CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. -- An early start to the day just means there's more time for fun, and that was certainly the case on Chincoteague on Wednesday.
The light's clicked on at 5 o'clock in the morning at 7452 Pony Swim Lane. The home is situated just feet away, and it's accompanying deck and dock gives Lisa, the woman who owns the home, one of the best seats in the house during Chincoteague's biggest event.
"It's pretty incredible," said Lisa.
The thing is, five years ago, Lisa wasn't aware of just how "incredible" of a situation she was getting herself into.
"It was my covid purchase and I didn't know anything about the pony swim, and, how could you just luck out that way?" she questioned.
It didn't take very long, however, for the Pony Swim magic to rub off.
"I went out on the dock and I had my feet hanging down, and a little pony swam right under me and I just lost it," said Lisa.
That is Lisa's story. But her tale is just a small part of the Pony Swim's lure.
The hundreds of people who trek through the muddy marsh, just for the chance of getting a front row seat, have their own stories to tell.
Those stories, include someone's "why".
"Since my mom passed away in 2017, we've been taking trips of things that she'd want to do but never got an opportunity to do," said Margaret Hollar.
It includes the mounting anticipation that always seems to reach a boiling-point second before the ponies hit the water. And it includes the satisfaction that can only be achieved when more than 100 ponies venture through the Assateague Channel.