With the busy Summer and Fall we haven't been updating our ranch news page as much as we would have like to! This past Summer we had four foals, however we did lose one of them as he was not viable at birth. 

Later in the Summer we also had to say goodbye to one of our stallions, Cyclone II. 

Even though it was a rough year in some ways, we still had a wonderful year in many other ways and we look forward to 2026 as it is approaching quickly. 

We will be expecting 3 foals in 2026!

Have a blessed new year, 
​Rebekah

Final day at the Expo!! Sue has done an amazing job, I couldn’t be more proud of how well she handled everything. From having her sit all Winter to pulling her from the pasture and taking her to a venue like this, she was a rockstar! She handled the crowds, flags, flappy tents and all sorts of other things without batting an eye. Her only real struggles were during the breed demos and getting a bit pushy because she wanted to go back to everyone else but fortunately she got better each time and finished the last two days strong.

Towards the end of the day we were informed that we won the stall decorating contest, so that was a fun surprise!

Overall, it has been a wonderful weekend but after 12 breed demos and 3 big days, we are both all peopled out and ready to come home! A huge thank m you to my friend Hannah who hung out Saturday and Sunday as well as helped me pack up!
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My mom and sister have been watching the herd at home for me and it looks like Kenzie is waxing. We should have our first foal very soon!

Day #3 of the MN Horse Expo (Saturday, April 26th) we finally got a chance to have some open “arena time” or in this case race track time in the evening! One of our daily breed demos is at the finish line of Canterbury Park, (MN’s race track). It’s been fun to show where so many horses have crossed the finish line to victory! Sue did much better in her breed demos today, she has started to figure out what I want her to do and is settling in.

Day #2of the Minnesota Horse Expo is done! Sue and I had four breed demos today, she did well for not having an opportunity to practice in any of the places we did the demos! She seems to be enjoying the crowds and the atmosphere. We had lots of opportunities to share the Chincoteague Pony breed with others!

We made it to the Minnesota Horse Expo!! As you can see Sue is a disappointed that she isn’t tall enough to use her window! We just have a little more setup to do, a bath for Sue in the morning and then we are good to go!

Sue and I will be representing the Chincoteague pony breed at the Minnesota Horse Expo this weekend! Be sure to stop by our stall and say hi!
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Here is a link with more info about the Expo!
https://mnhorseexpo.org/index.html

Last week all of the ponies got their hooves trimmed and this week I have been cleaning up bridle paths, brushing manes/tails, and doing some barn cleaning in preparation for the upcoming foals. So far Lady has bagged up the most with Kenzie close behind her and Dream catching up. Pixie hasn’t started bagging up yet so it’s likely that she will go long again.

- Pixie, the palomino pinto, is 30 days shy of her “safe date.” Im expecting she will have her foal the sometime within the first couple of weeks of May. When she had Mac in 2023 she was just a few days off of carrying him for a full year, so she could wait until mid-late May before she gets around to having it.

- Kenzie, the chestnut splash, is a bit of a wildcard as far as breeding dates go. She was bred last Spring but I don’t have exact cover dates as we didn’t bring her and Phantom home until September. I’m guessing she will foal sometime mid-late April but she could wait until May. I would be surprised if she carries until June with how big she is getting.

- Lady, the solid bay, was bred the week after Pixie so she will likely foal the 2nd or 3rd week of May. Her belly has grown a lot in the past month and will be even bigger by the end of April!

- Dream, the buckskin pinto, will likely be the last one to foal as she was bred the week after lady but she could surprise me! She will should foal sometime around the third week of May.

Everyday we get a little closer to meeting our 2025 foals!

Phantom was out zooming around the pasture today! He is such a pretty guy and a real sweetheart!

The weather has shifted and I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with the ponies today. Between the shedding and the mud baths, I had some very willing candidates who barely moved a muscle when I was out brushing. I can’t think of a better way to spend an afternoon this time of the year! 
*Note: The pictures are of the ponies before they got brushed down!

It’s been a rather cold start to the week but all is well with the ponies. They have been enjoying the extra hay and today’s lovely sunshine!

I’m so happy we have snow again, it just doesn’t feel like a Minnesota winter without it!

I received a super fun update from Daisy’s owner in Washington State. Daisy has a new friend, her half brother Firefly Mist!

Firefly is the first foal by our stallion Cyclone II and he was born in Texas on May 30, 2011 (just a few months before we bought Cyclone). Because we bought Cyclone sight unseen and had him shipped up to us, I never had the chance to meet Firefly. Hopefully I’ll be able to swing out for a visit in the future but for now their wonderful owner sends me plenty of pictures! Aren’t they just adorable together!

*Photos posted with permission from their owner!

Can you guess which bay is which?
Here are the choices:
- MCC’s Duchess of the Clouds (Duchess)
- Assateague’s Spirited Lady (Lady)
My first two Chincoteague ponies were solid bays named Hope and Liberty. We bought them from a family in Wisconsin and while they have both passed on, I have never been without a solid bay (or two) on my farm.

Cyclone (blanketed) loves sharing a fence line with his son Mac. While most of there winter days consist of eating hay, I will occasionally see them playing over the fence.

We are very excited to announce that Lady's 2025 foal is now reserved by a wonderful family. We are very excited to see what she will have with Cyclone! 

Lady is the third mare that is due this year, today she is at day 210 (7 months) and her belly is slowly getting larger, at this stage her foal is approximately the size of a raccoon. Her “due date” is May 17, so I would expect her to have the foal sometime between May 7-27.

Lady is a “maiden” mare, this means she hasn’t had a foal yet. With her being a maiden, I have no idea if she will show signs of impending foaling or be sneaky and not show any signs. Either way I will be watching her and my other mares closely this Spring.

Foal's Sire and Dam
Cyclone II x Assateague’s Spirited Lady

Foal Color Probability
56.25% - Bay Tobiano
25.00% - Red (Chestnut/Sorrel) Tobiano
18.75% - Black Tobiano

Winter is here, well sort of…..we have only had a dusting of snow so far and then some ice the other day. It has since melted and now everything is wet. As you can see Sue has been growing a lot lately! This is her with one of her best friends, Dream. Dream is 6 years old and 12.3 hands, Sue is 20 months old and getting close to 13.3. 

Pregnancy update for Pixie, she is now 6 months along and should be our second mare to foal in 2025. However last year she went several weeks over her due date so it’s possible one of the other mares will beat her to it!

So far she has been 2 for 2 on producing colts. She had her first foal (a bay pinto) back in 2011 and her second foal (a Smokey black pinto) in 2023. Because she is homozygous for tobiano, we know she will have a tobiano but it will still be interesting to see what she has with Cyclone this time!

Possible colors:
25.00% - Red (Chestnut/Sorrel) Tobiano
25.00% - Palomino Tobiano
18.75% - Bay Tobiano
18.75% - Buckskin Tobiano
6.25% - Black Tobiano
6.25% - Smoky Black Tobiano

Kenzie seems to be enjoying the lovely weather we have had the past few days! She is about 7 months pregnant now and seems to be well adjusted to our routine here on the farm. We had visitors yesterday and of course she was soaking up the attention like all the other ponies.
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She is carrying our only Phantom foal for 2025. So far she has been 2 for 2 with homozygous splash fillies, it will be interesting to see if the trend continues or if she decides to mix it up this time. Either way it will be a wonderful foal that I can’t wait to meet!