In order to win the Feather Fund award, Laura had to write an essay. She wrote it in 2013, the first year she went to see the pony swim. But she didn’t think she would have a chance of winning. Her family already owned horses. Wouldn’t it make sense to give a horse to someone who had never had the chance to have one? So Laura made money by raising and selling rabbits and doing yard work. She waited patiently, saving her earnings.

Each time Laura visited Chincoteague, she wanted a pony more. During the next two years, she added to her essay. This year, when she finally decided to send it in, she rewrote the whole thing. Laura thought her other horses would make the judges not want to choose her for the award. But just the opposite happened! The judges were glad to pick someone who knew how to care for horses already.

Laura says she has already learned a valuable lesson from Tug. “I have to be very patient whenever I work with Tug. When I teach him something new, I have to remember that he has never done this before and that he might be confused. Sometimes, if Tug is being stubborn and if I get frustrated, I have to realize that it might be better to just put him away and call it a day.”

That patience will come in handy. Laura hopes to do equestrian (horse) sports with Tug. But Laura and Tug won’t go cross-country jumping or work on their mounted archery for a while. Tug still needs to grow big enough to be ridden!