The Dales Pony is a British breed of pony or small horse. It originated in, and is named for, the Dales of Yorkshire in northern England. It is one the nine native mountain and moorland pony breeds of the United Kingdom, and belongs to the broader Celtic group of ponies which extends from Portugal and northern Spain to Scandinavia. It was originally a working pony, and its history is closely linked to the history of lead mining in the Dales. A stud-book was established in 1916. It was used extensively by the British Army in both world wars, and during the Second World War came close to extinction. Subsequent conservation efforts have had some success in rebuilding the population, but it is still an endangered breed, and is listed as "critical" by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Its qualities include strength, hardiness, stamina, courage, intelligence and good disposition. History Horses have been present and used in the Dales area from early times. Horse remains dating to Roman times were found in the Ribchester area of the Dales, during North Pennines Archaeology's excavations at land behind the Black Bull Inn in 2009. The Romans themselves named an ancient British tribe to the east of the Pennines the Gabrantovici, or 'horse-riding warriors'. The history of the modern Dales Pony is strongly linked to the history of lead mining in the Dales area of England, which stretches from the Derbyshire peaks to the Scottish borders. Lead has been mined in this area since Roman times, and Richard Scrope, then Chancellor of England, owned lead mines at Wensleydale in the 14th century. Iron ore, fuel for smelting, and finished lead were all carried on pack ponies, with each pony carrying up to at a time. Pack pony trains of up to 20 ponies worked 'loose' (not led), under the supervision of one mounted train leader. The modern Dales Pony is descended from a number of breeds, with the original working ponies being bred by crossing the Scottish Galloway pony with native Pennine pony mares in the Dales area in the late 1600s. A century later Norfolk Cob bloodlines were brought into the breed, which traced back to the Darley Arabian, and most ponies today have pedigrees which can trace back directly to this influential horse (one of the foundation sires of the modern Thoroughbred). Clydesdale, Norfolk Trotter, and Yorkshire Roadster blood was added to