improve the trotting ability of the Dales. The bloodline of the Welsh Cob stallion Comet was also added during the 19th century to increase the size of the ponies, leaving a lasting resemblance between the two breeds. With their agility, power and speed, the Dales had great success in trotting races of the 18th century and were also used in organised hunts. The Fell pony continued to intermingle with the Dales into the early 20th century. In 1912, Dalesman was chosen as a Fell premium stallion by the Board of Agriculture. In 1924, he was re-registered as a Dales Pony. The Dales Pony stud book was opened in 1916, with the formation of the Dales Pony Improvement Society, after the introduction of Clydesdale blood threatened to affect the quality of the ponies. Stallion premiums were awarded first by the Board of Agriculture, and later by the War Office, to ensure that stallions displaying the best of the breed characteristics were used for breeding. Members of the breed served with the British army in Europe during the First World War. In the early 1920s, 200 of the ponies were purchased by the British army. The army took only the finest stock, with the least amount of draft blood. The specifications for the purchased ponies were very specific: all were older than five years, stood 14.0 to 14.2 hands high, weighed at least with a girth measurement of , and were able to pack at least in mountainous terrain. The breed almost disappeared during the Second World War as ponies were taken for breeding vanners (animals which pulled commercial wagons), for work in towns and cities, and for use by the British Army as pack and artillery ponies. Many ponies used by the military in Europe were left behind after the war, and in many cases they were slaughtered for food. The population declined during the war to such an extent that only four new fillies were registered in 1955. However, the post-war future of the Dales Pony was preserved by a small group of breeders, who began to search for unregistered ponies of the proper type. The 1960s saw three Fell pony stallions interbred with Dale mares, to help save the breed. In 1964 the Dales Pony Society underwent reorganisation. At the same time, a "Grading-Up Register" was developed, with the aim of identifying and breeding ponies with characteristics of the