Braving the Swamp – 2009 Pony Swim
Specators brave the swamp for the 2009 Pony Swim
So the main event involved with Pony Penning is the Chincoteague Pony Swim across the channel. Specators wake up early to get a front row seat to this exciting event that only lasts a few minutes. Many wade through the swamp and muck and stand for hours with cameras posed waiting for the coast guard to set off his flare that signals the start of the swim. Last year was the first time I attended the swim, and after waking up at 4am, wading the swamp, and standing for four hours while crabs nibbled at my feet just to see the ponies cross the water, you may be thinking….did I dare do it again this year? Heck yes I did! And it was just as awesome the second time!
The salwater cowboys make their way through the swamp
This year though, I decided not to wake up at the crack of dawn. Instead I woke up around 7am, stopped by the Pony Center to feed and check on Minnow, and then proceeded on to the swim site with my mom around 7:30am. We walked a few blocks to Pony Swim Lane (where the horses come ashore) and then proceeded to treck across the swamp to the landing area. And when I say swamp, I mean swamp. You sometimes fall in the muddy, mucky water up to your knees and you better wear sneakers because the crabs are all around ready to prey on unsuspecting victims. So after braving the swamp I was able to squeeze my way under the food bridge for a pretty good spot to view the swim. Luckily I have a telephoto lense on my camera, so even though I had to stand behind several people I was still able to get some nice shots.
2009 Chincoteague Pony Swim
Seeing the ponies cross the water is such a beautiful site to me. I invision Minnow as a tiny foal braving the water to come ashore. I so wish I could have been there in 1993 when he was a tiny little thing. I believe he was one of the smallest of the herd that year (hence the name Chincoteague Minnow).
Surfer Dude 1992 Stallion
Anyway so with the herd ashore I had no time zeroing in on my favorite stallion, Surfer Dude. He is the favorite to many with his stunning silver dapple coat color and his blonde mane and tail. I’m lucky to own a Sufer Dude grandson, Boomerang. I have developed this theory that Minnow and Surfer Dude are full bothers. Surfer Dude being a 1992 buy-back foal and Minnow being born a year later in 1993 its certainly plausable. Both boys have the same build and body type, and their matching muscle necks are unmistakable! So since there is no way for me to know who Minnow’s dam and sire are, because they didn’t start keeping accurate records until 1994, I have determined in my own little fantsy world that Minnow and Surfer Dude are full brothers! 🙂
Riptide looks for his mom
So as I watched the combined herds grazing on shore I notice a lively colt making his way through the crowd, obviously looking for his mom. As he got closer, my mouth dropped, Surfer Dude had a look-alike son! This stunning cold dawned his father’s blonde locks and silver dapple coat as well as a beautiful blaze. I was in love! I watched as Surfer’s son found his mother, a chestnut named Southern Belle, and the pair stuck close to Surfer Dude’s side. Now I know I was not the only one with eyes for the Surfer Dude colt, as word quickly spread around the island of the new beauty. “Surfer Dude’s Riptide” as he was later named ended up fetching the highest price tag at the auction as a last minute buy-back (meaning he would never have to leave the island again) of $11,700. Yeah I definitely didn’t have that in pocket change. But the good news is that Riptide returned to the island. Which means in a few years he will be producing beautiful foals just like his predessesor father, Surfer Dude. Which also means that possibly in 4-5 years I may have the chance to buy a Riptide colt! (I say colt because I’ve never been good with mares/fillies). That news is very exciting to me, I think Riptide will be sure to produce some wonderful offspring and I hope that I maybe one day I will own one of them!
Riptide finds his mother, Southern Belle
To see all of my photos from the swim and auction visit www.greenhorsestudios.com
Surfer Dude's Riptide
"Passing of the Torch" Father, Son, Mom
Pony Penning 2009 Paintings
So we’re going over our fabulous trip to Chincoteague Island this week, and what hasn’t been discussed yet is the paintings! Its the main reason we went down there! Minnow set about painting during each show (thats 2 paintings a day) and during each performance we would auction them off to the highest bidder. Some of the profits were donated to the Chincoteague Pony Drill Team and some of them were donated to the Chincoteague Pony Association to help feed and care for the wild ponies of Assateague Island while the rest of the money helped pay for my trip down there.
I strongly believe that Minnow creates his strongest work on the Island, I guess you could say he has the Island as inspiration. His paintings sold for an average of $180 with the prices ranging from $100 – $250.
So without further ado….I give you Minnow’s masterpieces!
"Chincoteague Light Storm"
"Paradise in Chincoteague"
"Assateague Wonder Dust"
"Assateague Morning Splash"
"Tidewater Stampede"
"Assateague Saltwater Ponies"
"Chincoteague Carnival Pony"
"All the Pretty Horses of Chincoteague"
Which one is your favorite? Do you own one of these paintings? We’d love to hear from you! And don’t forget that we still have many wonderful paintings up on the website, and if you see a color scheme you like – custom paintings are always available!
Trick Horse in Chincoteague
Ok, so those of you following this blog have probably been WAITING for me to post an update on how my trip to Chincoteague Island with Minnow went. We had kind of spotty internet – so posting down there wasn’t much of an option, not to mention my days were packed with pony swim excitement and performing! So anyway, this week I’m going to go over how our trip went – complete with videos and pictures from the exciting week.
Today I’m going to share with you some of the videos I took (well had someone else take) of Minnow performing. The first video is of us performing our beach picnic skit. Considering that Minnow learned some of the tricks only a week before our trip I was so proud of him! We had a few little mishaps during the week, like Minnow not wanting to do some of the tricks, but we pressed on and overall I think everyone enjoyed his performance.
This next video is of the Extreme Pony Race. Basically it is one small “act” in the Chincoteague Pony Center Performance in which some of the ponies/riders are asked to go through sort of an obstical course. The whole thing is timed, and if you have to skip a task (or you don’t complete it correctly) then 5 seconds is added onto your time. Minnow was asked to perform the extreme pony race twice during the week – having never seen or tried it before. I had been buting him all week so that he wasn’t in any pain from his arthritis (normally I never ride Minnow), and honestly, he could use the exercise and its good to use his joints sometimes. Anyway, this video is of the first time Minnow tried the extreme pony race, and much to my surprise we won, infact we were undefeated the entire weekend! Go Minnow! If you watch closely you can see me using the bitless bridle with Minnow, I had many comments after the show from people asking about this unique bridle and how I liked it. Of course I think the Bitless Bridle should now sponsor me because I was quite the spokesperson if I do say so myself!
As you can see I didn’t ask Minnow to complete the backup task. He did back up for me at first, but when I asked again he gave me a big head toss. Now I know my pony well, and I decided he was not happy with this request, so I opted to skip the skill. Some people may see this as me being too “soft” and I should of made him do it, but honestly Minnow has done so much for me, and he constantly performs for me when I ask him to, with barely much of a protest. So when I can tell he’s frustrated and not up for it, I opt to let it go and ask for it another day. This is what makes our relationship so special. If you had a bad day and didn’t feel like doing something – and someone forced you to do it anyway, you can bet that the next time that person asked you to do something you’d start to resent them for asking. This is who I like to view horse training. I pick and choose my battles. If I can tell my horse is definitely not in the mood (maybe they are grumpy that day, maybe the flies are bothering them) then I usually decide to save it for another day. 9 times out of 10 if I respect how they are feeling they will perform bigger and better for me the next time I ask.
After the extreme pony race I was actually complimented by several spectators for not making Minnow perform the back up. In the end those compliments were well worth it to me. Minnow was happy, and specators appreciated my decision to make it more enjoyable for my horse.
So there you have it, a little peak into my week on Chincoteague Island. And for those of you wondering, sadly I did not come home with a new foal, but I swear I will someday! I actually had my eye on a georgous colt, you can hear all about it in this weeks posts, so keep reading!
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Minnow in the News
Yesterday afternoon Chincoteague Minnow and I arrived in Chincoteague, Virginia. We’re to spend all week of the 2009 Pony Penning performing at the Chincoteague Pony Center. Upon arriving I found an article about Minnow and I in the Chinctoeague Beach Comber. You can tell that they pulled excerpts from my local paper in Pennsylvania (apparently I still attended the Univesity of Delaware instead of Kutztown University). Oh well, any press is good press!
So Minnow and I were scheduled to do our first performance at 4pm yesterday at the Pony Center. A horrific thunderstorm loomed through the area with lightning and thunder on top of us. Being that the show requires the Pony Center workers to bring horses in and out of the ring from outside, it was too dangerous to do so in the lightning. So we adlibbed a little – having Minnow start the show with his painting. Minnow was a bit nervous as the flash of the crowds cameras reminded him of lightning. But he eventually settled enough to create a wonderful painting called “Chincoteague Light Storm” which was sold to the highest bidder. As the storm was not passing we improvised on the show and I brought Minnow back in the ring to perform his tricks. We very poorly mad it through his act, as he was still very shaken up by the storm brewing outside. I was proud of him though, it took a lot for him to even do the few tricks that he managed.
We ended up having to cancel the 8pm show due to more storms approaching, but hopefully tonight we will be back on schedule.
I may not be able to post updates on Minnow’s trip each day, but be sure to follow us on Twitter @trickponies for the most current updates on our trip.
(sorry for the lack of photos in this post – we’re having technical issues with spotty hotel internet connection!)
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Horse Bath Time Contest
So I’ve found this great contest for all clicker trainers or people who want to try clicker training! Its such a great idea! I just might have to enter myself :-).
Here’s the gist:
Phase One of the horse bath challenge starts today! You can be the winner of a DVD from www.TheBestWhisperIsAClick.com. Watch this video to see the rules, upload your video, post the link on my channel (Peggasus09), vote on your two favorite videos and you could win!
Contest end Aug. 30, 2009.
Thanks for playing!
Now here’s the video. You can visit the actual link by “clicking” here.
Be sure to post a link to you’re video here too! I (and I’m sure all of you two) would love to see everyone’s videos!
