A festive fancy dress pony ride for children and young people takes place this weekend on Dartmoor to highlight efforts to protect moorland ponies.
More than 20 young riders and ponies from the Dartmoor Hill Pony Display Team will step out in tinsel and festive fancy dress to bring Christmas cheer to the lanes of Dartmoor on Sunday (December 15).
The public are invited to join in by seeing the ponies at the beginning of the ride and then enjoy carol singing, hot drinks and mince pies at the finish.
The event hopes to raise funds for the Friends of the Dartmoor Hill Pony, a local charity working to protect the future of Dartmoor's semi-wild pony herds.
The ride will leave from the charity's HQ at Corndonford Farm near Poundsgate TQ13 7PP, at 12 noon. The riders, aged from six to 18 years of age will make their way to Bel Tor car park accompanied by volunteers on foot and even a few young ponies in training.
Members of the public will be able to meet the ponies at the car park before the festive procession heads back to the farm.
After the ride at 2pm, the charity is inviting members of the public to join them for the singing and refreshments and another chance to meet more of the ponies at Corndonford Farm.
Charity founder Charlotte Faulkner said: "We are all looking forward to getting together for a fun Christmas celebration. But this is also about raising awareness of the importance of Dartmoor's hill ponies and raising vital funds to keep going with our work."
The Friends of the Dartmoor Hill Pony is an entirely volunteer-led and run organisation, so every penny raised by the Display Team on Sunday will go directly to protecting the future of Dartmoor's hill ponies.
Winter feeding costs alone run into the thousands of pounds. Each year the charity takes in young ponies from the annual pony drifts on the moor.
Charlotte added: “The younger ponies are cared for, fed, given any veterinary treatment that is needed and patiently trained to be handled by a team of volunteers. All of this is vital for helping the ponies move on to good homes and fulfilling lives once they have come off the moor.
“Proving the incredible value of these versatile, hardy and intelligent ponies off the moor is a vital part of securing the future of the wild herds on Dartmoor, where the ponies play an essential role in protecting the unique landscape and biodiversity of the moor.”
To find out more about Dartmoor's hill ponies and the work of the Friends of the Dartmoor Hill Pony, visit https://wildtowonderful.org/
To donate to the Christmas fancy dress ride, please go to: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/christmas-fancy-dress-sponsored-ride-and-carols