Tag Archives: Assateague Island

Children in the Woods Day Camp Applications Available

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Wondering what your children will be doing this summer? Why not let them spend a week discovering Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge through Children in the Woods Day Camp?

The Camp is full of fun and educational outdoor activities that explore the six priority uses of the National Wildlife Refuge System, said Park Ranger Aubrey Hall.

Activities can include crabbing, clamming, archery, surf fishing, bicycling and kayaking.  Day Camp is offered to children who have successfully completed 3rd, 4th, or 5th grades by summer 2012 and must be between 8 and 11 years old.

Applications for the children in the Woods Day Camp are now available at the Herbert H. Bateman Educational and Administrative Center and online at ww.fws.gov/northeast/chinco.  A lottery will be held to select 14 participants for each session. Preference will be given to those who have not previously attended Children in the Woods Day Camp. Applications for the camp must be hand delivered or received in the refuge office by 5 p.m. on May 15. 

Three sessions will be offered this year.  There is a fee of $50.00 per participant, but scholarships are available.  There is a single application for June, July and August day camps. The sessions are:  Session 1: June 18 – 22, 2012 

Session 2: July 16 – 20, 2012

Session 3: August 6 – 10, 2012

If mailing, send application(s) to:

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge

Attn:  Children in the Woods Day Camp

P.O. Box 62

Chincoteague, VA 23336

The Children in the Woods Day Camp is sponsored by the Chincoteague Natural History Association.  To learn more and see memorable photos from past camps, visit their website at www.piping-plover.org. Go to the Kids Corner tab and click on Children in the Woods.

For more information, contact Aubrey Hall, Park Ranger, Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge at (757) 336-6122 ext. 324.

Stories Lead More Chincoteague Ponies to Rescue Pastures

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By Robert Boswell

Publisher, Wild Pony Tales

Part of the job of running the Chincoteague Pony Rescue calls for detective work.

When she finishes feeding, watering, checking for any sign of sickness and giving medical care to those ponies who arrive in poor condition, Debbie Ober sits at her computer and goes searching for anything she can find on the Rescues in her pastures.

The famous Assateague Island stallion, Tornado, gets a rub from Debbie Ober. Tornado is the sire of Prince, who was sold to the Buy Back Babes for $17,500, the highest amount ever paid for a Chincoteague pony. Tornado moved to the Ober farm when he was injured and is now at his forever home. Photo by Robert Boswell

She is up to 10 rescued Chincoteague ponies now. Five were bought at the famous auction held each July, two of them this past Pony Penning, an event that draws thousands to Chincoteague Island each summer. Another Rescue pony is coming in next week. Debbie has 11 ponies of her own.

Debbie and husband, Tom, had rescued other breeds over the years, but decided to focus on Chincoteagues in 2000. By 2008 they had made the move to only Chincoteagues.  Since the publication in November of the Wild Pony Tales story in the Eastern Shore News, Chincoteague Beacon, Horse Force Monthly, the Caroline Review and elsewhere the Ober farm in Ridgely, Maryland has become a beehive of activity.

A website, www.chincoteagueponyrescue.org is now up and running. There is constant posting to the Rescue Facebook page which is up to 445 Friends. With overlap Debbie’s personal page has 1,300 Friends. Paperwork had to be complete for filing both Maryland non-profit status as well as the federal non-profit application. There are frequent trips for feed, hay, bedding and medical supplies.

Usually a rescued pony coming to the Obers or leaving for adoption means hooking up their trailer and providing transportation, sometimes far away.

And then there is the constant vigil for donations. “We have received donations from many pony friends, family members and the Buy Back Babes,” said Debbie. “We also received a donation from the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company in early December. We are running a hay drive as we speak to earn funds for continued hay for the rescue ponies” Debbie adds, “Again, any help would be appreciated and welcomed.”

 

 She and Tom are also looking for personal and corporate sponsorships for the ponies and the rescue organization.  Corporate sponsors will be listed on the horse trailer and elsewhere, she said.

It takes approximately $1,500 per year per pony for feed and hay including veterinary care (vaccines and worming), farrier, etc. “So right now, it takes about $30,000 per year for 21 ponies, which is our current number, including our older retirement ponies, rehabs and ponies ready for adoption,” said Debbie.  Inquiries about donations or adoptions can be made by going to the Rescue website or by emailing Debbie at hawkeye@goeaston.net. Her cell is 410-829-3026 and messages may be left on her Facebook page. The mailing address is P.O. Box 125, Ridgely, MD 21660.

Fees for adoption usually run $600 to $800, depending on the cost incurred to acquire the pony and to pay for health issues.  “We don’t add any additional charge for feed, hay or months of care, which is usually required,” said Debbie.  It can require a great effort to make sure any pony adopted out is in fact a Chincoteague pony.

“It is important to verify the lineage of each rescue for several reasons,” said Debbie. “First, to make sure it is an island-bred pony.  Secondly, some of the pony people are looking for certain bloodlines and will be more apt to adopt if we know who the sire and dam is.”

So the detective work begins.

“If the pony comes with registration papers or purchase receipt from the auction, I don’t have much time invested at all,” said Debbie. “I have several ways of tracking ponies without the documentation, I have several websites with pony information that I look at. Also, I refer to my personal photo’s taken since 1998 or post the pony’s photo on Facebook so that other pony peeps or BBB’s can check their records.  This way takes hours and sometimes days to research.”

A rescue pony on the Tom and Debbie Ober farm shows markings from a halter that was on either too tight or too long.

Debbie and Tom said they have no access to fire company records.  We were told that the records were lost or misplaced several years ago. That is all I can get on that. The Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company owns the herds that live on Assateague Island and cares for them year round, including a medical check at each of three roundups. the spring roundup this year is scheduled for April 13 and 14.

“I understand that some of the buyers have received a “certificate of authenticity” stating that they own a real Chincoteague Pony, but there is not a listing of the sire, dam, etc. like the papers received in past years.  I personally have sent in registrations only to have my envelope returned.”

Debbie continues, “I was told that the CVFC is working on rectifying this.  I now have 14 sets of registration papers to send in, but have decided to hand carry them. Breeders want registered ponies with papers,” Debbie said. “They can go to any auction and buy a”grade” pinto pony for $50, so why pay up to $2,500 to buy a”pure island pony.”

Two of the four ponies saved from the “kill” barn in Pennsylvania, Ginger and Captain, have been nursed back to good health and have been adopted into new homes. Ginger found a forever home in Virginia.  She will be used as an ambassador for the breed and shown at the Pony Centre on Chincoteague.  Ginger has started her under saddle training so that she will be ready to ride this summer.   

Captain found his forever home in Virginia, soon to move to N.C.  His adoptive family is retiring and building a new house, barn and pasture for Captain and his “little sister” Sunny Dee, a 2011 Filly purchased at the auction on Chincoteague.  He is doing great and loves all of the attention from his new family. 

All of the Ober’s detective work is for verification. She has a network set up to watch out for Chincoteague’s in trouble. “I am still checking weekly on several websites for rescue ponies, said Debbie. ” The brokers post weekly and I have a few Facebook friends that will send me notes if they see a pony on their local Craigslist or in their papers.  One of the brokers is now sending me direct messages if they get a Chincoteague Pony in their barn, which means the word about our rescue is getting out there.  Occasionally I have friends attend the local auctions and they will call me if a pony goes through and is unsold. 

The Obers stress they do not want to be a dumping ground for people who no longer want their ponies. “We want to rescue those Chincoteague Ponies in neglected, abusive and auction situations, get them to safety and then into forever homes,” said Tom.         

Here is the rundown on rescued ponies are ready for adoption.

Sevanna – 2005 Sun Bleached Black Mare – Her grandsires were General Lee and Hurricane, both now deceased.  Bought from kill buyers in early December 2011.  She also had strangles and had 30 days quarantine.  She is sound but has multiple old scars on her legs due to wire cuts.  Also has scaring on her back due to harness chaffing (poor fitting equipment or too long in harness). 

Allie- 2011 Bay Pinto Filly – By Miracle Man – purchased at the 2011 Pony Penning auction – Owner relinquished due to expense of monthly board. 

Breeze – 2008 Buckskin mare – Sick on arrival when she was 5 months old – severe parasite infestation.  Healthy after 6 months of veterinary care.  She is a purebred Chincoteague, one generation off island.   Breeze is available for adoption.

Dancer- 2010 Chestnut Mare by Cezanne – Privately purchased in 2011 – Owner relinquished due to moving.  She had 7 horses and could only take two.   

Sandman -  Sandman’s mother was a “free” pony, already bred with Sandman.  We took her knowing she was in foal and wanted them both to have a good home until we could get them adopted.  Sandman is a Chestnut colt by Cezanne, born here on the farm in April 2011 and is available for adoption

Clipper – a small bay gelding, one of the three original rescued from the “kill” barn in Pennsylvania in September. Clipper arrived at the Ober farm

with no hair from under his jaw to his chin with pus oozing from a dozen sores. He was unable to stand but is in good health now. Clipper is a registered Chincoteague pony, bought at the July 2001 wild pony auction. His sire is Gunner Moon, a well known Island stallion.

Blair - a pony that Debbie took because she was already bred.  She is a 2007 Chestnut mare.  She is in the adoption program.  She is a companion pony only (no riding)  due to a leg injury before she came to the farm.  She stumbles occasionally on the left hind leg due to the injury.

Some rescued ponies are considered in their forever home on the Ober farm.

One is Moon Shine, a 2011 Bay Pinto Colt sired by the stallion Wild Bill, purchased at the 2011 Pony Penning auction.  The owner relinquished and donated the foal to the rescue due to health problems and a move out of state.  “The owner asked us to use him to teach others, especially children, about caring for the ponies so that they don’t end up in an abuse or auction situation.  He is not available for adoption.”

Another is Tornado, one of the Island most famous stallions. “A buckskin pinto stallion born in 1988, he was king of his band for two decades,” said Debbie. “Though he inhabited the same island and roamed the sandy beaches of Assateague made famous by “Misty of Chincoteague,” Tornado become a legend of his own. “He has sired many foals over the years and is one of the most photographed stallions on the island,” said Debbie. He was removed from the herd after being injured.

Tornado is the sire of Prince, bought by the Buyback Babes in 2007 for $17,500, the most ever paid for a Chincoteague pony.

Feather Fund Makes Another Dream Come True

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THE BOOMERANG COLT

By Sonora Hannah

I would like to dedicate this, my first published work, to God, my Heavenly Father, and to my mother, Genna, and my Aunt Laure… because without them, this story never could have happened.

“I believe that in the moment God created me, He put in my soul a love and a passion for horses. It is something I was born with… a part of me that has always existed, even before I discovered it was there.”

Sonora Hannah

When I sent my application to the Feather Fund in the spring of 2010, I pretty much felt sick to my stomach. I thought that after I sent it, I’d finally be able to stop thinking about it and get some relief from the rollercoaster of emotions I’d been living with for months. That turned out to be wishful thinking because now that I didn’t have the application to work on, all I had were my thoughts.

 What made the waiting worse was that I had already applied to the Feather Fund the year before and remembered the pain of disappointment that had plagued me when I did not win. I was determined to shield myself from that kind of disappointment so to protect myself, I chose to believe in the improbability of my winning a foal. But despite everything, I kept hoping that the odds of my winning might not be so slim after all. I dreamed night and day about what it would be like to raise and train a wild Chincoteague Pony foal from the windswept island of Assateague.

 I had told the Feather Fund in my essay, “I look at all of the people around me who have their own horses; they have a chance to grow together and become permanently bonded in spirit. Sometimes I wonder if they realize just how blessed they are. My heart aches with the desire to have that strong bond of love, trust, and friendship that comes from having traveled a long road together; my heart yearns to start out on the road that will earn me the love, trust, and friendship of one special horse… my horse.”

Mid-May came… the time when I was to find out if I was or was not going to embark on that road. I checked the Feather Fund’s website daily and I tended to get rather nervous when the phone rang. But no news came either on the website or by phone. I was discouraged, but at the same time hopeful. If no winners had been posted, maybe that still meant I had a chance! Even though I tried to tell myself I very likely would not win a foal, I couldn’t seem to really believe it. There had to be a chance for me, especially because this was the last year I would be eligible to apply because of my age. I tried not to feel defeated by that thought; I knew that if I did not win, that it must mean that God had a different plan in mind for me. I wanted to have the strength of heart to trust Him that His plan was what was best for me, and that is something I had been learning to do since the first time I had applied for a foal. In my essay I had said:

“This whole Feather Fund experience has been a lesson for me in trusting God. I want it SO very badly that there are not enough words in this world to fully express the intensity of my desire. It is a feeling so deep and strong that it can only be felt, not spoken. This I can tell you: If I should be awarded a foal it would be the answer to my heart’s prayer of many years, and I would work for all I’m worth to keep that foal healthy and happy in body, mind, and spirit for all of its life. And in return, that foal would be giving me an ongoing purpose, a reason for working and living with all of my heart, and a chance for healing in my life.

“A foal of my own would mean the WORLD and beyond to me. It would be a priceless gift that I would work hard to ever deserve. I leave you in no doubt, I hope, of the sincerity of my heart’s prayer and desire and I want you to know that I would not take ownership of a foal lightly. I have waited most my whole life for the day that the miracle of my own horse would come. My heart is bursting with love to be given away to the one little horse I may call my own.”

I told Feather Fund board member Lois Szymanki, who is now one of my dearest friends, “The day you called is the day I gave up.”

It was June 7 and I had hung onto hope for several weeks past the time when I had thought the winners would be announced. But that day something inside me snapped. My pet rabbit had gone into labor and we rushed her to the emergency room when it became apparent that she was having trouble. The vet gave me a long list of procedures they might have to perform to save Jane and any unborn babies… and it wasn’t going to be cheap. The only money I had to spend on such a big vet bill was what I had been saving back for my pony. I told the vet we’d do whatever it took to save Jane. What else could I do? I said to my mom, “I’m not getting a pony anyway.”

I was pretty shocked to hear myself admitting to it, but I figured I’d better get used to the fact that it was true… I wasn’t getting a pony.

I was in pretty low spirits when I came home that evening with a stillborn baby bunny to be buried and my dream of winning a Feather Fund foal to be buried with it. I dug a grave and lined it with ferns and other spring greenery and then came up to the house to invite my mother to come for the burial. My mom was squinting at the phone when I came in. She asked me to read the missed call for her, because she couldn’t see it very well. I took the phone and read the name on the screen. My mouth dropped and I looked up at my mom, speechless. Mom says she’ll never forget my face; she knew as soon as she looked at me who the missed caller must have been.

And so it was I went to Chincoteague Island, Virginia for Pony Penning, an event I had only ever dreamed of attending! I saw the wild ponies swim the channel from their home on Assateague Island to Chincoteague Island where the foals would be auctioned off to the public to maintain a healthy number of ponies on the wildlife refuge and to benefit the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company who care for the ponies all year round. The days before the swim were spent meeting my new Feather Fund family and searching the pens on Assateague for my top favorite foals to bid on at the auction. I found three I decided to keep in mind, but I really didn’t know which of them my favorite was. I had decided I wanted a filly rather than a colt, so I chose a tall liver chestnut paint filly as my number one to bid on. But nothing really felt definite in my heart, even though I had decided it in my mind.

Auction day arrived. My calm exterior belied the intensity of my nervousness. Joy and relief consumed me when my fellow 2010 Feather Fund winner placed the winning bid on the pony of her dreams. And I realized, it would be my turn next. When the liver chestnut filly I had chosen as my favorite came out into the ring, I felt a flurry of excitement, but something about it didn’t feel real, didn’t feel right. Then it was announced that this foal was to be auctioned off as a buyback, a foal which would be sold for a high price to benefit the fire company or a charity, but would be returned to Assateague Island to live wild for the rest of its days. My Feather Fund family and my mom sympathized with me when the news came over the loudspeakers. But strangely, I didn’t feel much disappointment. Instead I felt that it was a message from God saying that this filly wasn’t the one for me. There must be another one out there with my name on it, I thought.

There were only 57 foals to be sold at the 2010 auction. By foal number 52 I was beginning to fear that I wouldn’t be getting a foal at all. I looked at each foal to come out. I watched their mannerisms; I looked into their eyes, searching for some glimmer of a connection between us. I almost bid once or twice out of fear of not getting the chance to bid at all… but I couldn’t do it. Something felt empty. It felt wrong. None of the foals spoke to my heart; none felt like they could be the pony of my dreams. Then I saw him.

He was rearing, plunging against the weight of the wranglers who held him. He was lost to sight as he dragged them along, trying to escape the prison of their arms and bodies. But I had already recognized him! He was on my list of top favorites, the first of my favorites I had seen since the paint filly early on in the auction.

The flashy pinto markings against his dark red/brown coat made him easy to identify. The boomerang marking at the top of his neck on his right side were why I had dubbed him the Boomerang Colt. Excitement welled up in my heart as he was finally escorted into the ring. Before I knew it I was in a bidding war for him. Somebody else had taken a fancy to him, too. I knew in my heart I couldn’t lose him. This was it! He was the one! I only wondered why I hadn’t seen it before. The price on his head went up and up, but I was encouraged to keep bidding. I raised my feather high and finally stood up in desperation.

“Please!! Please,” I said.

The bidding slowed. Then it stopped. It was the longest few seconds of my life before the auctioneer bellowed, “SOLD!” and pointed to me.

Sold! The Feather Fund had purchased him for me for $2,500!!!

My eyes welled up with tears of joy. In disbelief I realized that my dream had just come true. In one little fleeting moment, my dream had been fulfilled for a lifetime.

Even before the Boomerang Colt had come into sight, Lois had leaned over and said to me, “I don’t know why, but I think you are going to get the Boomerang Colt.”

More than once she said it, saying she didn’t understand why, but she felt that it was so.

I wondered at it, but I was so caught up in the auction and searching over the foals that I didn’t give it too much thought. I kept thinking about the little bay and white foal with the butterfly marking on its rump.

 Interesting story: foal number 52 was this foal, but I did not recognize it. I believe that God shielded me from recognizing it because He knew that if I had, I was feeling so desperate that I very well might have taken the plunge and jumped in on the bidding. How thankful I am that I did not get either one of those foals I had chosen for myself! What God had chosen for me was better than anything I could have imagined or dreamed of. Here’s more proof that the Boomerang Colt is God’s gift to me: one of his flashy pinto markings is in the shape of my profile!! No kidding!

The Boomerang Colt’s name is now Mincaye (Min-KY-yee). People are usually pretty curious as to where that name came from and the significance of it to me. To save time explaining, I usually just tell them it is a name that comes from a tribe in Ecuador. Truth is, there is a lot more to it than that. But that is another story…

Sonora Hannah is a high school graduate with dreams of becoming a writer, artist, and horse trainer. She resides in Washington State where she cares for her menagerie of animals which include a Chincoteague pony, a Shetland sheepdog, and a Bengal-mix cat.

Refuge Staff Goes All Out for ‘A Celebration of Migration’

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By Robert Boswell

Publisher, Wild Pony Tales

This is the time of year when the outstanding work of the biologists and park rangers at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and the National Park Service is showcased, helped along of course by the arrival of the snow geese and other migrating waterfowl.

I sometimes worry that the year-long fallout from the alternative beach parking controversy will overshadow all that is good about having the Refuge so close, about having a place we can go where it is quiet and we can, at least for a few hours, give our minds a break.

No matter what our views are on the future of beach parking and refuge management let’s not forget to give credit to the highly qualified and dedicated staff members who keep the place running every day of the year. I do not say this tritely or lightly.

I have taken our writers to Assateague many times to gather information for the stories on this website and I cannot recall an instance when our sources – I mean Lou Hinds, his managers, the biologists and park rangers – were not helpful and knowledgeable. Most of the people at the Refuge have degrees it took them years to obtain.

When I was teaching journalism in middle school I would sometimes have a student working on a class assignment call Amanda Daisy, the wildlife biologist, right from class, a real life interview by a 6th or 7th grader.

On a sad note I want to mention a park ranger who was especially helpful to us, Barry Brookshire. Barry was at the Refuge for 16 months until his contract ran out and then he returned to his home in Texas. But soon after he was found to have a malignant tumor in his colon. Doctors were successful in treating Barry but he has been unable to return to work. While at the Refuge he answered many questions for our young writers with all the patience of the teacher that he once was. At the Refuge Barry was what he called a “roving ranger,” moving around the pathways, talking to people, answering questions. If he didn’t know the answer he would go and find it.

Waterfowl Week is a special time at the Refuge. We have the event highlights in another story but what follows are more details, the times, places and descriptions of the activities coming up over Thanksgiving. Every single event is worth attending.

One of the big issues I have with the whole Assateague show is how easy it is to come here and never see a pony, or see them only at a great distance. When our niece, Marcy, was little I don’t think we got to see any ponies, except the ones at McDonalds for which I was thankful, until her third visit. And she only made it here once a year. We did see plenty of evidence, but few ponies.

A Long Day in the Chincoteague Marsh, But the Ponies Finally Swim

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By Misty Thornton

Editor – Wild Pony Tales

It is the time of the year when children’s eyes mist over. It is the time when the sounds of summer become nays, whinnies, squeals and an occasional snort. It is the annual Swim of the wild ponies across Assateague Channel as thousands settle into the marshy banks and others jockey their boats to get a close-up view as the ponies, heads bobbing, make their way to shore on Chincoteague Island.

For most of the foals the swim means leaving home. They will be sold to the highest bidders the next day and board trailers to go to new homes across the country.

But for now it is time to enjoy the sights and sounds that inspired Marguerite Henry to write her bestseller, “Misty of Chincoteague,” that more than anything else is responsible for the audience that waits in a hot sun on a mucky marsh.

The 2011 Swim on was held July 27. The last week of July every year is pony week, known as Pony Penning, here on Chincoteague Island on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The Swim this year was well past noon, but eventually umbrellas came down as the ponies came closer and closer with only their heads above the waterline until they splashed ashore. You didn’t have to be down front to know the ponies had reached land. The big crowd reacted with yells, applause and all around excitement that could be heard all the way back to Ridge Road.

But down front no one took their eyes off the ponies even for a second, not wanting to miss a moment that most had come many miles to see. And when the ponies were granted some 45 minutes of rest before heading to the corral at the carnival grounds, when visitors could actually walk up and children could reach out and pet a pony’s head, yes, you could find young eyes that were taking in a moment they would never forget.

 For the Wild Pony Tales staff, swim day means getting up early. A couple of our writers live on the Island and got to make a later start to their day. But for Zackrey Hoverson, Robert Boswell, our publisher, and I Wednesday, swim day, began at 3:45 a.m. After a 20 mile drive, we arrived at 4:50 a.m. at our usual parking lot directly across from Pony Swim Lane. Here, 8 1/2 hours later, the ponies would be guided by the Salt Water Cowboys for a three mile parade onto Ridge Road., then south to Beebe Road and on to Main Street, ending at the carnival grounds. At about 5 a.m. the parking lot owner Tyrone Mason of Mason Oil, opened the gate and took our $10 parking fee. We were first in the lot and got our front row parking spot.

Since we would be a long way from a bathroom, I figured I should try and use one of the portable potties set up for the large crowd.  The portables potties are a few yards away from Pony Swim Lane, but a long way from the waiting area where we will be stationed. However, they have improved over the previous years’ potties even though one of them tended to rock back and forth, not quite being on solid ground.

While waiting in the very early morning, the only things we could see were  headlights from vehicles, shining brightly, and a TV news reporter getting her equipment set up. Soon, Zackrey and I unpacked and repacked everything separately that we needed to take with us across the marsh to the waiting area. Mr. Boswell had made sure we carried water, snacks and the ever important bug spray. On our mucky walk to the water, we planned out everything we had to do from what we’ve done in the previous years.

To get to the main waiting area, we had to travel through muck and marsh, which at times can be up to your knees. When we started across, taking off flip flops and sandals, it wasn’t so bad. There were only two other small family groups that had passed through before us. Besides our snacks and water we carried two tri-pods, a camera bag, chairs, and blankets, making our trip through the marsh a little challenging.

As the earliest people started showing up, before fire company officials arrived, they took one look at the marsh, then decided they had found a better way to get down front. They hauled their coolers full of food and drinks, baby carriages and chairs up on the dock built by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, a much dryer way to our waiting area. What the visitors didn’t know was that even if they missed sinking up to their knees in smelly muck on their way to the shoreline, they’d have to travel through it on the way back. The dock is for  fire company members and is used mainly for getting people out in emergencies. Once the emergency crews were on the scene no one else was allowed on the dock.

Umbrellas and chairs full of people were all around us within an hour. Having at least a seven hour waiting period before the tide was suppose to slack down enough so that the ponies could swim across, people started rolling out blankets on the wet marshy grass to lay or even sit on. Some even decided to take a nap.

During the wait, those who weren’t grabbing a nap or reading a book, were buying raffle tickets for the first pony to reach the shore, to be crowned either King or Queen Neptune. Proceeds from the tickets go to the Women’s Auxiliary of the fire department.

As noon came many of the sleepers awoke and began to get impatient with the wait. Every other minute or so, another person asked what the time was and when the ponies were going to swim.

A voice over a loudspeaker kept the crown appraised of the coming event. Then the announcer said that the governor of Virginia, Robert McDonald, was to give a speech shortly before the pony swim was to begin. The governor reminded everyone that all of the profits of the whole Pony Penning week went to the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, along with proceeds from the month long carnival that began around the first week of July.

Suddenly the crowd heard the sounds of horses and everyone got up from their seats to see. A few of the Famous Salt Water Cowboys, who round up the ponies each year, were passing through the crowd to get to the resting area for the ponies. “Oohh’s” and “Ahh’s” were all we could hear around us as they watched the cowboys and their horses make sure everything was secure for the ponies now to arrive within the hour.

Soon, a small barge used by cowboys to get their mounts across the channel, came along through the water with about seven Saltwater Cowboys and their horses. Everyone got excited and cameras were snapping photos like crazy.

Well, at around 1: 29 p.m. the Coast Guard finally sent out the red flare from their boat, signaling that the Swim had begun. This is all it took for the crowd to jump up, everyone was pulling down umbrellas, just waiting to see the first ponies in view. As the bobbing heads came into view, some people near us started yelling at a camera crew who had managed to get further to the front and block our view. “Get out the way!” one yelled. “Can you move? We need to see the ponies!” another shouted. Willingly they squished in so that the people behind them could see.

As the swimmers got closer, people started saying  “I can hear them,” and “Look that one’s in the lead for King Neptune.” When they were about 100 yards away, two ponies took the lead. Each determined to get there first. The crowd was cheering and sure enough one of them was crowned King Neptune.

Shortly after the first pony reached the shore, the others piled up behind it, all of them coming in dripping to the delight of their audience. Most of the foals decided to take a lunch break, nudging their mothers to stand still so they could nurse. One little pony was having a hard time getting up onto the resting area grass so the mother nudged it along and up the hill and onto  land. Most of the older ponies used the rest period to munch on the cord grass that is a main part of their diet.

As the rest time ended for the ponies it was time for the “city folks”, to make it back through the marsh. This time the route was the same for everyone, mud up to your knees. But this didn’t seem to slow the conversation about the magic of the Swim still fresh in everyone’s mind.

Not every pony from Assateague had to swim. The ponies and mares that are too young, too old or too pregnant are pulled out by Dr. Charlie Cameron, the official pony vet. They get a trailer ride to the carnival grounds.

As visitors walked up Pony Swim Lane ahead of the ponies they lined up along the streets, to get another look at the famous. Soon the ponies, under cowboy escort,  paraded down Ridge Road to Beebe Road and then onto Main Street. Getting things packed and in our car to leave I heard the sound of galloping. I looked behind me and sure enough a pony had escaped from the formation and decided to circle around into our parking lot, giving several cowboys a little added adventure.  It didn’t last long because they had the little one surrounded and led back to the others leaving the onlookers smiling even more.

Another big crowd awaited the arrival of the ponies at the carnival grounds which ended when they reached the big corral. There they would have plenty of hay and water, and the little ones could nurse and sleep. A big day was coming up, the auction, the last day mothers and foals would be together.