Chincoteague

Helping Others

After the first of the year Painting Pony starts looking into where we want to send out charitable contributions that the ponies have raised throughout the previous year.

As stated on our website, we typically donate 10% of all canvas sales to the Chincoteague Pony Association – to help feed and care for the wild ponies on Assateague Island. Any extra we raise we like to help out other organizations such as the Main Line Animal Rescue, Large Animal Protection Society, SPCA, The Feather Fund, etc.

When I was down on Chincoteague Island this past year for pony penning I had heard that recently the Chincoteague Pony Association made some administrative changes. Thinking nothing much of it at the time (other than the fact that in 2010 you could no longer “really” register a foal bought at the auction for the time being) – I am now finding it increasingly difficult to contact someone about where I should send my donation. The Chincoteague Pony Association website is no longer functioning (I don’t know why!) – and even with trying to go through The Chincoteague Volunter Fire Company I am not having luck. Although, they do have a strange link up on their site now that says you can register your Chincoteague Pony Online. The Fire Company is the group who actually cares for the ponies on the island – so I thought sending a donation to them would still serve the same purpose, but alas no one will get back to me.

Well anyway, I fear if I just send my donation into the abyss it will end up in the wrong hands, and ultimately not end up going to the ponies I am trying to help at all.

So I have decided to divide my donation up this year, and pass it out to as many charitable groups as I can. Below is a list of organizations that we have decided to help this year.

Main Line Animal Rescue

The Feather Fund

Chester County SPCA

Large Animal Protection Society

Ryerss Farm for Aged Equines

Thanks to all the rescue groups & non-profits out there that do their part to help animals.

Much Love,
Kyley, Chincoteague Minnow, Chesapeake Lightning, Chesapeake Boomerang and Ammo the Dachshund

Tags : 2010, ammo, assateague, charity, chester county spca, Chincoteague, chincoteague minnow, chincoteague pony, clicker training, dachshund, dog, donation, horse, iron horse farm, Kyley DiLuigi, laps, large animal protection society, main line animal rescue, misty of chincoteague, natural horsemanship, painting pony, ryerss farm for aged equines, the feather fund, trick horse, trick pony

Pony Penning 2010 – Day 5

Friday, July 30th….my very last day on Chincoteague Island….so sad. I look forward to this trip every year (this being my third year attending) – so it’s always sad to see it come to an end. Although coming home just means that I get to start planning for Pony Penning 2011! Woohoo!

Anyway, Friday morning I was headed over to take care of Minnow again – usually by Friday I can tell he’s about ready to go home. Probably missing his turnout buddies, and his juicy pasture filled with grass (even if he only gets to experience it through a muzzle) – but this year he didn’t seem as anxious, he was a lot more content with being on the island for day #5.

Needless to say, as sad as I was to be heading home – I was looking forward to seeing the Dachshund (oh and my husband). After helping Minnow to start his day I headed back to the Assateague Inn, where we stayed for the week, to check out. After checking out of the hotel my mom and I headed out on a little shopping excursion. The first stop on my list – Pony Tails – for some much needed saltwater taffy. I have a weakness for saltwater taffy…especially when it’s freshly made! After that we went down to mainstreet in search of a treat for the Dachshund. I remembered there was a “dog” shop in town last year, but this year it was nowhere to be found. After a pretty thorough search for doggie treasures I didn’t come up with much, and knowing that my little sausage boy would just be thrilled to see me no matter what I had – I gave up on my quest.

Then after lunch it was back to the Pony Centre to get packed up for our trip home. After I finished packing the trailer Minnow had a little impromptu painting session in the parking lot behind the Pony Centre. I set up his easel in a shady little spot under a tree, and Minnow set out painting a custom work of art for one of our friends at the Pony Centre. Minnow gathered a small crowd of our friends as he whisked brushes all over the the pretty purple canvas. One of the little girls from the Pony Centre bought one of Minnow’s mini paintings with all of her Birthday money from the day before – it was so cute I nearly died as she handed me a stack of one dollar bills. I dug around in the packed car and handed her one of the new dvd’s of Minnow and his pony friends as a little extra Birthday Gift from Minnow – for her to share with her brother and sisters too.

Oh and I nearly forgot to mention that Minnow appeared in Thursday’s issue of the Chincoteague Beacon. It was a nice little article about his appearance at the Pony Centre – which you can read in it’s entirety here. (Download PDF)

Finally it was time for Minnow’s last show at the Pony Centre this year – and he painted one of my favorites of the whole trip – “Patriotic Pony”. In between his painting and trick performances I had my mom snap a few photos of me, Minnow, and the famous misty family pony – Misty’s Black Mist. Black Mist was quite funny and kept “smiling” at Minnow with this weird toothy grin…I think she had a crush on him. Black Mist wore her Breyer blanket – which brought me back to my youth of collecting endless amounts of Breyer models….most of which I still have. If Minnow were ever to become a Breyer Model, I think my life might just be complete! It’s probably because Breyers are such a nostalgia for me – you have no idea how many hours I spent as a kid playing with them – and to think that out in the World there are tons of little girls and boys playing with a model that looks like MY pony …would just be the icing on the cake for me. Oh and lets not forget that Minnow would need his little sidekicks as models too – Blitz, Boomer, and Ammo the Dachshund (complete with stunt helmet and cape)!! haha. Maybe someday it will happen….you never know….and if you want to write like a bazillion letters to Breyer telling them that Chincoteague Minnow should be their next model – I definitely wouldn’t complain. 🙂

After the show we said our goodbyes to our Pony Centre friends. I LOVE everyone that works at the Pony Centre, they are so nice and friendly – they really make it inviting, and every single one of them has a love for the ponies. I miss all our PC friends when we leave – but know that we will all reconnect again…if not only through facebook.

Thus began my 250mile drive home – partially in the dark – and when we pulled up to the entrance of Iron Horse Farm around 10pm, I was very happy to be “home”. Boomer and Blitz came bounding to the fence to greet us, and I had missed their curious little faces. I whisked Minnow off the trailer and plopped him out into the pasture with the boys. Minnow wandered off to scarf as much grass as he could through the tiny hole in his muzzle – we know where his priorities lie. Boomer and Blitz waited patiently at the gate for some much needed attention. They wanted their itchy spots scratched and their noses rubbed, and they WANTED to do some tricks! I love when I go away and when I come back all my ponies just want to be in my company – it’s the greatest feeling.

But our time was short-lived as I was pretty tired and ready to head home to see the little Dachshund. When I pulled up to the house I could see his little sausage body jumping around in the sunroom. I burst through the door throwing my bags to the floor as Ammo jumped up to lick my face. He squealed and wiggled – oh boy did he wiggle! Instantly I noticed his tiny little sausage frame wasn’t so tiny, seems he had put on a little extra weight since he had become accustomed to sleeping 11 hours a day while I was gone. (I was sure to schedule a much needed exercise trip to the dog park to swim the very next day!)

Sigh. What a wonderful end to Pony Penning Week.

There is nothing like coming home after a long trip and being greeted by the animals that love you. I hope they know how much I love them too.

Tags : 2010, assateague, chesapeake boomerang, chesapeake lightning, Chincoteague, chincoteague island, chincoteague minnow, chincoteague pony, chincoteague pony center, dachshund, dog, farm, horse, iron horse farm, Kyley DiLuigi, misty of chincoteague, misty's black mist, painting, painting horse, painting pony, pony, pony penning, trick, trick horse, trick pony

Pony Penning 2010 – Day 4

Thursday, July 29th was the day of the Chincoteague Pony Auction. I was up pretty early and headed over to the carnival grounds to watch the action. If you plan to buy a foal (or sit through the entire auction) its a good idea to bring a lawn chair over to the fairgrounds several days in advance. People set them up and tie them together with notes stating they are taken/etc. I’ve never done this before – but this year I thought ahead and brought a lawn chair with me to the auction. Luckily I was able to squeeze it in to an open spot so that I would have somewhere to sit.

The auction started with a drill team demonstration by my friends over at the Pony Centre who are members of the Chincoteague Pony Drill Team. The Chincoteague Pony Drill Team is the only drill team in the world that consists ENTIRELY of Chincoteague Ponies. Not only does that make them pretty special, but their drills are pretty unique and very well choreographed too. The drill team has been invited to some very special events over the years, in fact this year they were even invited to perform at the World Equestrian Games, unfortunately the cost to attend was too great and they will not be able to participate.

Performing a drill at the carnival grounds is not an easy task. The “arena” (if you can call it that) is about the size of a roundpen, and it’s parameters are encompassed by masses of people, cameras, and noise. The entrance into the arena is a narrow chute, just wide enough for one pony to fit through, if that “arena” doesn’t spell claustrophobic, I don’t know what would. Any average horse probably wouldn’t dare enter that arena, or at least they wouldn’t enter without a fight. But the Chincoteague ponies take it in stride, no spooking, no crazy antics, in fact they perform in that arena just like they would at home.

After the drill team performance the auction began. There is no order in which the ponies come out, it’s simply whichever ones the saltwater cowboys can grab. This is a major drawback if you plan to bid on a foal. For example, say beforehand you have chosen which foal you really want to buy – you’ve set a budget of say $1,500, and can’t spend more than that. The foal you want just so happens to be the very last one they pull out of the pen to auction off, the bidding soars to $2,000 and you have passed your budget. You loose the auction and since it was the last foal you have nothing else to bid on – looks like you won’t be bringing home a foal this year.

This is what happened to a woman this year. She had been a long time visitor to the island for pony penning with her mother. Last year her mom passed away from a stroke – and it had always been their dream to buy a foal. So this year she returned to the island alone with the plan to purchase a foal in memory of her mother. The foal she chose was one of the very last ones to be auctioned off, and when bidding rose just $200 more than she could afford – she lost the pony of her dreams – with nothing left to bid on. Sadly the woman came away without a foal in memory of her mother.

If you plan to bid it’s also good to know that the first couple of foals out usually go for very cheap. People are still working up the nerve to actually buy a foal, and if you are lucky enough to have your favorite appear in the beginning – you might be able to get him for a steal. The first couple of ones sold for $400 – $500, a record low for foals at the auction.

Then about the third foal out, my favorite appeared, a black and white colt with three perfect shaped white hearts on his body. The bidding started to go fast as I realized the woman behind me was bidding on a foal. At $4,200 the foal was sold to the woman sitting behind me. When she returned to her seat after paying for her purchase she couldn’t help but share her story with everyone. Apparently a few days before the auction she had met a woman at the pens over on Assateague. This woman worked for some sort of therapy place (I’m not sure if it was for the elderly or what), but she had come to the island looking for a horse to be a therapy animal for her facility. On Assateague she spotted the little colt with the heart markings and instantly felt a connection. She felt destined to own this foal, and believed his purpose was to help others. Sadly there was a catch – she could not attend Thursday’s auction for some reason – but as luck would have it she met a woman (a stranger) who would be attending. She arranged to have this woman bid on the foal at the auction for her. She set a budget of $4,200 and handed the stranger her credit card with instructions to try to purchase the foal for her. They both agreed that likely the bidding for this special colt would get too high – but the woman insisted that even if she lost the foal, she wanted someone to share her story with whomever bought him. Well that never happened, because the kind stranger won the foal for her at the max of her budget and the foal would soon be on its way to be a therapy animal for others. Many would say this is the magic of the island ponies at work.

I watched every foal come through the auction – and photographed all of them as well. You can see all my photos over at www.greenhorsestudios.com

After the auction I took a trip out to Kendy Allen’s (owner of the largest herd of Misty Family Ponies) Chincoteague Pony farm off the island on the main land. I met her gorgeous stallion, Tougher than Leather, as well as a few other Chincoteague Pony Mares. Misty family pony, Twister, was due to foal anyday – and with her ginormous size many wondered if she was carrying twins! (we now know it was just one LARGE palomino filly – the spitting image of her mom). I also met Star and her new foal that had been born just a few days before. After Star’s foal was born momma became anxious about being separated from the herd of horses (which included some big Thoroughbreds and a few quarter horses) – Star broke out of her enclosure (with newborn foal in tow) to join her herd. After many attempts to keep her and her foal separated, it was evident the mare would just not be happy until she was out with her gang. So with newborn foal at her side, she happily was coexisting with her herd. Star’s foal was super cute – its so hard to be around so many cute foals during pony penning week. It’s even harder not to bring one home with you.

After a busy afternoon I headed back to the Pony Centre to perform with Minnow. I always find that the Thursday night crowd at the Pony Centre is the VERY best crowd. Maybe they are still full of excitement after bidding on foals all day – I’m not sure – but whichever the case the crowd is usually loud and very excited to see everything that is “Chincoteague Pony”. When the crowd is happy, Minnow is happy – he paints crazier strokes, ad lib’s more in his tricks, and just has a lot more fun. At the 8pm show I decided to ride in the Extreme Pony Race with Minnow. It’s been a year since I’ve saddled him …. the last time being at the Pony Centre in 2009. A little light exercise for Minnow is great, even with his arthritis – but I tend not to like to hop on his back during a show. Not because it’s bad for him (I did give him bute all week – aka horse aspirin) but more so because I wonder if people think I’m being cruel when they see him take a few limpy steps. The fact remains though, that the less exercise Minnow gets, the fatter he gets. And the fatter he gets, the more weight and strain is put on his ankle with the ringbone. But I knew Minnow was feeling good this night, and I knew a light bit of trotting would be fine for him.

So after a year of not being saddled, Minnow entered the area face to face with a small jump. He hesitated (probably thinking “what the heck I thought I was retired”) then popped over the X. We had a slight trouble backing – never his strong suit, then proceeded to complete the rest of the tasks. Minnow stayed at a comfortable trot – which was fine – I think he didn’t feel well enough to canter. And although we didn’t break any records in the race, I was happy to think he got to work his muscles a little.

Then it was off to bed for my little Minnow – as he too had had a busy day meeting fans and being as cute as ever. I enjoy the closeness time I get to spend with Minnow when we are down there. Back home at the farm I have to share my time between all the ponies. I struggle between keeping Boomerang fit and ready to compete and working on tricks with Minnow so he doesn’t get bored in “retirement”. I know Minnow is sad when I pull Boomerang out of the pasture to go for a ride and he’s left standing there looking longingly at me for attention. A week down in Chincoteague scratching his itchy spots, giving him lots of baths and treats – is just oh so wonderful, and I’m sure he looks forward to it every year just as much as I do.

If you’d like to see all the photos from the auction you can check them out here: www.greenhorsestudios.com

Check back tomorrow for a recap of my last day at Pony Penning 2010!

Tags : 2010, assateague, Chincoteague, chincoteague minnow, chincoteague pony, chincoteague pony center, farm, horse, iron horse farm, Kyley DiLuigi, misty of chincoteague, painting, painting horse, painting pony, pony, pony penning, trick, trick horse, trick pony

Pony Penning 2010 – Day 3

Wednesday, July 28th was the day of the 85th Annual Chincoteague Pony Swim! This was the third year I’ve seen the swim, and let me tell you it is still amazing each time I see it.

I started the day by heading over to the Pony Centre to feed Minnow, then my mom and I with a friend from the pony centre headed over to the Pony Shuttle stop by our hotel. The Pony Shuttle runs people to Memorial Park – where they encourage people to watch the swim from. But…you can’t see anything from memorial park – except dots. So we took the bus to memorial park and then proceeded to walk to Pony Swim Lane. Pony Swim Lane is where the ponies come ashore after the swim. If you want a really good spot you have to wake up at the crack of dawn to claim your spot. I love watching the swim, but unless I was buying a foal, I didn’t really feel the need to wake up quite that early (although I did do it the first year).

This year I was lucky and the swim seemed much less crowded. I staked out a spot under the foot bridge, and surprisingly didn’t have to trek through too much swamp mud to get there. I met a woman there who had been watching the swim every year for the past 24 years. In the back of my mind I wondered if that might be me someday.

I ended up standing around for nearly 3 hours waiting for the ponies to swim. I think the tide was really high and the saltwater cowboys were waiting for the water to recede. The ponies ended up making the swim with the water at its highest it had been in many years. They all made it safely ashore, and I spent an hour watching them mill around. Foals finding their mothers, Stallions finding their mares, and even stallions trying to steal other mares.

I watched as a pair of ponies plowed into one of the cameras set up by a media crew and couldn’t help but laugh. They stand in amongst the wild ponies taking pictures and filming the action, oblivious to the fact that they are STANDING IN A HERD OF WILD PONIES. I think sometimes that people forget that even though they seem very domesticated at times, the ponies live on an island – void from corrals and “normal” human contact. Their instincts to to protect their young and their herd are much stronger than a domesticated horse, and if you are standing in the way of something they want, you better make sure you get out of their way.

The swim took up most of my day as this years swim was pretty late – and not to mention the fact that then we had to walk several miles back to the Pony Centre. My feet still hurt thinking about it.

We arrived in time to grab some lunch before Minnow’s first show. Minnow painted “Slack Tide Swimmers” – what I thought was a perfect tribute to the day’s pony swim. Minnow always does his best work while on the island, maybe its the salt air, maybe he feels “home” – either way I really LOVE the paintings he creates down there. At the 8pm show he painted “Carnival Ponies” – which prompted me to head to the carnival grounds after the show.

My favorite part about the carnival grounds – not the ponies, not the rides, not even bingo – no its the soda! Something about that little plastic cup filled to the brim with pepsi and crushed ice is oh so refreshing after an exhausting day. That and a plate full of funnel cake just hit the spot. I wandered around the grounds, and ultimately ended up at the Chincoteague Pony Association Booth. Minnow donates a percentage of his sales to the CPA – to help feed and care for the wild ponies of Assateague Island. At the booth I learned that the 2009 foals from the swim never got registered with the CPA. Well I guess technically the people that got foals received a certificate that said their pony came from the ’09 swim – but they didn’t allow the purchaser to name register their foal, or have documentation of their foal’s lineage. I also found out that this would be the same for the ’10 foals.

I’m not sure why the change – but I do hope they go back to the way it used to be – it seems much more official that way. I think the fact that they didn’t really “register” the foals this year – significantly hurt the foal prices too. Last years purchasers I believe were unaware of the change, but this year everyone knew what the plan was.

Regardless of any changes in the protocol this year, I do believe that the swim was still just as spectacular as ever!

If you’d like to see all the photos from the swim you can check them out here: www.greenhorsestudios.com

Check back tomorrow for a recap of the 2010 Pony Auction – and find out if I ever raised my hand to bid on a foal!

Tags : 2010, assateague, Chincoteague, chincoteague minnow, chincoteague pony, chincoteague pony center, dachshund, dog, farm, horse, iron horse farm, Kyley DiLuigi, misty of chincoteague, natural horsemanship, painting, painting horse, painting pony, pony, pony penning, trick, trick horse, trick pony

Pony Penning 2010 – Day 2

On Tuesday, July 27th I headed over to the Pony Centre to feed Minnow, and swap him around to a different paddock. The paddocks at the pony centre are mostly dirt – as the hungry little Chincoteagues have eaten all the grass. This is PERFECT for Minnow, because goodness knows he doesn’t need to gain anymore weight, not to mention it means he gets to spend the week without wearing a muzzle to limit his grass intake. I’m sure Minnow wasn’t entirely happy being without the grass he as accustomed to, but I was sure to take him grazing for any small little bites he could find.

After taking care of Minnow’s needs for the morning my mom and I sat in on a foal handling demonstration given by Kendy Allen at the Pony Centre. Not that we were planning to bring home a foal (as much as I would have liked) – but it was more we were curious about it. My mom has had experience with foals when she bred and trained her Thoroughbred Cross, Pippin, at the age of 16. I, aside from my visits to Chincoteague, haven’t really been in contact with foals. As a kid any pony/horse my mom brought home for us was always older and experienced – which is ideal for young kids anyway.

The foal handling demonstration was interesting, I had never thought about the fact that if you buy a wild Chincoteague pony from the auction – the first handling experience they get from humans is when they are taken from their mothers, herded into a pen and then auctioned off and sent away on a trailer to a strange place. So naturally they are going to be fearful, not to mention they don’t know what fences or boundaries are, and are likely to try to escape from any enclosure you put them in in the beginning.

I think a lot of people get caught up in the magic of the island and the mystique of a wild foal – making impulse purchases. Not that there is anything wrong with that (I admit I wanted to do the same), but it’s easier to buy a foal at the auction than it is to adopt a dog. That being said – are you ready for a foal? Do you have somewhere to keep it, do you have a trainer to help you, are you going to want it after it’s not a cute fuzzy foal anymore? Those are all questions I think you should think long and hard about before raising your hand and handing over your credit card at the auction.

I see/hear of a lot of people on the island that are getting a foal for their young child, so that they can grow up together. I think its a nice thought, but I’m glad for the fact that when I was a kid, my mom didn’t buy me a foal. She bought me a seasoned pony, who was safe and reliable, and I could do pretty much anything on. A foal would have limited my experiences, and more than likely I would have lost interest in him once I discovered I had to wait 3-4 years to ride him. I’m grateful for my my first pony Oreo Cookie who taught me the ways of the world and took care of me. And if I was REALLY set on buying my kid a foal – I wouldn’t buy a wild pony foal – instead I’d get one of the foals from the Pony Centre that had been handled from birth and was already primed to make a great children’s pony.

Needless to say I know that one day I WILL buy a foal from the auction. Maybe I too have been sucked into the magical desire to own a wild Chincoteague Pony foal – but I think I secretly just long to have another pony just like my wild-born Minnow. No pony could ever take the place of Minnow, but I wouldn’t complain if there were lots of little Minnow wannabes running around. 🙂 My mom on the other hand thinks its a little crazy to buy a foal from the auction. Her reasoning being you can’t look at both sets of parents (usually the sire is just a guess) and determine that they were bred with complimentary traits, gauging how tall they will be is much harder, not to mention a wild foal is a lot more dangerous, and I think she just thinks the breeding stock to choose from on Assateague is just not that amazing. I know all this, but its not going to change my desire to own a wild foal someday. I guess its just one of those things I feel that I have to do in my life. Now it’s just a matter of when.

Anyway, all that aside – its really really really hard not to want to take a foal home with you! I should know….how tempting is it when your horse trailer is on the island with you! Talk about torture!

After the foal training demo my mom and I headed over the bridge to Assateague Island. First we stopped at the pens that held all of the wild horses from the island. Early Monday morning the ponies had been rounded up into the pens to rest before they made the big swim across the Chincoteague Channel on Wednesday morning. And let me tell you those foals were sooooo cute! There was even a black and white pinto foal with 3 white heart markings on him – he was the talk of the island. I searched around for the horses I knew by name, Surfer Dude, Riptide, Southern Belle to name a few – and noted that some of the horses looked a little extra thin this year. Although as I should know – the Eastern Shore had a VERY hard winter with record amounts of snow – its no wonder the herd was a little malnourished looking – I heard some of last years foals didn’t even make it through the winter either.

I watched around the pen as potential pony buyers were scribbling in notebooks and marking down which foals caught their eye. I realized that this is the only way to remember which foal you might want to bid on. See the foals aren’t tagged with numbers until after they make the swim on Wednesday – so you can’t simply write down a number and then plan to bid on that one at Thursday’s Auction. You instead have to take photos, draw pictures and write descriptions in order to remember which foals you like best. It’s also important to take note of the foals mother, how tall is she, what is her build like, does she have good confirmation? Looking at a foals parents are the best way to tell more about what your foal will look like when it grows up. I also learned that a horse’s cannon bones (sort of like their shin) is the only bone that does not grow much more after birth – it will be about the same length when its a day old as it is when its 20 years old – so this is a good way to estimate how tall your foal will be by trying to find an adult with a similar length in cannon bone to estimate size. Here is also a link that describes some other ways to estimate how tall your foal will be when it matures.

After drooling over the foals for a while we headed over to the beach. The weather was wonderful and I fell asleep for a little while before it was time to head back to the Pony Centre for the 4pm show.

Before the show I brushed Minnow up on his tricks, after a good nights rest he was much more ready for perform. He practically dragged me into the arena. In between shows I rushed over to Pony Penning Enterprises to meet the Misty family pony, Rainy’s Boy, who was making a special appearance on the island. I got my photo taken with him, and subsequently purchased the book, The Forgotten Pony by Jessie-Ann Friend, which I had signed by Jessie-Ann Friend, Rebecca Stevens who owns Rainy’s Boy, Helen Merritt a character in the book, and Rainy’s Boy himself. I haven’t read the book yet, but am very much looking forward to reading this “mostly true” story about Rainy’s Boy. Jessie-Ann was actually mentored by Marguerite Henry herself, when she later moved to California and subsequently met Jessie. Jessie told us that Marguerite told her to always sign her name with a small horse shoe after it – I’ll have to remember that if I ever write a book!

Minnow performed again at the 8pm show at the Pony Centre. This year Minnow’s painting sales seemed to be down, I’m assuming it was effects of the economy, but they just weren’t auctioning for as high as they normally do. I guess that much could have been expected, as everyone is tight with money right now. I had hoped to raise a lot more money to donate to the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company as well as the Chincoteague Pony Drill Team, but Minnow did the best that he could. I love watching him interact with the children after the show, his eyes half close as they stroke his face, and every so often he reaches over and gives me a big sloppy pony kiss – as if to say thanks for bringing me here.

Look for the continuation to our journey to Chincoteague Island tomorrow!

**I called home at the end of the night to check on the little Dachshund. Ammo was easily adapting to spending 11 hours at home (and it should be noted that we do not crate him at all) – in fact I think he was sleeping all day long burrowed under the covers in our bed! When my husband returned each night he happily greeted him at the door, then proceeded to peer outside in the hopes that I was following closely behind.

Tags : assateague, Chincoteague, chincoteague minnow, chincoteague pony, chincoteague pony center, clicker training, iron horse farm, Kyley DiLuigi, misty of chincoteague, painting, painting horse, painting pony, pony, pony penning, trick, trick horse, trick pony

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