Recent Press Releases

From the Dartmoor Pony Training Centre

Last year the Dartmoor Pony Training Centre (DPTC) took a call from a concerned resident in Moretonhampstead who had stumbled upon a very lost pony.  Hobo, who was no more than 6 months old, had been found wandering the lanes all alone and scared.  Residents helped to round him up in to a secure area and rang the DPTC. Luckily they were based less than a mile away . . . so how could they turn down such a lovely lonely soul?! 

Hobo at the time was completely wild so catching and loading him was not an option. He was gently herded down the lanes to the field where all the other DPTC Ponies were waiting to comfort and reassure him. 

Now Hobo is growing in to a wonderful pony full of character. Initially he found it very hard to trust humans after his homeless ordeal – he saw them as scary people who chased him. But with time and patience he has now learnt that humans can be trusted and even bring nice things such as food!

Hobo doesn’t want to be homeless any more so is now looking for a home where he can be loved and cared for. The DPTC have a variety of hill ponies in different shapes and sizes who would also love new homes where they can enjoy lots of fuss and give lots of love in exchange.  If you are interested then please call Natalie on 07802 218169  or e-mail dartmoorponytrainingcentre@yahoo.co.uk. 

From the Open Spaces Society

DARTMOOR AT SIXTY — 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS 

‘We congratulate the Dartmoor National Park on its sixtieth birthday—but there is still plenty of unfinished business.’

So declared Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of the Open Spaces Society (1) speaking at an event(2) on Sunday (31 July) at Meldon reservoir, near Okehampton, organised by Devon Ramblers to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the Dartmoor National Park and National Parks Week (25-31 July 2011).

Kate continued: ‘There are still major gaps in public access in the park.  At the end of March the access agreement for land at Southdown, Meldon, ended and the park authority had insufficient funds to renew it at the cost demanded by the landowner.

‘The public is still barred from the wonderful Vixen Tor and we await the outcome of the public inquiry into path claims there.

‘Moreover, the government has ceased to offer access payments as part of the Higher Level Stewardship funding, even though these brought immense public benefit.

‘Much of Dartmoor is now undergrazed because the agricultural support system is not geared specifically to Dartmoor’s conditions; the traditional hill-farming system is at risk.  If land is undergrazed, it gets swamped in vegetation which is bad for public access, the habitat and archaeology.  We hope the national park authority, working with the Dartmoor Commoners’ Council, Natural England and wildlife and access bodies, can find a speedy solution.

‘Military training continues on vast swathes of northern Dartmoor, and the military seeks to renew its consent at Cramber Tor, on south-west Dartmoor, which expires in 2013.  As long ago as 1977, Lady Sharp announced that “military training and a national park are discordant, incongruous and inconsistent”.  Nothing has changed.

‘So the national park has important and challenging times ahead, as it faces ever swingeing and totally unjust budget cuts from central government.

‘We call on the government to recognise the value of national parks to the nation, for delivering health and happiness, challenge and enjoyment, as places of tranquillity rich in natural beauty.  Ministers must ensure that the parks get the funding they need to do their vital job in promoting and protecting our most splendid landscapes and public access to them,’ Kate concluded.