2014 Pony Penning and More

The weather for Pony Penning has been fantastic - the Swim happened on Wednesday close to noon; Thursday saw the auction of 54 foals, raising $149,700 for the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company; and the return swim back to Assateague occurred without a hitch Friday morning.  Most raffle drawings will take place tonight on the Carnival Grounds - unless noted otherwise, you do nor have to be present to win.
   You might have noticed that my blogs this past week have not been as in depth or chatty as usual.  I've been caring for a cat who lost his litter-mate of 18 years; their people had a long-planned vacation scheduled, and I have been trying to comfort and provide solace to Tugger, who misses Sasquatch very much.  I was going to be at home this week, going to feed the two boys twice a day, and walk Rosie in the morning.  I'm staying with Tugger, walking Rosie, visiting and walking Tessa three times a day, and fitting in a few hours with my kits whenever possible.  That hasn't allowed me much time to comb for photos and reports about Pony Penning to be able to share with you.  Of course, I'll be on Chincoteague for the two next Pony Pennings, and will not be able to post while I'm there....  It will be a true vacation!
  There were ten designated "buy back" foals in the 54, and one was specified for  the Chincoteague Public Library.  A "buy back" foal is one that the CVFC Pony Committee has decided is very handsome or beautiful, might have unusual markings, and/or has an old bloodline that needs to be continued for the diversity of the herds.  An announcement is made, prior to the beginning of the bidding, that the pony is a designated "buy back" - people may bid on the pony, name it, and have their photo taken with it; but the pony then returns to Assateague as a permanent member of the herds.  The highest priced foal ever at the auction happened this year - a black and white pinto filly was a "buy back" purchase at $21,000.

Her sire is Sockett to Me, and her dam is Leah's Bayside Angel.  This pretty lady certainly looks like she's worth the amount bid.

*****

 Don't know if I'll have the chance to blog tomorrow or not...  Boulder is hosting it's first Ironman contest, which begins at 6:30 tomorrow morning at the Boulder Reservoir, then the 112.5 mile bike race will be closing down city and county streets, and the Boulder Creek Path is closed for the running of the marathon. Bus schedules will be disrupted, and taxi service will be spotty.... There were 3,000 openings for this Ironman contest and all of the entries were filled before 24 hours had passed.  There are tons of people and sponsors in town, and they don't know where they're going, or where they need to go.  It's frustrating - just like the first two weeks of Fall Classes at CU.