NEVER again will anyone doubt the boost that two equine crania can give to both a local economy and the cultural life of a country. The much-loved Kelpies, public art in the form of a pair of horses’ heads 100ft high, have won the Pioneer Award at the World Canals Conference, taking place in Inverness.

That these prestigious awards include in other categories the likes of Venice’s Waterways, puts the Forth & Clyde Canal in very fine company indeed. But The Kelpies, personifying both a lost industry and, in the words of artist Andy Scott, “a proud declaration of intent for the future of Scotland”, well deserve their place.

They may have their detractors, particularly among those who scoffed that they would be populist, but the people do indeed love these majestic beasts and so, clearly, do discerning awards panels with an eye for public art and how it can help to regenerate areas like waterways.

Of course, the Kelpies are just part of the successful Helix parkland project that has transformed 350 hectares of neglected land between Falkirk and Grangemouth into a popular visitor attraction and marine hub. Other canals may live in the shadow of the giant Kelpies, but we are sure there are spin-off effects for them too, with such awards raising the profile of all Scottish waterways and their possibilities.

This award also raises Scott’s profile as high as his horses’ heads and will doubtless be a more professionally satisfying victory than his other one earlier this week against a German-style burger van that had encroached upon the Kelpies’ territory.

As for the bonny beasts themselves, who knows the secret of their appeal? Is it their grace and style? Their very size? Their stillness in movement? Their movement in stillness? Whatever the case, these working horses are once more paying their way, trailing life and commerce and pleasure in their wake.