Thousands cheer swimming ponies in Chincoteague, Virginia

CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. – Thousands of people cheered on dozens of ponies during the annual Chincoteague Pony Swim on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

News outlets report that the ponies swam Wednesday morning across the Assateague Channel. Crowds of people greeted them from the other side of a fence on the shore. Others watched from kayaks and boats.

The ponies travelled from Assateague Island to Chincoteague Island during “slack tide,” when there’s little current.

Every year, the first foal to come ashore is named King or Queen Neptune.

Some of the ponies will be auctioned off. Others will head back into the wild.

The Pony Swim is in its 93rd year.