Chincoteague Pony Swim

For 86 years now, there has been an annual drive of ponies from Assateague Island in Maryland to Chincoteague Island in Virginia so that some of the herd can be auctioned off at the annual Chincoteague Volunteer Fireman’s Carnival to benefit the firemen.

Assateague in green, Chincoteague
to its left (click to enlarge)

The wild pony herd is asked to swim across from one island to the other:

"Saltwater cowboys," most of them from the fire department, do the herding:

Onlookers watch from the sidelines:

It helps put people back in touch with nature.

See this slide presentation at washingtonpost.com for more.