DAY ONE: ‘I got to see the ponies up close as the round-up began’

 By Alissa Reid

The natives called it Assateague which means, “Beautiful land beyond the water.” Spring is in the salty air on Assateague Island these beautiful evenings in April and May. The song birds are singing, the squirrels are climbing about in the tree tops, and the wild ponies are running gracefully in the salt marshes.

The roundup is a two-day event. It begins late on Friday along the edge of Assateague Channel where the southern herd is driven across the big meadow along Beach Road. This is where most visitors can see the ponies grazing, usually at a distance. From the open area they move along to a fenced in holding area on Woodland Trail. This time, due to the heavy rains the week before, the small Woodland holding area was overflowing.

The Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge is once again alive.  Spring is the time of year to not only do some cleaning and prepare for the flood of summer visitors; it is also a time to round up the ponies for another appointment with their veterinarian, Dr. Charlie Cameron. This round-up would be the job of about 40 of the world famous Salt Water Cowboys, and this time I got a front row seat to this event. Unknown to many, the ponies are rounded up three times a year. In the spring roundup Dr. Charlie Cameron and his staff check to see if the ponies all made it through the winter months ok, and give them medications to protect them from disease.

As I stood ankle deep in mud and marsh grass waiting to see the riders I couldn’t help but feel the excitement.  I have always seen the ponies, even gotten to touch them a few times. But for the first time I got to truly see them up close with only a thin strand of barb wire between me and the whole southern herd.

This was my first writing assignment with www.wildponytales.info, the online magazine about Chincoteague and Assateague. My mother, Tammy Rickman, has been writing for the site months ago.

As we waited, suddenly the quiet of this spring evening changed. I began to hear the splashing and neighing of the ponies as they approached the holding area ahead of the cowboys. They were galloping at full speed toward me and the few visitors nearby. I was seeing and feeling what others couldn’t even comprehend. As they got closer and closer I grabbed my camera and started snapping shots of every pony I could possibly focus in on with my lens. After about 20 to 30 minutes of observing and picture taking, with all the ponies now accounted for, the cowboys opened a gate and herded the ponies across Woodland Trail, through the trees, toward the southern corral on the Beach Road curve. My mom, who was taking her own photos nearby, and I were the first to leave the Woodland area so we could make it to the corral in time. The corral is just a short distance from Woodland Trail.

Arriving at the corral I began to get even more excited. The grass area behind the corral was packed full of Buy Back Babes and people with big expensive cameras. The Buy Back Babes are a group of ladies who buy ponies at the annual auction in July each year and give them back to the herd. Two years ago they paid a record $17,500 for Prince, now a stallion in the southern herd. For most of the Buy Backs, the roundups offer the only chance for them to see the ponies they bought.

I wanted to have a front row view, so I tip-toed my way through the spectators who had gathered and finally made it to the bank of the shallow canal that was right past the corral. Along with everyone else, I stood and waited for about 10 to 15 minutes, but every second felt like an hour. Finally I heard the sharp cracks of the cowboy’s whips and their loud shouts. As I looked up the sight before me was breath taking.

The sun was now beginning to set and when the ponies emerged from the wooded area illuminated their shiny coats. It was almost like a fairytale. They galloped all the way to the fence and splashed their way through the canal. They didn’t even seem like they needed guidance. They all went right to the corral without question.

Just as I began to think my day was winding down I saw one more group of riders coming. Along with them was a tiny foal with wobbly legs and a bouncy little head. The foal was simply adorable; it couldn’t have been more than five days old. And behind the spindly legged foal was a rider carrying an even smaller foal across his saddle. I was told this one was born the day before and couldn’t walk through the thick marsh mud.

Soon all the ponies were safely in the big corral, although this is not a place where all the stallions, used to having their own band of mares, are completely happy. But thanks to the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, which actually owns the ponies, there is plenty of fresh water and hay. After a night of rest, they will keep their date with Dr. Cameron and then be returned to the range they call home.

It the end of the evening I was surprised when two personal friends, who happen to be Salt Water Cowboys, extended an invitation for me to go out to the northern corral for the Saturday morning roundup.  As I lay in bed that night I replayed the events of the day over and over. I couldn’t sleep with all the thoughts going through my head about the adventure of the coming hours.

DAY TWO: The Cowboys Get an Early Start

Waking up at 5 a.m. after a nearly sleepless night I rolled out of bed and got ready for the adventurous day I had ahead of me. I trudged sleepily to the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee someone had made earlier that morning. Standing on the other side of the kitchen was Fire Chief David Lewis and beside him was his stepson Billy McGee. They were planning out the day’s events which would include their jobs in helping round up the northern herd of the Chincoteague wild ponies.

I had asked my mom the night before if I could be allowed to just stay at Billy’s house for the night so I didn’t have to wake her up so very early. As the few minutes I sat and drank my coffee went by I started to get excited. I had another thrilling day ahead of me.

I went back to my room and put on something comfortable, and came back out to the kitchen and applied the little bit of makeup I had the energy to put on. I picked up my Canon XTI camera and headed for the door. Outside was a red Ford pickup with “Chincoteague Vol. Fire Department” written on the passenger and drivers side doors waiting for me and the few Salt Water cowboys who were by then hanging around the house.

I got into the back seat with Billy and then we were on our way.  The man driving was Jimmy Lewis. The riders were dressed in leather chaps with wrangler jeans underneath. Most were wearing denim jackets and plaid button up shirts. I could tell they hadn’t shaved because they had 5 o’clock shadows.

Billy and I both attend the high school here on Chincoteague Island and both get high grades. The reason I enjoy hanging around the roundups they have is because I’ve ridden, trained and showed horses since I was able to get up on one. Billy himself owns a chestnut quarter horse named Ace. Billy and I are dating but we keep things strictly professional when we are doing the round-ups. He became a member of the fire company a year ago and has been a rider for only a few months.

In addition to the spring roundup, there is the one most people know about that takes place in July for Pony Penning, an event that draws thousands of people to Chincoteague from everywhere around the world. This is when the ponies swim from Assateague to Chincoteague across Assateague Channel. The channel is about 60 yards wide and 7 feet deep most of the way across. The firemen walk the ponies from the boat ramp, up Pony Swim Lane, and down Main Street to the fairground corral where they will be auctioned off to raise money for the fire company. Then there is the fall roundup, held in October, again to provide for the care of the ponies.

David Lewis, Billy’s step dad is the fire chief and has been for about seven years, but he has been a member of the fire company for about 30 years. He is a dedicated member of the Pony Committee and actively participates in various volunteer events that the department holds, such as the pony swim and the carnival.

Arriving at the north end turn circle, which was 7 ½ miles away from everything else on Assateague, I got out of the truck with coffee still in hand. It was about 6 a.m. and the wildlife was already up. I could smell the fresh salty air. It was a warm, sunny day and this was the best way to spend it. I walked around the turn circle, talking to a few cowboys here and there.

After about 10 minutes of being there and watching the riders on their horses they started to leave, group by group. I’ve never seen a bunch of men so energized at this hour of the day. When the last group took off through the woods it was now the job of  two friends and me to drive the trucks and trailers back up to the corral, some four miles. This going back and forth took about two to three hours, due to the fact that there were no fewer than 30 trailers to haul back up the dirt road.

The northern herd of some 100 ponies is very rarely seen by people because the service road used to get to the northern end is gated off and to be used only by personnel of the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and the fire company. No vehicles are allowed but the Chincoteague Natural History Association does operate a tour bus. The schedule and tickets are available at the information center.

After all the driving we stayed at the corral and waited patiently for the cowboys to get back. The cowboys have never allowed women to be riders because it would break tradition of men riding. I took out my camera and snapped a few pictures of the ponies than hadn’t been rounded up yet.  It was still delightfully warm out and there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. The cowboys were so lucky. They got to go out on a three mile ride to the Virginia/ Maryland line on the beach on a great day like this.

In the time I spent waiting for the riders to return one of the tour busses showed up. This time Refuge Manager Lou Hinds had provided a bus for the Buy Back Babes and some of their grandchildren, and others, to have a way out to the roundup. In the past this group walked the nearly four miles out on the service road.

I knew it was getting near time for the cowboys to arrive when the veterinarian trucks and nurses in scrubs started arriving. I took a few more snap shots and put my camera away. I walked through the protective fence and sat on a post. I could tell I was sunburned from the events of the morning. I sat on the post for a good 20 minutes just thinking of how much fun the riders had to be having out there. It was nearly noon and they still weren’t back. But I thought too soon. Right as I said that, I heard shouts and hollers coming from all directions.

I looked out on the marsh and I saw them. The wild ponies were running in every direction trying to escape, some coming on in like they always did. I took out my camera to capture this beauty and gracefulness. They ran so smoothly and so fast. As they neared I was asked to take a few steps back by some of the vets because the ponies got quite jumpy when they entered the corral. And that they did, but most of them went in without a fight. But as for some of the others, they were kicking and neighing like they thought death was beyond the fence line. One stallion actually went into the corral, took off at a full gallop and ran right back out. It took three riders and some vets to get him in, and he still tried to take off.

Finally all the ponies were in the gate. Once again it was time for Dr. Cameron and his associates to get to work. Along with Dr. Cameron and his staff, fire company staff pitched in. In all there were about 15 to 20 people helping with the vaccinations. The shots given include protection against rabies and West Nile. Some of the vets were giving free vaccinations to the riders horses as well.

As everything was winding down and everyone’s horses were vaccinated all the cowboys sat down for a hearty lunch of fried chicken and potato salad. I asked a rider what it was like to be out there all day. “I’ve been a lot of places in my day,” he said. “I’ve been to California, Puerto Rico and Texas, many other places as well. But getting out here every year and doing this. I don’t think it could be better anywhere else.”