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Chesapeake Boomerang
March 21, 2003 – April 14, 2024
It’s hard to know where to start, so I’ll start from the beginning. Boomer appeared in my life in 2007, when I needed him most. Just after my heart pony, Chincoteague Minnow, had been diagnosed with Ringbone and pronounced unrideable almost suddenly – I was left without a mount, and mourning that part of my life with him. Minnow and I went on to share so much more, but I missed riding and that connection it held. So the hunt began, for another Chincoteague Pony naturally.
Boomer’s older (by a year) 1/2 brother, Blitz, entered our lives first – but led us to find Boomer. It was exciting to bring these two siblings back together after several years apart – Blitz was in Maryland and Boomer was still living at the farm he was born at in North Carolina. We drove halfway to Virginia to meet him, and he instantly won me over when he walked me bravely through a wooded trail filled with obstacles he had never seen. His attempted bucks in the arena didn’t derail my excitement as I decided to bring him home to Pennsylvania.
Once home, Boomer (at just barely 5 years old) never hesitated to show me his sass, and agility. His bronco buck appeared (always without warning) as well as his utter distain for any bit in his mouth. But despite his air theatrics, he quickly won my heart with his willingness to try anything and everything with me and we grew to trust eachother more with every ride.
Over the many years together we tried just about everything you can do with a horse, mounted games, polocrosse, archery, mounted shooting, obstacle challenges, ranch sorting, team penning, extreme cowboy races – Boomer did it all! I wouldn’t say he was the most fearless pony (in fact he was always the lowest in the pecking order in the pasture), but he was fearless with me. Or shall I say, this pony would do just about anything for a treat.
Boomer’s love of food (which ultimately is what led us here because of his metabolic issues) made him my most accomplished trick horse. He mastered sitting on bean bag chairs, laying down, bowing (among many more) and his most memorable….flashing a toothy smile. I will always miss his happy grin in the barn, peeking over the stall door.
I still remember his first BIG trick performance in Chincoteague during Pony Penning week – where he was the fill-in for Minnow, who was still recovering from his most recent ankle injection. He was young, and unproven, but we had spent the beginning of the summer practicing non-stop and he knew what to do. I trusted him to do his tricks, but I had not anticipated how he would act with the crowds of people. He entered the small arena on the first night of performances hyped up like I had never seen him, he dove onto his pedestal and as the crowd cheered I asked him to shake hands. I’m fairly sure my eyes popped out of my head as I watched him rear straight up into the air and proceed to give me a high-five during mid launch. Needless to say he was a handful! But as the week went on he began to settle into the routine and by our last performance he just wanted to park on his bean bag chair and never leave.
Not long after I decided to test him again, and in 6 weeks time we would train to complete in Craig Cameron’s Extreme Cowboy Race. He continued to impress me with his ability to learn everything I asked of him, including flying lead changes, rollbacks, and more. Did I mention he was an english pony – not western trained in the slightest? Once again we entered an arena filled with large crowds and as they let out a cheer Boomer spun me around nervously. It was a lot to ask of my young pony, but I settled him (with a treat of course, because thats really all he wanted in life) and we got to work. He tried his little heart out racing around that arena for me, performing rollbacks just like the western ponies, and flying lead changes at just the shift of my seat. We took home 6th, making it into the preliminary and then final rounds against horses that had trained for years to compete in these races and among professional trainers. I was so proud of him.
As the years went on we continued to enjoy our adventures together, and patching him back together constantly as he dealt with lameness issues, and insulin problems and cushings. My mom, amazingly always there to research meds for him, and the very best of care to make sure we had tried every avenue to keep him happy and comfortable. She kept him fit for me when I was busy having my own kids, and enjoyed his company on the trail for many years as well.
One of my most favorite memories with him was on one of our trail rides – happily wandering the countryside with Boomer and my mom on Blitz. As we popped over the crest of a hill we were suddenly faced with an entire herd of loose cattle. With not a sole in sight, we decided to do what any one would have….herd them somewhere! We still laugh at the image of us rounding up cattle on horseback as the farmers eventually popped over the hill on 4-wheelers looking for their herd. I’m sure they could see how much fun we were having so they let us help herd them through streams and fields back to the pasture they had escaped from. Boomer especially loved the adventure as he nipped at the cows – finally finding an animal he could boss around.
In the last few years of his life, Boomer’s kind demeanor led him to be the caretaker of my children’s miniature horses. Himself, no longer able to tolerate eating grass, spent his days in the drylot with his two little minis, much the same that Minnow used to do as well too.
On his last day, he gorged on the lush spring grass to his hearts content, and ate buckets full of the sweetest grain we had. My daughter braided flowers in his mane, and we enjoyed the sunshine. He flashed me one last smile, and went peacefully at home on the farm with a mouthful of grain. Which is really all he wanted.
We will miss you always Boomer. xoxo. Keep smiling.
The Last Painting
This is the very last painting created by Chincoteague Minnow.
Minnow passed away peacefully at home on our family farm in Pennsylvania on October 29, 2020. He took a very special piece of my heart with him and left me with 18 years of amazing memories that I will never forget.
Minnow came into my life when I was 18 years old (He was 10). I had no idea then how deeply connected we would become over the years. While most people I meet who have an affinity for the Chincoteague Pony Breed say they fell in love with them after reading the famed Misty of Chincoteague Book – I on the other hand fell in love with the breed because of Minnow.
His kind eyes and willingness to try could never be outmatched. Lest I not forget that in his younger years – when we could be found tearing around the mounted games arena, fox hunting, playing polocrosse or trail riding – he was a powerhouse. His body was built like a tank (with tiny little legs) and when he made up his mind about going somewhere there was nothing you could do to stop him. I spent many of our early years hanging onto his mane for dear life as we raced around at top speed.
But his instinct for flight was not unstoppable – likely stemming from his wild roots – as he was born a wild pony on Assateague Island in Virginia in 1994. I never once doubted that I could “tame” this wild pony. It just took a little imagination.
A few years into our new found partnership I discovered a book on trick training. We dove head first into the world of tricks as Minnow learned to shake hands, play fetch, and bow. I had stumbled upon a language that allowed us to communicate and it forever changed my life and Minnow’s as well.
When Minnow was diagnosed with Ringbone in 2008 and deemed unrideable many would have given up on him. He was my best friend, and I refused to believe that it was the end for us.
Minnow picked up painting and we began to learn new tricks and skills that brought us closer together. In my early 20’s we spent much of our time training and touring around to fairs, expos, and our favorite – the annual Chincoteague Pony Swim every summer. We met hundreds of people who I like to think also fell in love with him as they took home a small piece of him in the form of a one-of-a-kind painting.
While each year Minnow’s body began to fail him just a little bit more, we spent some of the best years of my life connecting with each other and painting for anyone willing to watch.
Minnow was there through all of the major milestones in my life – high school graduation, college graduation, my wedding (he was the “flower pony”), and later the birth of my two daughters. He was the very first pony my girls met after they were born, and later took on the role of “protector” to the girls’ two miniature horses who lived in the stall with him.
Our endeavors with Painting Pony slowed in the past few years, as I got busy raising my young children and Minnow’s body continued to age. His steady limp that was always there became more evident as the years went on. We took him to New Bolton to have injections to help his joints fuse and bought him extra years of comfort in doing so. But through it all, we still painted. Stable flies, gnats, mosquitoes, ticks, lice, etc. are extremely annoying and can further harm him too so we use the Best Fly Spray For Horses that can provide complete protection.Â
On October 28, 2020 I brought his easel out for the last time. It was a warm fall day and my girls helped me ready his remaining few canvases I had in the barn loft as Minnow eagerly hung his head over the fence in anticipation. They went inside to have lunch and I was left to paint with my best friend. We painted with no one watching, no crowds, no onlookers – just us. Because that’s how it all began, just Minnow and I, doing something we loved together. And when he was done he gently placed his paintbrush on the easel ledge and walked away.
Forever in my heart, xoxo.
Chincoteague Minnow
1994 – 2020
Ammo | A Dog Named Christmas
Ammo | A Dog Named Christmas
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