A group called The Feather Fund helps children purchase ponies of their own at Pony Penning each summer in Chincoteague, Virginia. Kids write essays to apply. They explain why owning a pony would be good for them. They tell how they would care for a pony. This year marked 100 years of Pony Penning. The Feather Fund chose three recipients. Two sisters plus two other girls won foals with the fund’s help.
You may know about the yearly Pony Penning event. Volunteers round up wild ponies in July from Assateague Island. They herd foals into pens. Vets check them all. The fire department auctions some. The remaining ponies return to the island.
Lois Szymanski loves to share the fund’s history. It started with a friendship.
Mrs. Szymanski’s favorite childhood book was Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry. It tells about siblings who save to buy a Chincoteague pony and her foal. Mrs. Syzmanski’s daughters, Shannon and Ashley, had a similar dream.
The Szymanski family drove to Chincoteague in 1995. Ashley was to sing at a museum. The girls had saved $500 to bid on a foal.
The Szymanskis noticed the firefighters’ sound system wasn’t working. They loaned Ashley’s system to firefighter David Savage for the auction.
People kept outbidding the sisters. Mr. Savage brought Ed and Carollynn Suplee over. They offered to help the girls buy a pony!
Mrs. Suplee explained that she was fighting cancer. She started finding feathers everywhere. She read Psalm 91:4, “Under His wings you will find refuge.” She felt safe in God’s care.
Mrs. Suplee survived treatment. She wanted to serve others. Mr. Savage told her about the Szymanskis. A seagull feather drifted in front of her at that moment. She saw Ashley’s shirt. Its design featured feathers.
The Suplees helped the girls buy a colt. A white mark on his neck looked like a feather. The girls named him Sea Feather.
That was the first pony gift. Many more followed.
Why? God goes before us and behind us to masterfully arrange the ways we build friendships and serve one another with good, timely gifts.
Recommended Reading: For more on Chincoteague ponies, read The True Story of Sea Feather by Lois Szymanski.
