We arrived in Chincoteague Sunday evening. We took are little travel trailer. It was a tough week, because we didn’t have hook-ups. It was hot, humid, wet and buggy, but we made the most of it. Monday, we went to the pony penning. Tuesday, they do selection on which ponies will be buying back to be returned to the island. Wednesday, they swim the ponies across the bay. Thursday is the auction.
Tommie was invited to be ambassador for the Beebe ranch and was asked to present Nightmist’s Legend, a Misty descendent. The entire Equine extremist Team shipped in Sunday night and set up camp at Beebe ranch. Beebe ranch was home to Misty and Stormy. Our week at Beebe ranch was challenging. We had limited electric, mud, mosquitoes and bad thunder storms. We were determined to make the best of it. We spent time at the ranch, attended some scheduled activities, signed some autographs, did a radio interview and attended the swim activities. We did a lot of biking. My mom and I biked all over the island and wildlife sanctuary. We also spent some time at the beach.
On Wednesday, the day of the swim, I watched the swim from a boat. My mom was given the job of taking ground footage. She had to hike through really deep, smelly marsh. Then she waited at the shore line in black sand with jelly fish. She said she was not sure what she was doing there until the ponies appeared.
Once the ponies appeared, she new it was something really special. She was less than 30 feet away from where they were. She shot wonderful video of them coming onto the shore. When the ponies are in the water you see all their heads just bobbing in the water. In is really a neat thing to get to see.
One thing we were very curious about prior to making the trip was how the ponies were cared for….The care was acceptable, but had room for improvement. They were all penned together two days prior to the sale. There was some fighting throughout the pen. The pen was rather muddy, but the horses seemed to have access to unlimited hay and water. There was a veterinarian in attendance at the sale. The handling of the ponies was a little rough, but the ponies aren’t broke.
I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to see the swim, attend the sale and visit Beebe ranch. When the ponies come….. swimming across the bay, it was a moment that I won’t forget. There are challenges with everything we doing. Anything worth doing is often challenging. You have to embrace the journey.
Dream Big
Lizzy
