Fine art photograph with museum acrylic and black frame. 58" x 42"

I hadn’t been to Assateague before this trip, but I’ll definitely be back. According to local folklore, the Chincoteague ponies arrived on the islands after surviving the wreck of a Spanish galleon during a storm and swimming ashore. Historical evidence, however, suggests they are descendants of domesticated horses brought from the mainland by farmers in the late 17th century to avoid livestock taxes and fencing laws. However they ended up here, they’ve certainly made it home.

I had been out since sunrise tracking the horses in the inner areas of the island, but I knew as it got hotter, I may well find some on the beach cooling off in the water and seeking much needed relief from the flies. I’m told that they don’t usually go as deep as this one did, but he was certainly brave taking on the waves as big as they were.