100th Chincoteague Pony Penning receives online threat - Shore Daily News
Chincoteague mayor speaks on threat made to 100th annual Pony Swim | 13newsnow.com
I don't think this is much of a real threat. Remember, these people are primarily from middle eastern countries and are acclimated to arid climates. They have probably no idea what mosquitos are, especially the Chincoteague variety.
Your friend,
Slim
This year's event is promoted as the 99th annual Pony Penning in Chincoteague but the activity goes back even prior to this 1873 article which references "The great day on the island is peninng day..".
The herd round-ups were this past weekend with the early morning Beach Walk highlighting Monday's pony activities.
(View the official guide for all of this week's Pony Penning events:)
(Chincoteague CC/Shore Daily News)
Festivities begin with the South Herd roundup on Saturday, July 20th and the North Herd roundup on Sunday, July 21st. The North Herd of wild Chincoteague Ponies will join the South Herd to await the “big day” in the traditional Beach Walk on Assateague Island on Monday, July 22nd. Vet checks will be given on Tuesday. The Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company has announced that the swim on Wednesday, July 24th will be between Noon-1 p.m. The auction of foals takes place on Thursday morning July 25th at 8 a.m. at the Carnival Grounds located at 3648 Main Street. Online bidding will also be available and can be accessed from the Chamber Website on Auction Day. The week’s events culminate with the return swim of the South Herd adult ponies to Assateague Island on Friday morning, July 26th (time to be determined after the swim on Wednesday).
(View more on Pony Penning activities:)
Chincoteague Island welcomes Pony Penning spectators - Shore Daily News
and
https://www.chincoteague.com/pony-swim/pony-swim-guide/
Wednesday, 7/26/23
Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company-
"All the ponies are across the channel safe and sound!"
(View Pony Penning activities:)
2023 Pony Swim Events Schedule & Shuttle Packet 3.pdf (chincoteaguechamber.com)
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| Photo/Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce |
Wednesday July 25, 2012At "slack tide", sometime between 8:30 and 9:30 a.m., the Chincoteague Ponies will swim across the Assateague Channel just south of Memorial Park (7427 Memorial Park Dr, Chincoteague Island, VA 23336) on the east side of Chincoteague Island. There is no charge by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company for parking or seeing the ponies swim. The ONLY parking at Memorial Park, however, is designated for handicap use. All other folks coming in just for the day are encouraged to go to Chincoteague Combined School (4586 Main St. Chincoteague Island, VA 23336) and catch the free shuttle. There is also a handicap accessible bus for your convenience (click here for shuttle information). Those staying on the island may catch a shuttle bus near their lodging. The first foal to come ashore will be named King or Queen Neptune and will be given away in a raffle drawing at the carnival grounds later in the day (time to be announced). Tickets are sold each night at the carnival and amongst the crowd while waiting for the swim to occur. You must have a ticket and you must be present to win. After swimming the short distance across the channel, the ponies will rest for approximately 45 minutes to an hour before “parading” to the carnival grounds on Main Street. See shuttle bus map for parade route. The carnival will open at 7:00 p.m. with rides, games, and lots of good food. Note: Pets are not permitted in Memorial Park or the Carnival Grounds.Coast Guard on Alert for Illegal Charter Boats During Chincoteague Pony Swim (The Coast Guard is cautioning tourists attending the pony swim to avoid boats that do not have licensed captains, and in some cases have not been inspected by the Coast Guard.) 7:00 p.m. - Carnival attractions. |
(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."
CHINCOTEAGUE -- Roe Terry intricately understands the annual Chincoteague Pony Penning from every angle.As the company's public relations officer and media representative, Terry helps television and print reporters get access to the ponies and the volunteers who are so important to this week's activities.
The result is that Wednesday's 85th annual Pony Swim and Thursday's Pony Auction will get worldwide coverage and have a dedicated following of enthusiasts.
"It's a juggling job," Terry said recently from his decoy carving shop on North Main Street. "You've got to be diplomatic."
Terry also understands the impact of Pony Penning on Chincoteague Island. The event helps local businesses and restaurants. And the proceeds of the pony sale and annual Fireman's Carnival help the fire company.
Long after the ponies are sold and crowds are gone, the funding helps meet the operating expenses for firetrucks, ambulances and more.
"Chincoteague's very lucky because we have the ponies," he said.
This year has been no different from others. Terry has been in contact with a reporter from Europe who recently spent time on the island documenting the ponies, and a television reporter from Japan who is expected to attend the event.
Last year, he was particularly proud that Horse Racing Television came to town to film the event and produce a segment. And Terry enjoys recounting when Spencer Christian, the "Good Morning America" weatherman, interviewed him live on national television while the ponies swam in the background.
"You learn, through your trials, what to do," he said. Terry always gives credit to the volunteers and firefighters who came before him and thanks Donald Leonard for being his mentor as the company's public relations point person.
Terry's involvement with the event, however, lasts far more than one week. Caring for the ponies, organizing the swim and auction and preparing for the carnival is a year-round process.
He waves off attention and deflects the credit to all the dedicated volunteers in the fire company and Saltwater Cowboys who give their time and talents to make the event a success.
"Everybody does it, not just me," he said. "It's a tremendous amount of work."
Terry, 57, joined the Navy after high school in Chincoteague and then worked at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Terry and his wife, Monnie, have two grown children, Ryan and Irene.
For a decade, beginning in the early 1980s, he was a full-time decoy carver.
Terry has been a carver ever since he was 15. He credits a neighbor, Doug Jester Jr., with fostering a love of the outdoors.
"He took me clamming, fishing, hunting," he said of Jester.
After carving 5,751 pieces in a little more than nine years, he went back to NOAA as an electronic technician, saying he "decided I better get some retirement and health insurance."
Still, Terry enjoys carving -- he works 42 hours a week at his full-time job and carves another 20-25 hours a week behind his house in a shop where he shows and sells his intricate, detailed birds.
These days, Terry produces about 200 pieces a year and donates some of them to worthy causes like the new Chincoteague Island Library for fundraisers. He also gives 40 talks a year to groups like Elderhostel on carving and wildfowl.
It seems Terry likely won't get much carving done in the coming days as volunteers coordinate the swim and auction. He'll be speaking with the media and granting access to the swim site. Like many others who help with the event, he takes vacation time from work so he can volunteer for the storied event.
Volunteering is dear to Terry, whether it involves the Pony Penning, helping on a wintertime house fire or with any other organization. He bristles at people who complain about volunteers.
"Don't complain about your volunteers," said Terry, who keeps his firefighting gear in his pickup truck. "Be a volunteer."
That's exactly what people will see Terry and the other Chincoteague firefighters and Saltwater Cowboys doing, not only in the coming days, but all year long.
"It's a satisfying job because you're a volunteer," he said.
