Now. Down to the meat of the matter.
The annual Chincoteague Pony Spring Round-Up will be held this Friday and Saturday, the 12th and 13th of April. Riptide and his mares are already in the South, main corral; so the only herd for the Saltwater Cowboys to chase on Friday afternoon will be the Don Leonard Stud II's. Riptide has been taking his ladies through, over, and around the fencing for the last six weeks. They have been appearing on the roadways on Assateague, as well as many of the trails, and on and near the beach. The Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company cowboys have been rounding the escapees up and putting them back behind the fences almost every other day. At the end of March, however, Riptide and his ladies were "imprisoned" in the corral due to their interactions with some very foolish tourists. This group of people were on foot and on bicycles and had a child in a baby stroller. They approached Riptide and his mares. They petted and fed the ponies. They posted video and photos on most of the social media sites. So now, the ponies are in lock-up because the tourists were STUPID.
**These ponies are used to being near people. But they are feral animals. They are "wild." They bite and kick without apparent warning. Equines are prey animals. They eat vegetation. They have a choice when they feel threatened - fight or flight. They will try to protect themselves and then run. There are signs and warnings posted about the ponies on Chincoteague and Assateague. Do not feed the ponies. Stay at least 40 feet away from the ponies. Stallions will do anything to protect their mares and babies. People have been severely injured by ignoring these common warnings.**
Early on Saturday, while the veterinarians will check out the penned southern herds, while the Saltwater Cowboys round up the northern herds, who are many, and are spread over a much larger area. After the herds are gathered, they, too will be checked by the vets. And, while the northern herds are being checked, the 2018 buy back fillies will be returned to run wild on Assateague, along with the three donated mares. I don't know if Ajax and Heidi's Sky, who are at the Carnival Grounds being treated for injuries, will be released on the 13th or not. That decision is, of course, up to our veterinarians and the Pony Committee.
It's after 10 p.m. where I live, on Sunday, April 7th. So far, three new foals have been born this year to the CVFC herd. In 2018, we had five foals on the ground, on this date; and in 2017, there were six babies bounding about.
The first two foals born are pintos, and their dams have been keeping them pretty far away from people. So the parents and colors of the foals are known, but whether the babies are boys or girls is a mystery. The third foal is a solid palomino, and he looks like a "Mini-Me" edition of his sire, Chief Golden Eagle. The photos of the first foal, a chestnut pinto born on 22 March, are copyrighted by DSC Photography. The dam is Catwalk Chaos, and the sire is Tornado's Prince of Tides. Using a huge telephoto lens, these are the closest of the photos.
The second foal is a bay pinto,sired by Hoppy (aka Effie's Papa Bear), and out of the mare Danny's Girl Splash. The foal was first spotted by Captain Dan Davis, and he took the first photos as well, on 1 April.
Captain Dan, he of "The Foal Patrol" and owner and operator of Captain Dan's Around the Island Tours, also spotted and took the first photos of our third arrival on 4 April. This colt is out of the mare JABATAA, and sired by Chief Golden Eagle. The photos used here are copyrighted by Darcy and Steve Cole of DSC Photography, and were taken today, when the foal was 3 days old.
