The last time I was at High Cup (about two years ago) I saw plenty of fell ponies.
Nice photos by the way. In 1994 we spent most nights in the Stag and I remember one particular farmer who came in a lot. He was a typical Pennine farmer, very taciturn. Alas I can't remember his name.
My fieldwork up there was when I was a Geology student. I mapped the rocks from Dufton Pike down to Murton Pike in the south. I have some fantastic memories, like a sitting outside the now sadly closed inn (I think it was called the Cross Keys) at Hilton, supping a pint of ale in the evening sun. I certainly look forward to your pictures.
I'm in SE Lancs, nearest town being Rochdale probably. I know High Cup very well. It was a wonderful sight when I first saw it on the Pennine Way in 1990. In 1994 I also spent six weeks living in a caravan in Dufton whilst doing university fieldwork and really fell in love with the area. The whole mass of moorland between the A66 and Alston I just find magnificent.