Todd in 2017. These stones weigh more than 5 times Chloe's bodyweight and she performed her amazing feat without the use of handstraps. Huge congratulations Chloe, we're all super proud of you! Chloe has kindly agreed to be a guest referee at the Gathering this year and we may even be treated to her performing a lift of the Dinnie Stones. Click here for Big Loz's video of Chloe's awesome lift

4th February 2022 - The Donald Dinnie Day Gathering has been confirmed for Sunday 7th August 2022 at Potarch. Please keep an eye on the News page for more details.

4th February 2022 - Dinnie Stones lifting attempts for 2022 are now available for booking. Please visit the Set Up Your Lift page for details on how to book and for details of upcoming lifts and available dates.

20th January 2022 - A huge thank you to our latest sponsor to come on board, Atlas Endurance. Your support is very much appreciated!!

Atlas Endurance Limited is an Atlas Stone Manufacturer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. We are a stone-lifting Community looking to promote functional fitness through the love of strongman and other related strength sports. Become part of this growing community and grab your unique strength-wear today!

17th January 2022 - A very happy and successful new year to all our friends and followers. Last year was difficult with all the restrictions placed on us however we still managed to run a very successful Donanld Dinnie Gathering with some very memorable performances and a worthy new champion in Conor Curran. We also managed to add quite a few names to the Dinnie Stones roll of honour with the most memorable lift ging to our good friend Laurence Shahlaei following his incredible cotiunous world record breaking walk of 14' 10"! The committe will meet next week to kick off plans for this year's Gathering on Sunday 7th August 2022. Please keep an eye out here for more details and also details on when we can open things up for new attempts on the Dinnie stones.

Huge thanks to our first sponsors for this year's event BTB Sleeves & Strength Shop UK! Click on the images below to take you to the BTB website for world class stone lifting sleeves which are all hand made from the highest quality materials and to the Strength Shop UK website for all Your Strength Training Needs, Gym Equipment, Lifting Belts, Knee Sleeves, Resistance Bands, Barbells, Free shipping on UK orders over £100:

 

21st August 2021 - Andy Black from Cumbernauld in Scotland travelled to Potarch to take on the world record for the Nicol walking Stones which he had narrowly missed at The Gathering. Andy was successful managing a incredible new record of 64'. Andy is a rising star in the strongman community and we wish him the very best of luck!

20th August 2021 - we are all delighted to announce that since opening up again for attempts on the Dinnie Stones we have had no less than 15 successful attempts including a very special world record by Laurence Shahlaei who carried them for an incredible distance of 14' 10" without setting them down. Laurence's incredible feat was part of our Donald Dinnie Day V celebrations which, despite a very uncertain year, we were able to run. The Donald Dinnie Games took place on Sunday 8th August at the stunning Lodge n the Loch in Aboyne. Despite having to run it as a private event all concerned had an amazing day with Conor Curran taking the Chieftain's prize. Unfortunately due o ill health our Chieftain, David webster OBE, was unable to attend but was represented by his son David Webster Jr who presented us with a stunning bronze statue of Donald Dinnie Holding the Dinnie Stones. This will be presented to the Donald Dinnie Games Champion each year and held at Potarch Cafe and Restaurant. As if all this wasn't enough we also ran the first Donald Dinnie Games Ireland at the stunning setting of Glenarm Castle on the Count Antrim coast which has a ric history with Strogmand and Highland Games. In keeping with Donald Dinnie's own tradition there will also be a Celtic games taking place later this year where the top athletes in both the Scottish and Irish Dinnie games will go head to head in a team event.

27th December 2020 - In light of current events, all scheduled Dinnie Stone attempts remain postponed. Once it is safe to do so we will resume normal lifting activities. Please check here for updates.

20th March 2020 - The Donald Day Committee have agreed that Dinnie Stone attempts will now only be scheduled for the first Saturday in each month. This is to facilitate the time of the judges, estate staff and official photographers who attend and record all attempts. Only in exceptional circumstances will attempts outside these dates be considered. Please see above the list of available dates for 2020. Advance bookings must still be made via lydia@ballogie-estate.co.uk

25th February 2020 - Given the number of planned attempts and the increase in interest in lifting the Dinnie Stones, only full lifts will now receive a certificate and be recorded in the Dinnie Stones book at Potarch and on the website. A partial lift is still a meritous feat and the lifter can claim that they have put the wind beneath the Dinnie Steens. Details on how to set up your attempt and what constiutes a full lift are contained on the 'Set Up Your Lift' page.

12th January 2020 - Plans for Donald Dinnie Day, The Gathering 4 have commenced. The date is Sunday 2nd August 2020 from 12 noon. More news to follow soon.

11th August 2019 - Hard to believe that Donald Dinnie Day, The Gathering III was a week ago. What a day it was! Huge thanks to all who took part and made this such a memorable day. We crowned our first ever Donald Dinnie games champion, Scotsman Jamie Gorrian. We had numerous successful attempts on the Dinnies including World's strongest woman Donna Moore! For a full report on all of the day's activities please click on the link above..roll on next year!

1st August 2019 - We recently had the honour of having four of the strongest men on the planet, Eddie Hall, Brian Shaw, Robert Oberst & Nick Best take on the Dinnie Stones. Check out their adventure on the History Channel - The Stronest Man in History.

23rd July 2019 - We are delighted to announce that 100th Dinnie Stone lifter Sean Peatfield will be competing in the Donald Dinnie Games. He replaces James Crossley who unfortunately has had to withdraw due to injury. We wish James a speedy recovery. We regret to announce that due to injury Enzo Donadio from Italy has had to withdraw. At an incredible 64 years of age Enzo had hoped to carry the Dinnie Stones. Get well soon Enzo and we look forward to seeing you next year.

3rd July 2019: Special thanks to our event sponsors for the 2019 Donald Dinnie Day Gathering: Ballogie Estate for hosting and facilitating this event, Andrew Cairney from Outcast Barbell Sanctuary (OBS) in Glasgow for sponsoring the Event T-Shirts, Adrian McKinnon from AMC Joinery Contractors Ltd, Aberdeen for his generous donation towards the event running costs, Gordon Ingram from Kintore, Scotland for manufacturing and donating rolling thunder handles for all Dinnie Games competitors, Brett Nicol for providing the Nicol Walking Stones and the Ballogie Stone, Steve Gardner for providing the Rendrag Stone, Charlie Blair Oliphant & Castle Water for providing the Ardblair Stones, Alan & Nancy Hale from Killer Strength Scotland for donating a set of Dinnie training rings as a raffle prize, Martin Jancsics for donating signed copies of his book for the raffle prize, David Webster OBE for kindly donating a wonderful trophy for the winner of the Donald Dinnie Games which will be engraved with the winner’s name and reside at Potarch Café & Restaurant, Jim & Rosemary Splaine for all their wonderful photos and videos and finally Stevie Shanks for providing the 1st, 2nd & 3rd place trophies for the Donald Dinnie Games.

28th June 2019 - Mark Haydock returns to Potrch with some of his lifting friends and first timer Ken Hardaker. Any time Mark comes along something special happens. Don't miss tomorrow! As always Jim & Rosemary Splaine will be there to record all the action.

16th June 2019 - Mark Johnson from the USA completes a successful lift of the Dinnies.

10th June 2019 - Annika Eilmann from Finland becomes the first lady lifter to complete a full unassisted lift and hold of the Dinnie Stones. Well done Annika! There were 6 other successful lifts on the same day from Conor Curran, John Forsythe, Tatu Karhu, Alex Kirwan, Gearoid McSweeney & Stuart Ogden.

17th May 2019 - Mark Haydock pushes his record Dinnie Stones hold time out to an incredible 46.2 seconds!

11th May 2019 - Tyson Kilpatrick from Birmingham, Alabama successfully hoisted the mighty Dinnie Steens

6th May 2019 - Plans are well under way for Donald Dinnie Day, The Gathering III - Click here for info and running schedule

5th May 2019 - Two more lifters add their names to the roll of honour - Henry Mullens on April 27th and Brendan Teeley on May 4th.

24th March 2019 - Another historic day at Potarch. Local lifter Sean Peatfield becomes the 100th unassisted lifter of the mighty Dinnie Steens.

19th January 2019 - What a day at Potarch! Brett Nicol kicked the day off with no less than 9 consecutive lifts of the Dinnies - just to make sure they were working lol ;) Adam Galbraith added his name to the roll of honour with a successful lift of the stones followed by Lewis McLuckie with a magnificent strong lift and hold. Emmajane Smith impressed everyone by becoming the third lady lifter of the stones with a strong assisted lift. She then went on to make history by becoming the first unassisted lady lifter to put the wind beneath the stones - a truly mgnificant feat. Mark Haydock amazed everyone with a record breaking lift and hold of 41 seconds!

11th January 2019 - We are off to a great start in 2019 with multiple attempts planned on the Dinnies already. We also have three lady lifters lined up with more in the wings! In addition there are carry attempts & record holds planned and at some point soon we will pass the magic 100th unassisted lifter! 2019 is shaping up to be a memorable and historic year already and we're only 11 days in! It all kicks off on Saturday 19th January at 12 noon following the first committee meeting to discuss plans for this year's Donald Dinnie Day, The Gathering III. Exciting times.

6th December 2018 - Adam Galbraith from Glasgow, Scotland; Emmajane Smith from Fairlie, North Ayrshire & Lewis McLuckie from Ardrossan, Scotland will all take on the Dinnies for the first time on the 19th January 2019 at 12 noon. They will be joined by Dinnie stone veterans Jim Splaine, Brett Nicol, Charlie Blair Oliphant and Stevie Shanks. Emmajane hopes to add her name to the very short list of only two successful lady lifters to date. We are all looking forward to a great day's lifting which will kick off at 12 noon.

16th November 2018 - Sebastian Hurst from Wimbledon, England; Gary Stevenson from Blackburn, Aberdeen; Keith Craigmile from Blackburn, Aberdeen & Michael Fraser from Blackburn, Aberdeen all successfully lifts the Dinne Stones at Potarch Cafe & Restaurant. There were valliant attempts also from former lifters of the stones Bob Parfitt from Alford, Aberdeenshire & Richard Ingram from Inverurie who are already part of the rich Dinnie history. Sebastian went on to propose to his Fiancee on the Sunday and we all wish them both a long life together filled with health and happiness :)

1st November 2018 - Scott O'Neill from Aberdeen successfully lifts the Dinne Stones at Potarch Cafe & Restaurant.

20th September 2018 - Click here to view The Gathering II Part 1 and Click here to view The Gathering II Part II. Huge thanks to Jim & Rosemary Splaine for all their hard work in putting this together. Jim has played a huge part in the history of the Dinnie Stones over the years! Jim & Rosemary attend and record every attempt at the stones along with Brett Nicol. Huge thanks to Brett as well as he was on hand for every attempt at The Gathering to assist and advise every lifter. Between them Jim & Brett have recorded well over 200 successful lifts over the years, so when you make your attempt you are in very good and very experienced hands!

26th August 2018 -Two powerful gents Daniel Falcone & Gabe Bonneville (U.S.A) arrived at Potarch to take on the the Dinnie Stones today and succeeded!

8th August 2018 - Donald Dinnie Day, The Gathering II at Potarch. What can I say, normally after a big event there is a pretty big come down as all the stress is relieved and there is nothing to organise or worry about so you go into a sort of shut down. After this Gathering weekend all I want to do is go straight back out and do it again! To say I'm buzzing would be a massive understatement. From the bottom of my heart I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who travelled from all over the world to participate and a very special thanks to the most amazing person I know, my beautiful wife Heather for her love and support throughout all the training and organisation for this wonderful event. I love you with all my heart honey and couldn't do any of this without you. We had previous lifters, new lifters, lady lifters, and lifters from the disabled strongman community. I am truly humbled to have been in the company of such amazing athletes who all came at their own expense to take on this noble and ancient challenge. Watching everyone just made me realise how lucky I am to be part of this unbelievable brotherhood and watching my dad's face as he helped and encouraged everyone was priceless. I was beyond touched to see mum and dad recreate a very special moment from 1972 sitting together on the stones. Every single attempt was worthy of the highest praise and I can't separate them as I know how much each athlete has gone through in preparation for this! Please visit Jim Splaine Snr 's facebook page to see all these warriors bare their souls in front of a huge audience and the world. There were successes, near misses, new records and memorable images created that the lifters will hopefully cherish forever. The Inver stone display and Ardblair challenge were hugely successful additions to the event. I was so honoured that David Webster OBE accepted the role of Chieftain. David is an amazing man who has dedicated his life to the strength game and the promotion of Scottish strength culture all over the world. A huge thank you to Malcolm Nicol, Helen Knowles and all the team at Ballogie Estate for proving an amazing and safe setting for all this to take place. Old friends caught up with each other and Facebook friends finally got to shake hands and share a hug in person for the first time. The level of brotherhood and support for each attempt was truly humbling to watch. All the Referees were previous lifters of the stones and offered their help selflessly and my friend Steve Gardner travelled up to record all the results for me. I can't wait to do this again and I'm so proud to know everyone who came and made this one of the most special days of my life. Having said that Frank CiavattoneSusan Holland-KeenLeigh Holland-Keenand Heather Cowan Shanks repaid me by trying to break me by keeping me up to 2.30am and making me drink sambucca shots and party and laugh until I was sore. I love you all and I'm so proud of everyone. Until next time! - Stevie Shanks

20th July 2018 - With only 2 weeks to go until Donald Dinnie Day, The Gathering II at Potarch Cafe & Restaurant, plans are well advanced and we will have over 40 lifters past and present in attendance, 31 of whom are planning to take on the famous Dinnie Steens. Some lifters are taking on the challenge for the frst time so there are no guarantees of success which will add to the excitement and suspense of the event. Included in the list are 3 valiant warriors planning to attempt to carry the mighty boulders for the full 17' 1 1/2". We will also have representatives from the ground breaking Disabled Strongman community taking part.

As this year's Gathering is a celebration of all things Dinnie there will be an Inver Stone demonstration presented by Martin Jancsics and we hope to have a special guest to assist with what promises to be a spectacular presentation. Our Chieftan David Webster OBE will kick things off at 12 noon on Sunday 5th August. David is probably one of the best known figures in Scottish strength culture and without his efforts there would be no Dinnie Steens or Inver Stone for us to enjoy. There will be a Donald Dinnie memorabilia display in one of the marquees along with food and refreshments. The Ardblair Stones are gaining more and more prominence and Charlie Blair Oliphant has very kindly agreed to bring them along on the day for anyone wishing to try their hand at the noble and ancient art of stone lifting. There will be commemorative t-shirts on sale on the day but get in quick as supplies will be limited!

We look forward to welcoming you to what promises to be a spectacular and historic display, commemorating Scotland's first sporting superstar Donald Dinnie.

Click here for directions to Potarch Cafe & Restaurant

11th July 2018 - Jake Huntley makes a valiant attempt at the mighty Dinnies but was unsuccessful on this ocassion. No doubt he will return to complete his quest. we wish him well!

27th May 2018 - Mark Haydock, one of the most prominent names in Dinnie Steen history, breaks the world reord for lifting and holding the Dinnie Stones. Mark managed a massive 38.61 seconds at Potarch Cafe & Restaurant. Next to Brett Nicol and Jim Splaine no-one has completed more unassisted lifts of the Dinnie Stones. Add this to his successful carry of the stones across Potarch bridge unassisted at The Gathering last year and you would have to say that his Dinnie track record is unequalled. His magnificent obsession will no doubt drive him on to even bigger achievements..watch this space as his incredible story unfolds. Click here for a copy of Mark's incredible feat

28th April 2018 - What a day at Potarch! There were multiple brave attempts from the 9 lifters gathered with 4 successfully hoisting the mighty boulders. 3 of the 4 lifting for the first time. Experienced lifter Charlie Blair Oliphant recreated an iconic pic first taken by Jim Splaine in the early 1970s by placing his son Laurence on his shoulders while standing with the Stones. Jamie Gorrian also added his name to the history books along with fellow Scotsman Liam Tweedie. James Crossley, who is best know as Hunter from the TV Show Gladiators, also took the stones on for the first time. James had the World Record for the lift and hold in his mind when he took position over the historic Dinnie Steens. After two incredibly close attempts he delighted the crowd by taking the record on his third try with an amazing 34.58 seconds! The remaining lifters all made brave attempts and will hopefully come back and complete their quest. Best wishes for a speedy recovery to Harry Hancock. A huge thanks to all the lifters and spectators who generously donated a total of £175 towards the Anthony Nolan Cancer Charity.

11th April 2018 - Stefan Larch from Austria successfully lifted the Dinne Stones at Potarch Cafe & Restaurant. His friend Thomas Steinacker made a valliant attempt and will no doubt make a great lift when he returns.

31st March 2018 - Jayden Hill from New Zealand successfully completes the first lift of the Dinne Stones in 2018 at Potarch Cafe & Restaurant.

8th December 2017 - Des Hylton from Brisbane, Australia successfully completes the last lift of the Dinne Stones in 2017 at Potarch Cafe & Restaurant.

5th November 2017 - Another historic day took place on a cold but sunny day at Potarch Cafe & Restaurant. Timo Lauttamus from Finland, Adam Bushaway from Herefordshire and Matt Jones from Tamworth added their names to the history books by successfully lifting the mighty Dinnie Steens. There were also valliant attempts from James Fuller and Kirsten Moore who will no doubt return and complete their quest. A meeting had been scheduled later the same afternoon to kick off plans for next year's Donald Dinnie Gathering on the first Sunday in August 2018 following the Aboyne Games. As such there was a large crowd of organisers and previous lifters in attandance to witness the attempts including Dinnie Steen legend David Webster OBE. Mark Haydock, who recently successfully carried the Steens across Potarch Bridge lifted them in a side by side fashion and took a few steps just weeks after sustaining a massive achilles tendon injury. Will Mark return next year and walk with them at the Donald Dinnie Gathering?

21st October 2017 - Keith Surette from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada successfully lifts the Dinne Stones at Potarch Cafe & Restaurant.

8th October 2017 - Jeff Vouladakis from Lake Country, Canada successfully lifts the Dinne Stones at Potarch Cafe & Restaurant.

7th October 2017 - Josh ‘Gorilla’ Brown from Blackburn, Lancashirean successfully lifts the Dinne Stones at Potarch Cafe & Restaurant.

30th September 2017 - Ian Coull successfully lifts the Dinne Stones at Potarch Cafe & Restaurant.

23rd September 2017 - Scott Dalrymple successfully lifts the Dinne Stones at Potarch Cafe & Restaurant.

2nd September 2017 - Click here for a video of the presentations to David Webster and Drs Jan & Terry Todd

28th August 2017 - Click here for a report on the day's events at The Gathering, Sunday 6th of August 2017. A very successful, historic and enjoyable day was had by all and we look forward to making this an annual celebration.

29th July 2017 - We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to our sponsors Aberdeenshire Council, Esslemont Marquees & Irn Bru for their kind donations towards the running of "The Gathering".

20th July 2017 - From 12 noon on Sunday August 6th, Potarch Cafe & Restaurant on Ballogie Estate will be host to "The Gathering", a day paying tribute to Donald Dinnie, the Dinnie Stones and stone lifting as part of our Scottish heritage.

Donald Dinnie the first true Scottish sporting hero, (who in his lifetime reportedly took part and won over 11,000 sporting competitions), made history at Potarch in 1860 by entertaining crowds of local people at Potarch market by lifting and carrying the stones that had been used to counterweight the scaffolding during repairs to the bridge. Lifting these stones weighing an immense 332kgs (approx.) proved to be a catalyst that began his passion for competing in Highland Games and strongman competitions around the world.

The Gathering in August is an event which will bring many members of the stone lifting community together from all around the world, to showcase their amazing capabilities, share stories of competitions and stone lifting and also to emulate the achievements of Dinnie over 150 years ago.

The Gathering 2017 is an invitational event and we look forward to welcoming many well-known names and faces from the stone lifting community to Potarch.  Nine individuals will attempt a lift and carry of the Stones across the width of Potarch Bridge the distance of 17ft and 1inch, exactly the length documented by Donald.  A further 12 individuals will attempt to lift the stones in the gardens of Potarch in front of family, friends and spectators.

We also welcome local artist Stephanie Vandem to Potarch who will be showcasing  her ‘Lifting’ exhibition at Potarch Café & Restaurant from the 4th – 20th August 2017.

We hope to make history in August by having the largest group of individuals who have successfully lifted the stones all at a Potarch on the day of The Gathering. So join us and be involved in a historic tribute to Donald Dinnie , one of Scotland's sporting greats in this  year of History, Heritage and Archaeology. Lifting commences outside the Hotel at 12 noon and carry attempts will commence on the bridge from 2.30pm.

14th June 2017 - A historic day with two lady lifters attempting the Steens. Susan & Leigh Holland-Keen both made valiant attempts on wednesday missing only by a whisker! No doubt they will be return to complete their quest. Congratulations to Dr Lance Holland-Keen, Mike Bickers & Aaron Monks who all made successful attempts. Next up is Charlie Blair Oliphant on 29th July.

12th June 2017 - In order to encourage more attempts lifting rules are amended by agreement to allow strap assisted attempts by lady lifters.

4th June 2017 - Huge congratulations to Martin Jnncsics who successfully hoisted the Steens unassisted on 27th May 2017 and best of luck to Mike Bickers, Dr Lance-Holland Keen & Charlie Blair Oliphant on their upcoming attempts!

25th March 2017 - Bryan Hunsaker from Salt Lake City, USA made a successful attempt at the Potarch cafe & Restaurant.

25th February 2017 - Many congratulations to Brian Irwin & Davy Bagnall who both made successful attempts at the Potarch cafe & Restaurant.

18th February 2017 - John Pollock, Ben Thomson & Stevie Shanks all made successful attempts at the Potarch cafe & Restaurant.

17th February 2017 - A busy few weeks ahead surrounding the Dinnie Steens. Starting this weekend John Pollock, Ben Thomson & Stevie Shanks will all make their attempts tomorrow at 12 noon at the Potarch cafe & Restaurant. The following Saturday Brian Irwin, William Kingsberry, Davy Bagnall, Andy Cunningham and Gary Bunting will be taking the Steens on. Finally the competitors for the Arnold Classic lift & hold competition with Gordon Dinnie's replicas have been anounced. Taking on the challenge will be: Odd Haugen, Dr Bill Crawford, Stevie Shanks and Mark Felix. This will be streamed live from 11.30am on Sunday 5th March (Columbus time). We wish everyone every success in their endeavours.

7th February 2017 - Aberdeen City Council have organised a public vote to decide on names that should be in the new ‘Hall of Heroes’ at Provost Skene’s House. It will be a visitor attraction and ‘Donald Dinnie’ is on the list for Sporting Heroes of the North East who have made a world wide contribution. The deadline is the 12th February, but wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could secure DD a place in history through the public vote! Click here for full details on how to vote etc.

21st January 2017 - Gordon Dinnie's replica Dinnie stones will appear in a Lift & Hold competition at the Arnold Classic 2017 in Columbus Ohio during the first weekend in March. Click here for full details.

21st January 2017 - Stoneland film continues to spread worldwide with almost 5.5 million views in its first month! Click here for the full film.

23rd December 2016 - Stoneland film goes viral with almost one million views in just 5 days! Click here for the Press & Journal article.

17th December 2016 - Andy Cairney and Neil 'Nelly' Elliott lift the Dinnie Steens at Potarch.

17th December 2016 - Rogue Fitness have now released the finished documnetary on Scottish stonelifting entitled 'Stoneland'. Click here to view and enjoy this wonderful account of the many historical stones of strength scattered around Scotland.

15th December 2016 - Pete Seddon from Australia performed a successful full lift of the Dinnie Steens at Potarch.

13th December 2016 - Rogue Fitness have released a trailer for their upcoming documnetary on Scottish stonelifting entitled 'Stoneland'. Click here for a sneek preview. The full film should be released by the new year.

12th November 2016 - A group comprising of the owners of the Steens at Ballogie Estate, The Aboyne Highland Games Committe and previous lifters of the Steens met at the Potarch Cafe & Restaurant on Saturday 12th November to discuss and agree guidelines for lifting the Steens. A new chapter is about to open up and it is important that the guidelines are put in place to protect the Steens for future generations and for the protection of lifters. The guidelines will be published before the end of the month. The Group is pictured top left: Ian Scott - Aboyne HGC, Stevie Shanks, Helen Knowles - Ballogie Estate, Christina Nicol - Ballogie Estate, Malcolm Nicol - Ballogie Estate, Jim Splaine & Brett Nicol.

7th August 2016 - Gordon Dinnie commissioned replicas of the Dinnie Stanes some years ago. Gordon sadly passed away in 2009 and his wife Senga has donated the stones to the Stark Center for Physical Culture & Sports in Texas. They will be shipped there soon and in time will be held up as a challenge to lifters. We will post more details on here when they become available for lifting.

7th August 2016 - The Dinnie Stanes are returned to Potarch following completion of the renovations to the old hotel. During the renovations the stones were held in trust in the capable hands of Ian Scott and the Aboyne Highland games committee. The new Potarch Cafe & Restaurant features a Dinnie memorial garden where the Stones now reside. A group of previous lifters of the stones were there to take part in a documentary on Scottish historical stone lifting 'Stoneland'. (Pictured second from the top left: Martin Jancsics, Dr Bill Crawford, Brett Nicoll, Stevie Shanks, Dr Jan Todd, Jack Shanks, David Webster & Jim Splaine). The documentary was led by Drs Terry and Jan Todd of the Stark Center for Physical Culture & Sports in Texas along with Rogue Fitness director Todd Sansom and his crew. It was fate more than a coincidence that they all happened to be there to greet the Steens just as they arrived back at their ancestral home.

6th August 2016 - James Gardner (pictured to the bottom left) and Stone lifting legend Bill Crawford go head to head on a Dinnie Stane lift and hold competition at the Aboyne Highland Games 2016. Bill had just spent the week travelling around Scotland lifting many of the ancient stones scattered around the country and managed an incredible unassisted lift and hold of 4 seconds. This was particularly impressive given the amount of energy he had already expended. James came out the victor with an amazing 13 second unassisted lift.

3rd October 2015 - Stevie Shanks made 2 unassisted lifts in the sunshine of Aboyne Green witnessed by Ian Scott of the Aboyne HGC, the local press, a large crowd of spectators and a group of Stevie’s friends who had travelled with him. His Mum and Dad were also there to see Stevie create history with his Dad by becoming the first Father and Son lifters since Dinnie himself in 1860. Stevie’s Dad, Jack Shanks was the first man to lift the stones unassisted in 1972 returning in 1973 to carry them unassisted equaling Dinnie’s feat. What a lot of people don’t know is that Donald Dinnie’s Father, Robert Dinnie also lifted the stones (with apparent ease according to Donald Dinnie’s own account). Dinnie also refers to his father carrying the stones. Stevie & Jack are the first modern Father and Son lifters of the stones. Will they become the first Father and Son to carry them?.......

Thine very truly D Dinnie

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