Thursday, April 28, 2011

Wild Ponies of Grayson Highlands Challenge Painting #98


"Hurricane"
9 by 6 inch Watercolor
by LindaLMartinArtist

The Wild Ponies of Grayson Highlands is a herd of feral ponies, mostly of Shetland pony descent, employed to live upon the Forestry Service and State Park lands surrounding Mt Rogers in Virginia.

One of the people who are documenting these feral ponies is Amy Flood, a professional photographer, who has love and passion for the ponies as well as professionalism in documenting their habitat, their behavior and their lives.

Today Amy talks about Hurricane. In her own words: "

Hurricane with HoneyBear
Photograhy by Amy Flood. Use by Permission
Hurricane
"His sire is Tornado. He and his step daddy, Gideon, are particularly close...I see them playing together frequently. Hurricane is also fast friends with Eminem and HoneyBear (Ocelot's yearling pinto filly).

Hurrricane in the Hawthorn
Photo by Amy Flood. Used by permission.
Hurricane has a mischievous streak - he is always into some sort of trouble. He will take any excuse to stampede across the balds, bucking and kicking up his heels. Somewhat possessive of his dam, he is quick to express his jealousy whenever another pony pays her attention.
 Interestingly enough, Lady left Gideon in fall of 2010 and returned to Tornado's band briefly while in estrus(heat). "
"Hurricane"
Photo by Amy Flood.
This photo and reference photography used by permission.
To read more about these ponies  and their history  you can read the the Mustang A Day Challenge News blog with additional links to the Grayson Highlands State Park  http://mustangadaychallengenews.blogspot.com/ 
and follow Amy's visits and photography on her blog http://graysonhighlandsponies.com/

For more information on the Grayson Highlands State Park Pony Auction The Wilburn Ridge Pony Association holds an auction at 2:00 PM on the Saturday following the 4th full week in September. The auction is part of the Grayson Highlands Fall Fest. All auctioned ponies have passed veterinary examination and testing, and the proceeds from their purchase goes toward sustaining the pony herd and local charities. For further information call:
276-579-7092 or go to 
Contact Information
Primary Contact: Grayson Highlands State Park
Phone: 276-579-7092
829 Grayson Highland Lane
Mouth of Wilson, VA 24363

Email: GraysonHighlands@dcr.virginia.gov
Web Address: http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/gra.shtml


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