CHINCOTEAGUE, Va.- The 97th Annual Chincoteague Pony Swim went off swimmingly Wednesday morning.
The ponies took to the water around 9:00 a.m., crossing the Assateague Channel before being paraded through town. People watched the Pony Swim from boats, kayaks, and the docks-- some arriving hours early.
The swim, held every year in July by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, always takes place at "slack tide," which is a period of about half an hour between tides, when there is no current. This makes it easier for the ponies to make the swim.
Following the swim, the ponies rested before parading through town to the Carnival grounds.
Some of the money raised by the fire company's fundraiser will benefit a regional charity and help provide veterinary services for ponies throughout the year.
Each year the fire department designates a select few ponies as "buy backs." A buy back pony is a foal that is designated by the fire company to return to Assateague Island to live out its life there and help replenish the herd.
The buy back pony will be auctioned with the rest of the foals. The winner of a buy back pony will get to name the pony before it is returned to Assateague.
On Friday, the adult ponies will make the return swim to Assateague where they will live in the wild for another year.