Cameron Bonar with piping royalty winning overall trophy at Braemar Highland Gathering

Braemar, Scotland – September 6, 2025 – Cool but dry conditions prevailed at the Royal Braemar Gathering, where 17-year-old Cameron Bonar of Surrey, British Columbia, was the overall winner in the senior solo piping events, taking two seconds and a third against a strong field.

John McDonald of Aberdeen won the Piobaireachd Gold Medal, which is traditionally presented at the closing ceremony by a member of the royal family, whose Balmoral estate is about 10 miles away.

There was no organized announcement or posting of prize lists, only a steward floating around passing out the tokens to the prize winners. The contest did not require adjudicators to be members of the Solo Piping Judges Association or follow SPJA and Competing Pipers Association policies.

Piobaireachd (23 entered)
1st John McDonald, Aberdeen, Scotland
2nd Angus MacPhee, Inverness, Scotland
3rd Cameron Bonar
4th Dan Lyden, Timonium, Maryland
5th Gordon Barclay, Aberdeen, Scotland
6th Zephan Knichel, Lynwood, Washington
Judges: Ian Duncan, Robert Wallace, Duncan Watson

2/4 March (29 entered)
1st Ben Duncan, Edinburgh
2nd Cameron Bonar
3rd Zephan Knichel
4th Hector Munro, London
5th Jamie Elder, Auchtermuchty, Scotland
6th Andrew Carlisle, Pittsburgh
Judges: D.J. MacIntyre, Neil Selbie, Logan Tannock

Strathspey & Reel (29 entered)
1st Ben Duncan
2nd Cameron Bonar
3rd Liam Nicolson, Sydney
4th Andrew Carlisle
5th Hector Munro
6th Jamie Elder
Judges: D.J. MacIntyre, Neil Selbie, Logan Tannock