THREE Dartmoor ponies helped five special children from Mayfield School in Torbay complete the challenging 7.5-mile Jubilee Challenge, organised as part of the Ten Tors weekend on Dartmoor.

George, Rolo and Boss are Dartmoor Heritage Ponies — the original type of Dartmoor pony that is the foundation stock for all Dartmoors on the moor and worldwide.

They were trained for the event by the Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust, which worked with the pupils from Mayfield over several weeks, to prepare for the challenge.

Guy Rapson, team manager, said that right from the beginning of the walk, 15-year-old Sammy became really fond of George, who repeatedly nuzzled her and her wheelchair and almost seemed to be saying 'come on, let's get on with it then, I'll look after you'.

He said: 'Without the inspiration and motivation the ponies gave to the children, there is no doubt that they would not have completed the walk.

'The inspiration for the children was immediately visible, but I didn't realise just how important these ponies would become to the team.

'Another young girl, Charlotte, aged 15, nearly gave up before we started, but after agreeing she wanted to walk with George and not let him down, and then hearing the ponies whinnying up ahead after she had felt unable to leave the start, Charlotte suddenly found the strength and determination to catch up.

'She walked and ran, sang and danced to the finish.

'Without the ponies, Charlotte would have been unlikely to have completed her Jubilee Challenge, which would have been such a shame after she had worked so hard to be part of the team and to train.'

Dru Butterfield, charity manager for DHPT, said: 'A team of Dartmoor ponies has walked with severely disabled children from several schools in Devon for the Jubilee Challenge in the last three years.

'Their friendships with George, Rolo and Boss are now well established and we hope they will continue to work with the ponies to give them inspiration and motivation to achieve as much as they possibly can.

'Tears and smiles are the order of the day for the Jubilee — it is a wonderful opportunity for the children and the ponies to shine.'