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Wednesday, March 08 2017 / Published in Sidelines Feature

Chincoteague – Sun, Surf and Ponies

Saltwater Cowboys hold the ponies on Assateague Island until slack tide, a period of about 30 minutes when there are no currents and it’s easiest for the ponies to swim to Chincoteague.
Photo by DSC Photography – DSCPhotography.net

By Lauren R. Giannini

Chincoteague Island off the coast of Virginia is a wish-list destination for many, especially those who loved reading “Misty of Chincoteague,” a fictionalized tale published in 1947 about three real ponies: Misty, Phantom and Stormy. The first of Marguerite Henry’s delightful wild pony novels, it quickly became a beloved children’s classic. It’s never too late to fulfill a childhood dream to see the ponies in person. This summer, the 92nd annual Pony Swim and Auction will attract kids of all ages from all over the world on Wednesday and Thursday, July 26 and 27.

Wonderful sun and surf on Assateague’s award-winning recreational beach for visitors to Chincoteague Island.
Photo by Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce – www.chincoteaguechamber.com  

Chosen as America’s Happiest Seaside Town 2014 by coastalliving.com, many will agree that Chincoteague, Virginia’s one and only resort island, is very special. It offers a cozy ambience, measuring a mere 7 miles long and 1.5 miles wide. Its importance includes serving as the gateway to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, located on the Virginia side of Assateague Island, the 37-mile barrier island and home of the wild ponies.

Saltwater Cowboys hold the ponies on Assateague Island until slack tide, a period of about 30 minutes when there are no currents and it’s easiest for the ponies to swim to Chincoteague.
Photo by DSC Photography – DSCPhotography.net

The Pony Swim and Auction raises funds for the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company (CVFC), which owns the wild herd. The CVFC supervises the ponies’ maintenance year-round and conducts the major July round-up as well as two others, in April and October, that allow the CVFC to monitor the ponies’ health. The ponies are microchipped, making it easier to keep individual records that track being wormed, tested and vaccinated. The routine exam includes checking the condition of teeth and hooves.

Round-ups take place April and October for health maintenance and also to record new foals, as well as the big Pony Penning Round-up in July for the Swim and Auction.
Photo by DSCPhotographer – DSCPhotography.net

CVFC is responsible for keeping the herd to 150 head of mature breeding ponies, the maximum allowed on the Virginia portion of Assateague by the federal grazing grant with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The CVFC also goes out to break ice in the winter so the ponies have access to fresh water, and put out hay when snow covers the marsh grass or it’s too poor to sustain the ponies.

At the annual auction, Chincoteague enthusiasts don’t just buy ponies to take home to train for riding and driving. They purchase “buybacks” — fillies and colts that have been carefully selected to remain as breeding stock to refresh the gene pool. During the auction, bidding can get fiercely competitive, occasionally resulting in record bids. This happened in 2015 when the last four foals by the beloved stallion Surfer Dude were offered — three as buybacks and one filly for outright sale, who lives in New York with her new owners. Considered the “King of Assateague” and the most famous Chincoteague pony since Misty, Surfer Dude was 23 when he passed away earlier that year, following a harsh winter. The large pony stamped many of his offspring with his distinctive coloring of a deep brown body and flaxen mane and tail, which inspired the name Surfer Dude. He was also considered very gentle for a stallion.

Riptide bears a startling likeness to his sire, the late Surfer Dude. Shown here leading three of his mares: Butterfly Kisses, Thunderstorm and Suede.
Photo by DSCPhotographer – DSCPhotography.net

The last colt sired by Surfer Dude, a buyback, went under the hammer for $10,000 to the Buy Back Babes, who have replenished the Chincoteague pony gene pool for 15 years. Three friends from Massachusetts and a Chincoteague resident purchased two of the three Surfer Dude buyback fillies. The all-time buyback record was set by the Chincoteague Legacy Group, founded in May 2015 with more than 400 people joining the Facebook group and contributing to the CLG fund to record the winning bid of $25,000 for the black and white Surfer Dude buyback filly, now known as CLG Blue Moon because of her blue eyes.

Surfer’s Blue Moon, the record buyback pony, grazes peacefully on Assateague Island.
Photo by Dawn Gilchrest-Webb

A major heartwarming feature of the Pony Swim & Auction is the Feather Fund. This 501(c)(3) non-profit operates under the umbrella of the Community Foundation of Carroll County (Maryland) and continues the work of the late Carollynn Suplee, who helped deserving children across the U.S.A. and Canada to purchase their heart’s desire, a Chincoteague pony. Last year, the Chincoteague Legacy Group contributed to one of the two traditional Feather Fund Foal Award winners and then made it possible for the Feather Fund to purchase a foal for a third applicant. (www.featherfund.org)

This filly, one of Surfer Dude’s last four foals, set the record buyback when purchased in 2015 for $25,000 by the Chincoteague Legacy Group, who named her CLG Surfer’s Blue Moon.
Photo by Lauren R. Giannini

There’s a lot to love about Chincoteague, along with tons of fun, excitement, community spirit and great seafood, but heads up! While exact attendance numbers are not known, Chincoteague has welcomed as many as 30,000–40,000 people to the annual Pony Swim and Auction. Given the small-town ambience of the island, local lodging, RV parks and campgrounds tend to get booked quickly, so start planning your stay well in advance. The following sites are chock full of information for your Chincoteague holiday from lodging, restaurants and activities to the ponies and special events.

Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce: www.chincoteaguechamber.com

Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company: cvfc3.com

Chincoteague Island: www.chincoteague.com

After the ponies swim during slack tide to Chincoteague and parade through town, they spend the night with hay and water in the big corral adjacent to the auction ring. The next morning, the auction begins at 8 a.m., and the ponies stay another night and swim back to Assateague on Friday.
Photo by Lauren R. Giannini

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Tagged under: chincoteague, chincoteague volunteer fire company, misty of chincoteague, travel, virginia

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Sports Psychology column🐎 By Margie Sugarman I Sports Psychology column🐎
By Margie Sugarman

I just bought a new horse. I think he’s amazing, but I miss the feeling of just “clicking” with my old horse. I know that it takes time to grow that connection, but do you have any tips that can help me be confident and in tune with my new horse in the short term?

You kick off your sneakers and realize that there’s a big hole in the sole of one shoe. Well, you’ve had them for quite a while and have worn them everywhere, from hiking to riding. They’ve served you well but it’s time for new ones. (It’s time to move on to a new horse.) You turn on your computer and order a new pair. You wait in anticipation. You’re excited, they’re cool looking. (He’s pretty!)

Upon arrival, you quickly open the box and slip your feet in. They’re great sneakers, but they aren’t as comfortable as the pair they’re replacing. They don’t bend as well—the sole is stiff. They don’t feel as comfortable—they have to be broken in. They don’t fit like the others did—the old ones were so well molded to your feet. (He’s a new ride, a different ride. He needs some suppling work.)

Of utmost importance in the human/horse relationship (especially the ones with the strongest bonds) is the horse looking to their owner as the leader and respecting their personal space. This important dynamic comes from groundwork—no matter what discipline you’re involved in. Just as it is with friendships, there needs to be respect. Respect is developed when one is on the ground and not mounted.

The things you do might seem small, but if done consistently and in a positive way, the results are huge. The confidence and trust you develop between the two of you will carry your relationship to wherever you want it to go.

To read Margies full column click the link in our bio! Never miss an article by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine 🦄

Photo by Ali Kelman

#psychology #mentalhealth #love #therapy #mentalhealthawareness #anxiety #motivation #psychologist #selfcare #mindfulness #selflove #life #mentalhealthmatters  #mindset #wellness #meditation #inspiration #mind #Sidelinesmagazine
Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! W Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! We're proud to offer exceptional modern Sporthorse stallions, with wonderful temperaments and quality gaits to North American breeders.
 
Among our stallions are Cum Laude and Kaiman. Cum Laude (Apache x Weltmeyer) is a winning FEI horse and sire of quality dressage horses, breed show champions, and offspring scoring 9.0s on gaits.
 
Kaiman (Dark Pleasure x Gribaldi) earned high scores at his stallion testing and in the young horse classes. He's also the sire of a Licensed Oldenburg stallion. Kaiman's first North American foal crop is arriving now and they are gorgeous!
 
If you're looking for top international bloodlines please check out our 2023 stallion collection, now available fresh, frozen, and by the dose.

Among our stallions are Cum Laude and Kaiman. Cum Laude (Apache x Weltmeyer) is a winning FEI horse and sire of quality dressage horses, breed show champions, and offspring scoring 9.0s on gaits.

Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! We're proud to offer exceptional modern Sporthorse stallions, with wonderful temperaments and quality gaits to North American breeders.

https://www.ironspringfarm.com/biolink/

@iron_spring_farm 

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❗️George Williams column❗️ The FEI World ❗️George Williams column❗️
The FEI World Cup Final in Omaha is coming up quickly. That means that it’s starting to heat 
up as the end of the qualifying period for both the Western European League (WEL) and the 
North American League (NAL) nears. I started to write this column before the Amsterdam CDI- W, and I was using the FEI Ranking List from January 15 as a reference. As I sit down to finish 
my column, I’m now looking at the results from Amsterdam. While the list of the top contenders 
for the WEL hasn’t changed, they’re definitely moving around on the ranking list. The WEL has 
three more legs, as they’re referred to: Neumünster February 16–19, Goteborg February 23–26, 
and ’s-Hertogenbosch March 9–12, and they could change things dramatically.
Looking at the top 12 athletes from the WEL as they were ranked on January 15, there are five 
from Germany, three from the Netherlands and one each from Great Britain, Denmark

➡️Read Georges's full column by clicking the link in our bio, and never miss an article by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine 🦄 

#horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #equestrian #horseriding #equine #pony #pferd #equestrianlife #horselove #dressage #horselover #instahorse #love #cheval #showjumping #horselife #photography #nature #pferde #horseofinstagram #caballo #riding #horsebackriding #pferdeliebe #caballos #horsepower #horsephotography #instagram #Sidelinesmagazine
Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Gre Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Great American $300,000 Grand Prix at HITS Ocala!! 🏆🥇

Crowds filled the stands at the HITS Ocala Grand Prix Ring on Sunday afternoon to watch the world’s top athletes compete in the Great American $300,000 Grand Prix. The day concluded with a thrilling five-horse jump-off featuring athletes 
representing four countries. In the end, it was Lisa Goldman-Smolen (USA) and Ivaro N who produced the only double clear effort of the day, claiming one of the biggest wins of her career. Scott Keach (AUS) and Noble De La Chapelle earned the second-place prize with the fastest 4-fault jump-off, while Aaron Vale (USA) and Obi Wan placed third as the day’s pathfinders.

“I'm still on cloud nine, I still can't believe it – I’ve used up all my luck for the year,” smiled Goldman-Smolen after her win. “I've been knocking on the door a long time in these bigger classes. I am so proud of my horse – he gave every ounce of effort.”

Sunday’s Great American $300,000 Grand Prix marked the conclusion of the 2023 HITS Ocala circuit. HITS CCO Joe Norick concluded, “We are so excited about the new HITS, with 2023 as the launch. New footing, many new arenas here, and a lot of our facilities across America are getting a lot of love and new footing. Our partnerships with Worldly Martin and others across America including our footing leader Bart Poles overseeing our operations – it really makes a big difference for us. Today is about Ocala and these three riders sitting next to me who supported us this entire winter. We want to be a proud destination for our exhibitors and our friends. We know we have to provide them a beautiful showplace to work from that's horseman friendly, and that's our go goal. 

Congratulations to all of the riders, horses, owners, and groom who participated in this prestigious class!!! 🎉
📸 @esi_photography 
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