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Thousands Watch Chincoteague Pony Swim

Pony Swim (File Photo)
creative commons
Pony Swim (File Photo)

CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. (AP) - Thousands of people cheered on dozens of ponies during the annual Chincoteague Pony Swim on Virginia's Eastern Shore.

News outlets report that the ponies swam Wednesday morning across the Assateague Channel. Crowds of people greeted them from the other side of a fence on the shore. Others watched from kayaks and boats.

The ponies traveled from Assateague Island to Chincoteague Island during "slack tide," when there's little current.

Every year, the first foal to come ashore is named King or Queen Neptune.

Some of the ponies will be auctioned off. Others will head back into the wild.

The Pony Swim is in its 93rd year.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.