Posts Tagged ‘2010
Story Teller’s Birthday Party
- This is Story Teller
I met Story when she was just a few weeks old at the 2010 Chincoteague Pony Auction in Virginia. Little did I know then, but she had been bought by someone in my hometown – and in the fall she would be on her way to live in Pennsylvania.
Story - 2010 Chincoteauge Pony Auction
Story - 2010 Chincoteague Pony Auction
On July 10th I attended Story’s First Birthday Party. You can’t tell my boys, because they would be highly jealous!
All of Story’s friends came to her party.
Story even had a special Birthday cake just for her.
Of course she shared her treats with her friends.
This is Sam Brown, Story’s trainer. He is also the same trainer that my mom has been using to work with Blitz.
It was such a great party for a lucky lucky girl. Wishing you many more Happy Birthdays!
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.
"Sea Foam" by Chincoteague Minnow
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.
Large Animal Protection Society
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
CYBER MONDAY SALE!
Don’t forget to head over to the Painting Pony Online Shop today to save 10% off all items on 5AM to 12AM on Tuesday. And as a special thank you to all our loyal blog readers use the coupon code CYBERSALE10 at checkout to receive an additional 10% off!
Painting Pony DVD's make "kids" of all ages smile!
Every Princess needs a pretty little painting by a magical Chincoteague Pony
You don't have to be a Dachshund Lover to appreciate the detail Ammo the Dachshund puts into his artwork!
Holiday Cards made by ponies make everyone smile!
Holiday Cards
After helping Ammo the Dachshund design his Christmas Cards for this year’s Holiday Season, I realized that I had neglected to help the ponies with their cards. So after a little brainstorming session with the boys, we came up with two fun designs for this year’s cards.
This card set features a selection from three different paintings by Chincoteague Minnow. The inside greeting says: May your Holidays Sparkle & Shine.
This card set features a selection from a Holiday painting by each of the ponies and the inside greeting reads: May all your Holiday wishes come true
In celebration of the wonderful season of giving we will be having a Cyber Monday Sale on everything in the Painting Pony Shop. 10% off all items on Monday, November 29 from 5AM to 12AM on Tuesday. And as a special thank you to all our loyal blog readers use the coupon code CYBERSALE10 at checkout to receive an additional 10% off!
Wishing you a joyous Holiday season!
All my favorite boys!
2010 Equine Extravaganza Winner!!
Early morning walk with Minnow & Ammo
On Friday, October 29th I proceeded to pack up the pony (Chincoteague Minnow) and the dog (Ammo the Dachshund) for a big journey to Doswell, Virginia for the 2010 Equine Extravaganza. I had entered the boys into the 2010 Got Talent Contest, and we spent the past month or so perfecting our new skit. We were only able to practice the skit in it’s entirety about 4 times before we left, so my fingers were crossed that everything would go smoothly.
I’m not going to lie, I was pretty nervous before hand. Although I have been performing with Minnow for several years now – this was the first time the two of them would perform a skit together that required them to wait stationary while I worked with one and then the other. This was also the biggest venue we have ever performed in. Usually it’s local horse shows, camp demonstrations, and the once-a-year trip to the Chincoteague Pony Centre (which Ammo has never been to). Never a venue alongside well-known trainers/performers like Kenny Harlow, Julie Goodnight, Lizzy Traband, etc.
I shouldn’t have been nervous though, because the boys knew what they were doing. Here’s a video of their performance, which had the crowd giggling in their seats the whole time!
Mark & Dusty opened the competition for us, and then we were followed by our fellow compeditiors.
Rachael & Casper
and then
Taylor & Vesper
Then while the judges made their decisions Lizzy Traband closed out the competition
Each one of my competitors had something different for the crowd, and I loved how we had our own unique style. But in the end, my bubbly Dachshund – and the Chincoteague Pony that was born to perform took the winning title!
After the performance we got to enjoy the expo for the weekend. I got to meet and talk with animal trainer (for the movies), Doug Sloan, whom I will get a personal training session with in the near future as part of my winning prize. He was really nice to talk to, and we even talked about clicker training – and how he had clicker trainer, Karen Pryor, out to his farm to help him tap into training with this method. He told me about his new project horse whom he’s started with clicker training.
Amazing Grace
We also talked about Gracie, the trick mule who won the 2008 Talent Contest at the Equine Extravaganza. Gracie went on to stardom afterward, with the help of Doug Sloan, and starred in the Movie Get Low with Robert Duvall. She now travels with her trainer, Steve Foster, performing at venues and performing for television (she just finished filming a part in the show Larry the Cable Guy, which will air next year).
Fortunately I was able to catch Gracie’s Act at the Expo as well.
Amazing Grace the trick mule
I enjoyed watching Gracie perform, you can tell her and Steve have a special bond. Although don’t tell Gracie, I still think Minnow is the better painter! 🙂 I was excited to see that Steve trains Gracie with food rewards. I don’t think he uses “clicker training” per say, but I did notice him using a marker word of “Good Girl Gracie” occasionally. Later Steve filled in for Doug Sloan in a clinic (Doug missed most of the expo over the weekend due to being sick) on mule training (he admittedly told us he had never done a clinic before) – where he talked about training with kindness and food rewards. You could tell her truly loved his mule – although she may have needed a little refresher course on treat mugging – but Steve did say she had been performing all week and was a bit cranky. So we should give her the benefit of the doubt, after all she is a movie star!
a sleepy Ammo on the way home to Pennsylvania
We had a great weekend down in Doswell, Virginia – and I’m glad I stepped out of my comfort zone a bit to experience it. I think both Minnow (who wanted to keep performing all weekend long) and Ammo (who never tired of saying hello to fans) really had a fun time. The best part was that I got to enjoy a beautiful weekend with my favorite Dachshund & Chincoteague Pony. Can’t wait for our next performance!
Check out Ammo the Dachshund’s recap of the performance here.
