The Jubilee Challenge is a demanding one day event designed for young people with special physical or educational needs.

Held on the Saturday of Ten Tors weekend, the Jubilee Challenge entrants share the same pressures, achievements - and weather - as the Ten Tors Teams!

Never before have a team of ponies been used to motivate and encourage these young students around the route - until now!

Saturday 13th May 2006 is a day to go down in the history books of the Ten Tors event. The Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust will be taking part in partnership with students from Millford School in Plymouth. Two of the DPHT's adoption ponies; Golden Flame and George will walk with the students to help motivate them around.

Golden Flame a mature mare, recently handled for the first time will carry a pack saddle. Young George, not yet a year is an amazing young animal that has developed a calm, almost nonchalant attitude to anything that is thrown at him - mind you he does have a preference for warm water at bathtime!

The DPHT has committed itself to raising awareness and the overall value of these wonderful ponies which have fallen into such deep decline. With less than 400 Unregistered Dartmoor ponies on the Commons of Dartmoor these ponies find themselves now rated as at the Critical level. Their precious blood lines are cause for great concern, as these ponies fall ever closer to extinction.

However, there is a simple solution, by raising the value of the annual foal crop we can encourage pony keepers to breed them. These ponies have such big hearts, gentle natures and are so quick to learn, it's not surprising it was so easy to teach these ponies to work with students with special needs.

Millford students have been working with George and Golden Flame over several months, as time has gone by the students have grown fond of their pony walks and the ponies have displayed great gentleness despite the often enthusiastic approach some students have made.

For more information please contact: Mrs Dru Butterfield, Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust 01626 355314, 0789 0372709. email contact @ dpht.co.uk

Please click here to visit the Ten Tors Jubilee Challenge 2006 website.