The Dales pony originated in the Yorkshire Dales of England. This sturdy breed stands 13.2 to 14.2 hands with a preferred height of 14-14.2h. Predominantly black, Dales may also be brown, bay, grey and roan.

A heavy, compact breed, the Dales pony was originally recognized and prized for its smaller size, tremendous strength and great stamina. Farmers and miners in the 17th and 18th century found a breed who could work as hard and perform just as well as a large draft horse, yet at half the size, Dales required far less feed to maintain.

For the miner, Dales ponies were able to cover rough, mountainous terrain, carrying up to 200lbs, traveling up to 200 miles in a week. For the Farmer, Dales were capable of heavy work such as plowing the fields, yet were stylish enough to take the family to church and quick enough to participate in the popular trotting races of the day.

The War Department in England also found the Dales Pony to be more economical and efficient than their much larger cousins. As a result, Dales ponies served in WWI and WWII as Artillery Horses.

During WWII, many of the Dales mares which had not been taken or conscripted by the war department, were bred to Clydesdales to produce "vanners" which were in high demand at the time. This act was devastating to the purebred Dales pony.

Following WWII, very few ponies had returned and with the few mares at home producing "vanners", numbers had declined to the point that the Dales pony was pushed to the brink of extinction. In 1955 just 4 purebred ponies were registered.

Through the efforts of just a handful of dedicated breeders, the Dales pony continued to exist. By 1971, the number of ponies had risen enough that extinction was no longer an immediate threat, however, the population was still so few that the future of the Dales pony remained in serious danger.

Today, the number of Dales ponies has improved considerably, however, with just 2,000 purebred ponies worldwide and approximately 150 in North America, they are still classified as Endangered. The purebred Dales pony population continues to be watched and monitored by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

Interest and awareness in the Dales pony is increasing and ponies are now being sought for their abilities as riding, driving, pleasure and show ponies, more than capable of performing successfully in any discipline.