This is Pony Penning Week!

 

View activities schedule:

Pony Event Schedule - Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce

Note: A live broadcast of Wednesday's pony swim is planned to air on WBOC-TV and its' digital platforms.

2022 Chincoteague Pony Penning!

                                        

View the July 23rd to July 30th Chincoteague Pony Penning events schedule:

Official Chincoteague Pony Guide | Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce

No Pony Penning in 2021

 

View Shore Daily News story:

https://shoredailynews.com/headlines/chincoteague-cancels-pony-penning-and-carnival/

CHINCOTEAGUE PONY SWIM REPLAY

Courtesy WBOC

http://www.wboc.com/category/174346/main-wboc-video-player?clipId=14514405&autoStart=true

Early Pony Swim...

According to Suzanne Taylor of the Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce, the ponies are expected to make their swim Wednesday morning between 8:30 and 9:30 am. The Chincoteague Fire Company's salt water cowboys allow the ponies to rest and make sure the tide has stopped running completely before herding them across the channel.

As is customary the ponies will then be herded to the carnival grounds where they will rest and receive medical treatment before Thursday morning's auction. WESR will have live reports from the swim on Wednesday and Thursday's auction.

Parking will be very limited at the event and those who are headed to watch the annual event are encouraged to park at the High School and ride a bus to Tom's Cove. The Chincoteague Trolley will also be operating throughout the island.

The Chincotegue Volunteer Fireman's Carnival will be open during the day of the swim and the auction and will open evenings through Saturday night this week and will open for their final weekend Augut 2, 3 and 4.

Source:

Feather Fund Helps Dreams Come True

For those that may not be familiar with the organization, this beautifully explains the 'Feather Fund'.

From July 21, 2011

CHINCOTEAGUE -- Each year at Pony Penning, crowds come from states far away to see the wild ponies. Many choose their favorites to bid on, taking home their own Chincoteague foals.



Author Lois Szymanski is shown with Sea Feather.

Among the crowds later this month, two girls will see their dreams come true with help from the Feather Fund. On auction day, each will hold a feather high in the air to bid their favorite pony, continuing the work of a woman named Carollynn Suplee.

Fifteen-year-old Lindsey Geiser of Johnstown, Pa., wrote to the Feather Fund in her application. "Ever since I can remember I have loved horses and ponies and been drawn to them. As I learned more about ponies my passion for them grew."

She wrote, "My first grade teacher told me about an island where wild ponies lived. I was soon fascinated by this wild place and read any book I could, both fictional and nonfictional that involved horses and ponies.

Then my family visited Chincoteague."

Geiser said she'd been saving for a pony of her own since she was 11 years old. "I've shoveled sidewalks, mowed grass, raked leaves, walked dogs and babysat," she wrote.

Seventeen-year-old Amy Wetzel of Oberlin, Ohio, wrote, "I've been around horses since I was little and have always been in love with them. It was never a phase because it has not changed since I rode a horse for the first time when I was two. I have been saving since my first pony swim in 2007, because that's when I fell in love with them."

The Feather Fund began helping children purchase foals in 2004. The charity was created in memory of Carollynn Suplee, an angel who visited the auction annually for each of the eight years she survived cancer, purchasing foals for a child.

She said it was her way of "giving back" for the gift of another year of life. When she passed in 2003, the families who had received pony gifts from her joined with her own family to form the charity. They wanted to keep her work alive.

Suplee found feathers often and said she believed they were God's way of telling her she would be OK. She cited Psalm 91:4 which says, the Lord will cover you with feathers and protect you. Before she passed she suggested the name, "The Feather Fund."

This year, "The True Story of Sea Feather" was released by Schiffer Books. Written by Lois Szymanski, it tells the true story of Suplee's first pony gift, a bay and white pinto colt named Sea Feather that was gifted to the author's own daughters in 1995.

When Kathryn and Owen Hooks of the Kite Koop heard the story of the Feather Fund, they offered to help the group raise funds. After brainstorming, they came up with a kid friendly event with a pony twist.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, July 26 and 27, author Lois Szymanski will sign her Chincoteague Pony books at the Kite Koop from 4-6 p.m. each evening. Her books will include "The True Story of Sea Feather."

While there, children who make a donation of at least $5 to the Feather Fund may ride the real Sea Feather who will visit the Kite Koop for the evening.

Come out to meet Chincoteague Pony, Sea Feather and buy a book. What a great way to have a fun time and take home a new pony book to read, while contributing to the charity that makes wild pony dreams come true.

For more information on the event visit the Kite Koop online at: www.kitekoopandbookstore.com.

For information, visit www.featherfund.org and friend them on Facebook.

Source;  http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20110721/CB01/107210341/Feather-fund-helps-dreams-come-true?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Chincoteague Beacon|s

Pony Penning Day

The 86th Chincoteaque Pony Swim or Pony Penning happens on Chincoteague Island today!

An estimated 150 ponies will swim during slack tide today which has been stated as being anytime between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. 

The ponies will swim ashore to Chincoteague and after a 45 minute rest the Salt Water Cowboys will parade them down Main Street to the carnival grounds.

Don't forget to prepare for the weather and long wait.  These things are important: bug repellant, snacks, water or some type of drink, sunscreen, appropriate clothing and old shoes or boots- in case you have to stand in the marsh and pack your patience!   Also, a lawn chair might be nice.

It's already a hot humid morning so take  precautions to protect yourselves.  And have fun!

Don't forget the Fireman's Carnival.  You can veiw  all the ponies from the days swim there.

The Pony Auction is tomorrow - Thursday- beginning at 8 a.m.

Here's my favorite!

86TH ANNUAL CHINCOTEAGUE FIREMAN'S CARNIVAL OPENS TONIGHT

This year's Chincoteague Fireman's Carnival has a new look!

Accomack County Officials Support Beach Parking

ACCOMAC -- Accomack County officials voted unanimously to support Chincoteague in the town's effort to keep parking available at the beach on Assateague Island.

The Board of Supervisors will add its voice to those of Chincoteague town officials who are determined to battle efforts to eliminate or reduce beach parking at Assateague Island National Seashore in favor of a shuttle system.

The vote came after Chincoteague Councilman John Jester made a plea for the county to join the town in supporting the continuation of parking at the beach.

A study by Volpe National Transportation Systems Center commissioned by the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in anticipation of the updating of the refuge's master plan in the coming years gave four options for getting visitors to the beach --two of which involved some type of shuttle service. The transportation alternatives are partly in response to the threat of rising sea levels and storms that have necessitated the rebuilding of the parking lots at the beach after each winter in recent years.

"Wherever Volpe's been, shuttles seem to follow in national parks," Jester said. He called the idea of families taking a shuttle bus to the beach, loaded down with all their gear, "ridiculous."

Jester said 500 surveys returned to a beach access committee of the town showed 80 percent of those surveyed say they come to Chincoteague to go to the beach; 80 percent said they would not feel safe during a storm at the beach; and 75 percent said if a shuttle service is implemented they would think about not coming back to vacation there.

Jester said Accomack County in 2009 collected $401,500 in hotel taxes from Chincoteague and the town's real estate represents $1.1 billion out of a total in the county of $3.6 billion, with 45 percent or more of homes on the island being second or vacation homes. Those property values, and taxes collected by the county, would likely decrease if the beach was no longer accessible by private vehicle, he said.

"The bottom line is the economy of Chincoteague and of Accomack will suffer," he said.

County supervisors appeared to agree wholeheartedly with Jester.

"I hope this board will do anything they can to prevent the shuttle service," Supervisor Jack Gray said. Ron Wolff agreed, as did Donald Hart Jr., who said of the Fish and Wildlife Service, "In their opinion, human beings are a nuisance."

Hart made the motion to support a letter Chincoteague will write objecting to the proposed elimination of beach parking and also to ask state and federal elected officials to go on the record as to what their stance is on the matter.

Supervisor Wanda Thornton of Chincoteague said the same issue came up in 1999 but was thwarted by a concerted effort including local officials making several trips to Washington, D.C., to present their case.

"The deal was then that they were going to bus the people from Wallops ... We were able to change that whole equation then and we can do it now," she said.

www.chincoteaguebeacon.com

PONY PENNING: SWIM DAY

Taking photos during Pony Penning is not easy. To see some amazing photos of the swim click onto the link below.

P.S. It's not easy attending a pony swim. Those who travel to Chincoteague Island for the beauty and thrill of the yearly swim will go to great pains to catch a glimpse of the creatures most of us have seen all of our lives roaming the beaches of Assateague.

I can't help but wonder how many children's hearts will be broken because they couldn't take a pony home with them.

Enjoy.

PONY PENNING: SWIM DAY

Last Ponies Walked Ashore At 12:02 PM

(2007 photo) CHINCOTEAGUE -- The first of an estimated 120 ponies swam ashore at exactly noon on Wednesday while a large crowd of onlookers cheered at the 85th annual Chincoteague Pony Swim.

"That's so cool," said Dawn Wagner, who lives in Point Pleasant, N.J., and Locustville, Va., and was attending her second swim with her family.

The U.S. Coast Guard set of a red flare at 11:42 a.m., signaling to an eager crowd that the slack tide had arrived and the swim was near.

The ponies hit the water in the channel at 11:57 a.m. The last ponies walked ashore at 12:02 p.m.

The swim was the climax of a long morning spend waiting. Because the animals must swim at slack tide, when the water doesn't move, the event is time-specific.

A welcome breeze helped keep the large crowd gathered at Memorial Park and surrounding areas cool.

Still, Chincoteague emergency medical technicians were called to assist at least two people who developed health problems while on one of scores of boats that lined Assateague Channel.

They were taken from the area on a stretcher.

After the ponies rest for approximately an hour in a holding pen, they will be paraded down Beebe Road and Main Street toward the carnival grounds, where the annual auction will be held tomorrow.

Spectators will line the streets for one of the Pony Penning's signature events.

But for now, the majesty and allure is on full display for a crowd of onlookers.

"Look at the lead horse," said Wagner, pointing, during the swim. "This is a good spot."

http://www.delmarvanow.com/

Ponies Will Have A Late Swim Today

CHINCOTEAGUE -- A gentle, cool breeze is saving the thousands of spectators at today's 85th annual Chincoteague Pony Swim.

The ponies swim at slack tide -- the time between high and low tides when the current is absolutely still. Officials from the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Co., which owns and maintains the herd and organizes the event, announced to the large crowd at 10 a.m. that another hour and a half, possibly an hour and 45 minutes, still awaits.

But the high temperatures and high humidity of last week are gone, replaced by a comfortable, sunny morning and a cool breeze that is keeping the day bearable.

While a large crowd waits behind a orange snow fence, others frolic in the water of Assateague Channel. Earlier this morning, with the tide low, the shoreline was covered by mud. Now, with the incoming tide, it is rising and many are standing chest deep in it.

Thanks to the breeze, few seem to mind the wait.

"Everybody has a good time," said Roe Terry, public relations officer for the fire company.

www.delmarvanow.com

6 A.M. Pony Day Swim

CHINCOTEAGUE -- Crowds are gathering on the banks of Assateague Channel this morning in anticipation of the 85th annual Pony Swim.

Accomack County Public Schools buses are taking people to Chincoteague's Veterans' Memorial Park to watch the event, made famous by Marguerite Henry's 1947 novel, "Misty of Chincoteague."

Longtime residents and people with an intricate knowledge of the event serve as guides on the buses, providing onlookers -- estimated to be in the tens of thousands -- with information about the event.

"The best thing to do is move forward and to the right," said guide Kat Edwards to a bus with onlookers. "Get as close as you can."

She told those on the bus that the first pony ashore will be named King or Queen Neptune and will be raffled off at the Fireman's Carnival.

But members of a family seated in the middle of the bus, with a young daughter in tow, shook their heads when Edwards announced the raffle.

Edwards, whose day job is director of housing services for the Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission, laughed.

"Don't let your kids hear that? Is that what you're trying to say?" she asked, as the young girl suddenly became interested in winning a pony.

They got off the bus and blended into the crowd at Memorial Park, some people seated in lawn chairs, others farther down the coast, standing in marsh grass, looking toward the channel.

www.delmarvanow.com