I completed this one last month. Every July in Chincoteague (pronounced Chink-o-teek), which is a small coastal town on the eastern shore of Virginia, the volunteer firemen hold an event which has gained national prominence and is attended by 40-50,000 visitors. On Assateague Island national seashore there is a herd of wild ponies that roam free and are untamed. Perhaps you've heard of or read the children's book, "Misty of Chincoteague." In Maryland, those pony herds are totally left to fend for themselves and are untouched except to keep track of them. In Virginia, the herds are thinned each year in this event called the Chincoteague Pony Penning. So what happens is that on the 4th Wednesday in July, these volunteer firemen called "saltwater cowboys" cross over the bay from Chincoteague to Assateague Island and round up ponies. Then they herd those ponies toward the water to cross the bay and into Chincoteague, where they are penned up and sold at auction on Thursday. Quite a sight to see all of those ponies swim across the bay.
