Crowds cheer ponies swimming to Chincoteague, Virginia

CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. (AP) — Crowds cheered as dozens of ponies swam across a channel on Virginia’s Eastern Shore during the annual Chincoteague Pony Swim.

News outlets reported that the ponies traversed the Assateague Channel on Wednesday morning. People watched from the shore as the ponies swam. Sometimes, only their heads were visible above the water.

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

The Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company’s Saltwater Cowboys led the ponies across the channel. Some of the ponies are to be auctioned off to help control the size of the herd and to raise money for the fire company. Other ponies will head back into the wild.

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

Ponies swim across the Assateague Channel during the 94th annual Pony Swim in Chincoteague, Va., on Wednesday, July 24, 2019. The ponies traveled from Assateague Island to Chincoteague Island during “slack tide,” when there’s little current. (Sarah Holm/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)

Spectators wait for the 94th annual Pony Swim in Chincoteague, Va., on Wednesday, July 24, 2019. The Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company’s Saltwater Cowboys lead the ponies across the channel. (Sarah Holm/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)

Ponies are paraded down Ridge Road after swimming across the Assateague Channel during the 94th annual Pony Swim in Chincoteague, Va., on Wednesday, July 24, 2019. The Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company’s Saltwater Cowboys lead the ponies across the channel. (Sarah Holm/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)

Spectators watch as ponies graze on the marsh after swimming across the Assateague Channel to Chincoteague during the 94th annual Pony Swim on Wednesday, July 24, 2019. The ponies traveled from Assateague Island to Chincoteague Island during “slack tide,” when there’s little current. (Sarah Holm/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)

PJ Mock, center, holds her nephew Teague Warrington, 6, with Storm Warrington, 8, left and Ellis Brown, 10, right, before the 94th annual Pony Swim in Chincoteague, Va., on Wednesday, July 24, 2019. The family woke up early in order to secure a good spot to see the ponies. The ponies travel from Assateague Island to Chincoteague Island during “slack tide,” when there’s little current. (Sarah Holm/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)

FILE – In this July 25, 2018, file photo, ponies arrive on shore during the annual Pony Swim in Chincoteague, Va. (Alex Driehaus/The Virginian-Pilot via AP, File)