Swimming Dogs and Ponies at the Lake

Posted on July 16, 2014 by Ammo

Swimming Dogs and Ponies at the Lake // Ammo the Dachshund

It’s no secret that I love spending time at the lake during the summer.

Swimming Dogs and Ponies at the Lake // Ammo the Dachshund

But did you know that my pony friends from the farm also enjoy relaxing at the lake on hot summer days?

Swimming Dogs and Ponies at the Lake // Ammo the Dachshund

While I’ve been to the lake with my ponies many times before, this time I decided to find out what it was like to swim with them! My favorite pony Minnow offered up his back to take me for a swim around the lake.

Swimming Dogs and Ponies at the Lake // Ammo the Dachshund

And since ponies don’t come equipped with seat belts, mom had to come along too to make sure I didn’t accidentally fall in (not to worry though, I wore my life vest at all times too).

Swimming Dogs and Ponies at the Lake // Ammo the Dachshund

My pal Minnow is actually a Chincoteague Pony and he was born wild on the Island of Assateague. Which if you know the story of the Chincoteague Ponies, then you may know that as a young pony Minnow made the swim across the Chincoteague Channel during Pony Penning Week when he was just a young foal. So if anyone knows how to swim, it’s my pal Minnow.

And I have to say, swimming on the back of a pony is a heck of a lot easier than swimming in the lake on your own. I think it’s going to have to be my preferred method of transportation on the lake from now on!

Swimming Dogs and Ponies at the Lake // Ammo the Dachshund

So thanks Minnow, for taking me on my maiden pony swimming voyage! I hope to have many more in my future!

P.S. Thanks to my pals from My Life, Naturally for taking some of the photos in this post!

2013 Chincoteague Pony Penning

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Ammo

So, as most of you know my mom left me home last week while she went on a fantastical adventure with two of my favorite ponies, Minnow and Boomerang, to Chincoteague Island for the 88th Annual Pony Penning.

They got to do amazing things like check out the wild pony round-up, swim, and auction – and they even got to perform all week at the Chincoteague Pony Centre.

2013 Chincoteague Pony Penning // Ammo the Dachshund

My mom took some amazing pictures, so even though I wasn’t there – her photos make me feel like I was! You can check them all out HERE.

2013 Chincoteague Pony Penning // Ammo the Dachshund

But I was most excited to hear about how my ponies did in their big performances, especially Boomerang who did an amazing job on his very FIRST debut – I’m pretty sure everyone was super impressed with the bean bag sitting skills that I taught him.

2013 Chincoteague Pony Penning // Ammo the Dachshund

Even my special pony Minnow did an amazing job painting some beautiful pictures that were auctioned off after each show – with part of the money going to help local animal rescue groups!

The ponies will have their own recap of all their adventures on their blog soon!

And while you may think I just spent my week at home like this:

ammo the dachshund sleeping

I actually had quite a few adventures of my own at home with dad! But those will have to wait for another post!

But you can check out all the fun my ponies had on their facebook page, and soon on their blog.

In Preparation – Pony Penning 2013

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Ammo

Ammo the Dachshund Helps Prepare for Pony Penning

Every year around June mom and I start training the ponies for a very special trip. A trip to Chincoteague Island in Virginia at the end of July to watch their wild relatives swim from Assateague to Chincoteague during the annual Chincoteague Pony Swim and Auction.

As official pony trainer it’s my duty to help the ponies prepare by learning new tricks so they are ready to perform for their week long stay down there at the Chincoteague Pony Centre.

Ammo the Dachshund Helps Prepare for Pony Penning // Chincoteague Pony Boomerang

This year my pal Boomerang will be making his first trip to Virginia to perform, so I had a little chat with him about how he’s supposed to behave properly and not embarrass me.

Ammo the Dachshund Helps Prepare for Pony Penning // Chincoteague Pony Boomerang

Boomerang sulked for the rest of the day, what a baby!

Ammo the Dachshund Helps Prepare for Pony Penning // Chincoteague Pony Boomerang

Another part of Boomer’s preparation is reading the famous book by Marguerite Henry, Misty of Chincoteague. Things were going well until Boomer confessed that he doesn’t know how to read!

Ammo the Dachshund Helps Prepare for Pony Penning // Chincoteague Pony Boomerang

Sigh, it’s going to be a very very long summer!

Learn more about where you can see my pony friends perform at the end of July on the Painting Pony Blog.

Halloween Weekend Adventure

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Ammo

Over the Halloween weekend I went on nearly a 400 mile excursion to visit a place that is very special to my pony friends, Assateague Island, Virginia.

See my pal Minnow was born wild on Assateague 18 years ago, and every year he returns to neighboring Chincoteague Island to perform for a week during their annual pony penning. I never get to go because the island isn’t very dog friendly and sitting in the car is not a good idea in the summer heat.

ammo the dachshund rest stop

Even dogs need to take advantage of the rest stop!

But this time as all the ponies loaded up for a special trip to Assateague to ride on the beach in the cool fall weather, I was allowed to come! Yipee!

The even better news was that I got to leave behind a rare October snowstorm in PA for the still cold but way less snowy weather in Virginia. Score.

Upon arriving Saturday evening I got to attend a special picnic where mom got to meet up with her Chincoteague Pony Friends from all across the country. I even got to meet a bunch of my facebook fans in person for the very first time, and I wasted no time showing off some of my favorite tricks so that everyone could have a good laugh.

assateague island

The next day we were up early and headed across the bridge and onto Assateague Island with all my pony friends in tow.

Dogs aren’t allowed on Assateague (seriously?) so I spent my morning snuggled in a pile of blankets. Honestly I can’t complain, from what the ponies tell me it would of been too cold for me anyway.

riding ponies on assateague

Meanwhile mom got to live out her dream of riding the ponies on the beach. Boomerang and Blitz were excited to visit the island where their parents were born years earlier. It was a very special trip for everyone.

minnow on assateague island

Naturally mom spent hours on the beach taking pictures of the ponies. She promised me she’d show me all the cool photos once she has time to filter through the nearly 1,000 photos she took (and I thought she took a lot of photos of me!)

But here are a few she showed me last night that I thought were extra special.

chesapeake boomerang

chincoteague minnow

chesapeake lightning

I taught those ponies everything they know. Don’t forget that! 🙂

After our beach adventure we headed back to the mainland so the ponies could participate in a fun show. They won me lots of ribbons – but I won the most special one of them all…

The costume contest! Well, ok, Minnow might have helped some.

Then on Halloween morning we made one last drive out to Assateague so the ponies could say goodbye to the ocean before heading home to PA. I told them I had to be back home in time to hand out candy to all the trick-or-treaters in my neighborhood!

So how about that for a Halloween weekend adventure? Pretty exciting, right? I just might have to spend the rest of the week catching up on my sleep after this weekend fun!

P.S. More fun photos from our amazing adventure will be popping up on the Painting Pony Blog & Facebook page as soon as my mom has a chance to filter through them all! So make sure you check back soon!

Chincoteague Fries

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Ammo

If you haven’t heard…..My mom is back! After spending the week on Chincoteague Island with my best pony pal, Minnow, she returned on Friday – bringing gifts for me of course!

In my case, my beach fries didn’t come from the Fireman’s Carnival – but instead, this cute little shop, Howl Naturale, down mainstreet. (UPDATE, this company is no longer in business unfortunately)

It would of been way sweeter had I been there in person – and able to sample their wares myself, but either way I was more than happy to dive into my bucket of fries in the comfort of my own home.

chincoteague dog fries