Posts Tagged ‘misty of chincoteague
Super Hero Bootcamp – Minnow gets ready for Pony Penning 2012
July is a busy busy month for us, and for the past several weeks we’ve been getting ready for Pony Penning 2012!
For the past 4 years Minnow has learned a new performance to perform at the Chincoteague Pony Centre during their evening shows. Learning a new performance every year is quite difficult – not only does Minnow have to learn new tricks, but he also has to learn the order in which they are performed – and retain it!
But Minnow is my super pony and every year he amazes me at how quickly he’s able to learn new tricks and performances.
This year Minnow is going to Super Hero Boot Camp, he’s been training really hard and we can’t wait to debut his new skit at the Chincoteague Pony Centre.
If you want to see our new performance you’ll have to come visit us during Pony Penning, but for those of you that just aren’t able to make it this year – have no fear! We’re currently filming at the farm with Depthink Productions for two brand-new DVDs that will also feature Minnow’s new skit. We hope to have it available for purchase sometime next month.
You can also check out our current DVD HERE, which features all of the ponies painting and doing tricks as well as one of Minnow’s skits and some tricks by Ammo the Dachshund.
We can hardly wait to make the trek to Chincoteague Island once again!
Minnow’s favorite furry sidekick Ammo the Dachshund won’t be making the trip with us this time, but we couldn’t leave him out during our Super Hero Photoshoot.
Check out more fun photos of Super Dog Ammo and Super Pony Minnow on Ammo’s Blog.
Workout Pony
If you follow us on Facebook then you may already know that Minnow has been working on learning some new tricks. Most of these are in preparation for Pony Penning 2012 as I’m teaching him some new skills for a brand new performance.
Now, you may remember Workout Barbie – well this is Workout Pony! And Workout Pony is way way cooler!
We’re still in the planning stages of our performance and I have lots of ideas for new tricks, but I thought I’d share a video of our first training session with Minnow’s barbell. It’s important to note that this video was shot after I had spent about 10 minutes working on the skill with clicker training. Yes only 10 minutes!
As you can see on the video he has two skills he’s learning – “lifts” and “curls”. I was actually quite shocked he picked it up as fast as he did and he already knows the cues for each skill. As we continue on in his training we’ll work on duration and I just finished making him a more permanent barbell that looks a bit more realistic.
I’m really excited about all the new tricks we will be working on and it will be so much fun to showcase the new performance during Pony Penning.
So, anyone else teaching their horses new tricks this spring? Have any ideas for new tricks for Minnow? We’re always open to suggestions!
New April Paintings in the Shop!
Well it’s taken me way too long to get the paintings Minnow created on April 1st at the Point to Point Races up in the shop. Several of them have sold already, but we do have a few left that are available for purchase.
We tried something new this time with a few of Minnow’s paintings. Instead of having him paint on canvas, he painted on bristol board. We then matted them to fit standard size frames and made them available for a budget friendly price of $45!
Below are three of the paintings we still have available in the shop – click on each image to see them in the Shop!
Minnow also painted a new canvas which we titled “April Fool” on account of him painting it on April Fools Day at the Point to Point races.
Purchase it in the shop HERE.
I think all of his new paintings have the perfect touch of Spring in them. Don’t you?
2012 Brandywine Hills Point-to-Point
On April 1st Minnow and Ammo the Dachshund attended the 2012 Brandywine Hills Point to Point Races. Minnow and Ammo performed tricks and painted all day long for the attendees (we’ll share some of Minnow’s newest paintings in a later post). It was a fun event and I think Minnow especially had a blast being stationed by one of the last jumps – he whinnied  to cheer them on as the thundering hooves of the racers came up over the hill and took the last jump!
Here’s some shots of our day at the races.
You can check out all of the ponies’ available paintings in our SHOP, and if you are interested in booking Ammo & Minnow for your event please contact us.
Cape Henlopen – Riding on the Beach
On Monday we decided to pack up the ponies and Ammo the Dachshund and head to Cape Henlopen in Delaware to ride on the beach. We had never been there before, but heard they allowed beach riding until late April.
Blitz and Boomerang have been to the beach before when we took our ride on Assateague Island in Virginia last fall.
In fact Boomerang was so excited about returning he couldn’t even make it all the way to the beach before taking a roll in the sand.
This time Minnow stayed at home (sorry Minnow) and we brought along my sister’s mare, Jet, and this was her first time on the beach. Jet was a bit nervous about the waves at first but eventually relaxed some, we even worked up to some fun galloping/racing along the beach.
After taking the ponies on our ride we picked up Ammo at the trailer and took them on a run/walk in the ocean.
As you can see it was extremely windy that day and had it been warmer I would have ventured further into the ocean with Boomerang.
Understandably Boomer was a bit nervous at first about going too far into the ocean – waves coming at you can be a scary thing when you aren’t sure what they are. But with a bit of clicker training I eventually had him encompassed in some waves.
Blitz was really fun to watch on the beach – he looked just like a wild stallion, so pretty!
Dramatic Boomer rolled about 6 times on the beach (aside from being cued to lay down & sit) – and he could of cared less who or what was next to him as long as he could feel the wet sand on his body.
The ponies weren’t the only ones to have a good time on the beach though. Ammo thoroughly enjoyed himself even if he did get a little wind/sand blown. It’s a drag being so short sometimes.
To check out more of our photos from our beach adventure visit our Facebook Page.
