Posts Tagged ‘2011
Chadds Ford Days
This past weekend we attended the Chadds Ford Dog Days of Summer II event. Having never been to this event it was a new experience for all of us including the pony and the dogs.
Minnow (and the dogs) had a new encounter with a cow named LuLu and her cute 8 month old calf, Annabelle.
I’m really not sure if Minnow had ever been this close to cows before, although he did spend some of his life living on an Amish Farm – so it’s probably pretty likely that he had at least seen them before. In the beginning I was a little worried about him, because he was utterly terrified of them as they approached his corral on Saturday morning.
But, about an hour later he had decided that they were to be his new friends – and I think he actually started to enjoy hearing them Moo at him – reminding him that he wasn’t the only livestock hanging out all weekend at a fair.
Minnow painted several pieces each day (which we will share soon) and showed off some of his favorite tricks to the crowds.
And after Ammo had a chance to show off some of his tricks, we handed out little trading cards to all the kids, which I think they really enjoyed.
By the end of the weekend we were all pretty exhausted, including the dogs.
I think we all need a well deserved rest this week!
So what about you? Have your horses/dogs ever met cows before? Anyone on the East Coast ever hold a “cow introduction” clinic? Blitz actually has plans to visit a farm soon to start working cows & I’m hoping to take Boomerang at some point too. Or did we meet any of you this weekend at the Chadds Ford Days? We’d love to hear from you!
You can check out more photos from this weekend on Ammo’s Blog! And we’ll be back soon with a post to show some of Minnow’s new paintings!
Hanging with the Dogs
Today and tomorrow we’re hanging out at the Chadd’s Ford Historical Society Dog Days of Summer II event! From 10am – 5pm we’ll be meeting new and old friends (Ammo and Minnow will also be doing tricks and painting).
We hope to see you there!
Chadds Ford Historical Society
Sunday at Ludwigs
On Sunday we proceeded to set up shop again at the Ludwigs Corner Horse Show. We lucked out with wonderful weather over the weekend, and by Sunday Ammo and Minnow were drawing even larger crowds than Saturday.
Minnow spent most of the day standing on his pedestal inside his corral, posing for anyone that wanted a picture.
We set up several “mini” performances for throughout the day. Minnow enjoyed showing off some of his favorite tricks as well as painting a special piece each time.
I think everyone especially liked Minnow’s baseball trick. He hopes to one day try out for his favorite team, the Philadelphia Phillies.
Minnow painted four new pieces that are available for purchase in shop! Lollypop, Dandelion Fields, Super Blue, and Trickle.
"Lollypop" by Minnow
"Dandelion Fields" by Minnow
"Super Blue" by Minnow
"Trickle" by Minnow
Ammo had his time to shine too, as he showed the kids what a great “super hero” he is. He always gets lots of chuckles when he puts on his stunt helmet.
I love that Ammo is quite content to let all the children pet him. Dachshunds sometimes get labeled as a “snappy” breed that aren’t always great with children – but I think Ammo proves that with proper training and socialization that this isn’t necessarily true.
We had a great time performing at Ludwigs, and hope to be back again next year! If you want to see more photos from our weekend you can visit Ammo’s Blog.
Saturday at Ludwigs
On Saturday and Sunday I took Minnow & Ammo the Dachshund to the Ludwigs Corner Horse Show. We’ve been going to this event for the past 3 years now, but this was the first year we were invited to come for 2 days. As the years have passed Minnow & Ammo have become a much larger attraction – drawing some pretty big crowds this year.
It’s always fun to meet new people and even connect with people who have been fans of Ammo & Minnow over the years.
One of my favorite parts of the day was when a group of little girls spotted Ammo – and realized they knew him from our Youtube Videos. One of the little girls shouted “It’s Ammo, he’s from the videos! He’s so Epic!”. I’m pretty sure it went straight to Ammo’s head as he licked the little girl’s faces.
Minnow painted 3 new paintings on Saturday: Chincoteague Blooms, Surf’s Up, and Raspberry Blush – all of which are available in the SHOP.
"Raspberry Blush" by Chincoteague Minnow
"Surf's Up" by Chincoteague Minnow
- “Chincoteague Blooms” by Chincoteague Minnow
Overall it was a really fun day and we were excited to come back on Sunday for round 2!
Tomorrow we’ll have some more pictures from our adventuresome weekend, and you can check out Ammo’s recap of the day on his Blog. And don’t forget to check out the SHOP to see all of Minnow’s wonderful new paintings.
2011 Pony Penning Recap: July 29
This was our last day on the island, so we had breakfast and then headed into town for some shopping. I was on a search for the book “The Field Guide to the Chincoteague Wild Ponies” by Kelly Lidard, a book that has photographs and documentation of all of the current ponies that make up the wild herd on Assateague Island. It’s a really cool book – and a must for anyone who is coming to the island for the first time or wants to learn more about the existing herd. I was able to locate Surfer Dude, Boomerang’s maternal grandfather, and Witch Doctor, Boomerang & Blitz’s paternal grandfather in the book. The rest of their ancestors have since passed away. I’m excited to read more about the herd in this book, and I’m hoping to someday contact Kelly to see if she might perhaps have any documentation of when Minnow was a foal on the island. That would be so cool if I could find out who his parents were – or maybe even find a photo of him as a foal.
After a day of shopping we grabbed ice cream at Mr. Whippy and then headed back early to the Pony Centre. A bunch of the girls wanted Minnow to make them some special paintings before he headed home after the Pony Show.
Minnow painting "Flowers for Susan"
"Flowers for Susan" painted by Minnow - pony penning 2011
Minnow painting "The Lonely Oat"
"The Lonely Oat" by Minnow - pony penning 2011
Minnow & Kyley with "The Lonely Oat"
Minnow painting "Rogue Wave"
"Rogue Wave" by Minnow - pony penning 2011
Minnow was more the happy to offer up his painting skills as he painted away behind the Pony Centre.
Later he did one last performance to end out his week on the island, and his final painting sold after the performance.
"Seaside Happiness" by Minnow - pony penning 2011
Here are some shots of Minnow performing on his last day…
Since my dad and sister came down for the last two days of Pony Penning, I was able to get some video of Minnow while he was painting and performing. Here are some of my favorites:
Below is Minnow’s brand-new performance, which I call “Super Pony Picnic”, that he debuted at the Pony Centre.
When we begin learning a new routine we practice it over and over in the order that it is supposed to be performed (after Minnow has learned each individual trick). We practice it so much that Minnow learns what comes next – so much so that sometimes he starts performing the next trick before I’m even ready.
However, an interesting fact about Minnow is that usually during Pony Penning week he decides at some point to make up his own order of go – sometimes even adding his own tricks. I think he does this because he gets bored with the “routine” as we have it, so inevitably he decides to add on some of his favorites – and sometimes even taking out ones he doesn’t like as much.
One of these instances can be seen in the above video. Typically after I put on Minnow’s “scarf” he’s supposed to take it off – something that later in the week he decided not to do – instead he decided it would look much better if he got onto the pedestal (which was actually not in the performance at all until the end). When Minnow ad-libs I end up having to go with the flow too, opting to let him drink his hero juice while standing on his pedestal. We ended up using this adaptation to our performance for about half of the shows, and I actually liked it a little better. Minnow certainly keeps me on my toes!
And for our last video of the week, here’s a fun performance done by the World’s only Chincoteague Pony Drill Team – isn’t it fun?
And now the countdown begins all over again for Pony Penning 2012!
Check out all of our Pony Swim Pictures at Green Horse Studios!
