Miranda Walker, one of the stalwarts of the LBEMC front office, has always been fascinated with horses and ponies, and, in fact, her father traded a car for her first horse, a “mostly” Morgan mare. Miranda admits that her young, impressionable mind was heavily influenced by books such as The Black Stallion and Misty of Chincoteague and all their sequels. With this background in mind, it seemed only natural that Miranda and her daughter Cassandra would take their annual mother-daughter trip travelling to Virginia.Their destination was the 84th Annual Pony Swim and Auction in Chincoteague. This tradition started in 1924 as a means of raising money for the volunteer fire department. The story goes that the ponies are either the descendants of shipwrecked Spanish horses or of the horses of 17th century American colonists. The ponies live on Assateague island about ¼ mile offshore where they are vaccinated annually, dewormed, and have their hooves trimmed twice a year.

However, the event that drew Miranda and thousands of others to this small coastal Virginia town, is the roundup and swimming of the pony mares and their weanling foals from the island to the village. The swim is accompanied by rescue boats which are prepared to assist any youngster having trouble with the swim. Miranda and Cassandra arrived at 6:30am (for the 10AM swim) and even wore rubber boots to wade into a swampy area that provided the best view of the swimmers. Once ashore, the mares and weanlings were separated and, the following morning, the foals were to be auctioned. There were 62 foals in this year’s auction.

The next chapter in this saga was undoubtedly predestined. How can you go to Chincoteague and not bid on a pony, especially if there is a pony-age granddaughter back in California. Miranda resisted with all her will, but her husband helped to convince her that she needed a pony that “had made the swim.” She did hold out for awhile but finally succumbed when she raised her hand to bid on #40, a little bay pinto colt.

Grandma’s Insanity Joe (G.I. Joe), which was now his name, had some difficulty reaching his new home. When the transporter called from a layover in Iowa, he reported to Miranda that her little brown pony, #4, was doing fine and would soon be in California. The mix-up was corrected and G.I. Joe arrived a few days later at Loomis Basin Equine Medical Center and was given a clean bill of health by the veterinary staff. He is now at home in Lincoln, growing and becoming a family member and also a souvenir of a vacation that will not soon be forgotten.