Horses & a New Chincoteague Memorial

This will be a bits and pieces blog today, because I find that I am still very upset regarding yesterday's regarding the BLM, Tom Davis, and over 1,000 missing mustangs. After all the campaigning and fight that Wild Horse Annie Johnston did in Washington, and all the letters sent to Congress regarding the fate of the wild horses of the West, I find the shrugs of the BLM mucky-mucks makes my blood boil. I wrote letters to my Congressmen in the late 1960s and early 1970s, trying to express my love and caring for the mustang. I don't know if they helped to sway any politician - but I remember putting my heart and soul into those letters, pleading for the lives of the symbols of the Wild West. I am completely disappointed in the BLM's handling of this situation.

   Lovey is sitting between me and the keyboard, as usual. Nedi is peeking under the back fence at all the tail-gate partiers in the Millennium Harvest House parking lot. This is a home CU Buffs game, against UCLA, and the hotel is 100% booked for tonight. I just hope the wildlife take it easy tonight - otherwise, we'll lose a lot of raccoons, rabbits and deer. The Gators don't play today. Buffs kick-off at 4 p.m. (MDT), with the Gamecocks kick-off at 5 (MDT) on ESPN2. I can listen to the Buffs game, since I'm less than 2 blocks away from the stadium, and I'll watch the Gamecocks. Sasquatch and Tugger are doing well, but they miss their "real" people. And I was able to take the Rs to Kathy and Jim's yesterday, as there was only a test trench dug for the perc test in their back yard. Of course, Rosie wanted to climb down into the hole, but I kept my eye on her and called her anytime she got too close to the edge.

   There is, once again, an up-turn in odd thefts out here. People are shearing show horses of their long manes and tails. A good false tail at a horse show can cost $400 to $500 dollars. It's a shame. Horses are like people - they have their own "hair" patterns: some have beautiful, long, full, flowing locks; and some are follicle-ly challenged. Judges should not be looking at the length and quality of a horse's mane and tail in a horse show. If the show is about equitation, or the way a horse handles itself under saddle, then the judges should be looking at the rider and the horse; if it's a conformation class, again, the length and fullness of a mane or tail should not be considered - just the way the horse is put together and how it has been turned out for the class. Some breeds are known for having a short, wispy tail; a lot of draught horses' tails are docked. My comment is - "Get over it!" and never falsify your horse.

   Today, the island of Chincoteague is celebrating the opening of the bridge to Assateague 50 years ago. I can remember going to Assateague in a scow, before the bridge was installed. Wylie Maddox bought the original bridge near Atlantic City, New Jersey, and had it transported, section by section, to Chincoteague and placed across the Assateague Channel. I remember riding Princess, a palomino pony, across that bridge many times. There will be all sorts of celebrations - games, a picnic, dancing, and a parade across the bridge (the newer, replacement one, that is).

   And, finally, again, back on Chincoteague, the Museum of Chincoteague Island and the Chincoteague Island Waterman’s Memorial have teamed up to host a raffle with all proceeds directly benefiting the construction of a life-size bronze statue dedicated to watermen, their families and those lost at sea. The memorial statue will be located at a site provided by The Town of Chincoteague at Reed Park overlooking the Chincoteague waterfront. The winner will receive a new, 16 foot Chincoteague Scow with a 50HP Mercury Outboard (4-stroke, Tiller-handle, Electric Start, Power Trim & Tilt), and Load Rite Trailer.

   On most weekends this fall, the scow will be on display at the Museum of Chincoteague Island. The scow will also be featured at boat shows and events across the Delmarva Peninsula over the winter.The wood and fiberglass scow was hand-built using traditional methods by Chincoteague Island native, Barry Abell, who developed the new design based on those of the original Chincoteague Island boat builders, including Herbert Jester, Charles Ralph Turlington, Louis Hancock and Shreves Wimbrow. Abell spent 18 months designing and building the scow to benefit the Chincoteague Island Waterman’s Memorial Project, which he founded in February 2006 to raise funds for a waterman’s statue.

   All the funds needed to purchase the outboard motor and trailer were donated by 50 Chincoteague Island watermen, businessmen and residents who also believe that a statue should be built to commemorate the work and sacrifice of all those “Who Go Down To the Sea in Ships.”

The raffle will officially begin on Oct. 6 at the Oyster Festival at Tom’s Cove, sponsored by the Chincoteague Island Chamber of Commerce. Tickets will be for sale at $10 each or $50 for a book of 6 tickets. This will be a limited raffle event with approximately 4,000 tickets for sale. After the Oyster Festival, tickets will be available at the Museum of Chincoteague Island and businesses around the island.

   The raffle winner will be announced a year from now at the 2013 Oyster Festival. Additional cash donations by those who wish to support the memorial project are welcomed. Make checks payable to the Museum of Chincoteague Island. In conjunction with the memorial project, the organizers are seeking information about watermen lost at sea, survival stories, any material related to local boat builders, and photographs of vessels and watermen from Chincoteague Island and surrounding areas that would be entered into the museum’s archives and form the basis for a special waterman’s exhibit.

   Contact the Museum of Chincoteague Island at 757-336-6117 or Barry Abell at 757-336-3595 for any information regarding the boat, tickets, donations or the Chincoteague Island Waterman’s Memorial.