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Kerra Allen
Age 9
So here we sit in the center of
the show ring, I, on my pony, and
23 other young equestrians on
theirs, each waiting for the judge
to finally make up her mind.
Who would ever think that I
would end up here on Misty 11, a
f|5S55 * • 5 *
'^s
iest girl In the world,” Kerra Allen said
Birthday
Suppose horses were your abso
lute favorite animal and you loved
Chincoteague ponies most of all.
Then suppose that you were fortu
nate enough to own a granddaugh
ter of Misty, the most famous
Chincoteague pony of all, and she
lived right there on the farm with
you.
And suppose that she even had
a foal two years ago, a beautiful
black and white filly who loves
people and likes to race around her
pasture pretending that she is run
ning up and down the sand dunes
down on her island home in Virgi
nia.
This is what happened to Kerra
and Katye Allen, two of the four
children who live on the farm
where Misty 11, the granddaughter
of Misty lives near Manheim, Pen
nsylvania. Along with their two
brothers, Andy and Kenneth, the
farm has six Chincoteague ponies
who reside now in the rolling hills
of Lancaster County.
Kerra, at age 9, is the real
horseperson of the family right
now, although Katye at age 5, is
busy trying to catch up with her
and riding her own pony. Kerra
competed in horse shows last year
with Misty II both in and out of
the state of Pennsylvania and won
two reserve championships with
the 16-year-old mare. What makes
that more amazing is until the fall
before, Misty II was an unbroke
mare, and last year was the first
year of showing for both Kerra
I’m The Luckiest Girl In The World
wild pony that at 14 years of age
had never been gentled to ride?
Now, here I am, nine years old,
showing this granddaughter of
Marguerite Henry’s famous pony
in open horse shows and loving
every minute I spend with her.
Who would have ever thought it
was possible?
How do you think I felt when
Party
and Misty 11.
Last year also saw the start of a
national non-profit organization,
The Misty of Chincoteague
Foundation. With the help of Mar
guerite Henry, the children’s
author who made Misty of Chin
coteague famous, the organization
is working to try and raise enough
money to buy the Beebe Farm
where the stories took place and
the characters in the book really
lived. Today the Beebe Farm is in
need of repair and the Misty
Foundation, after buying the prop
erty, plans on turning it into a
museum telling the story of Misty
and the Chincoteague pony.
Kerra and Misty 11, (who was
named Misty II because she looks
so much like her famous grand
mother) received many invitations
last year to represent the Misty
Foundation and tell the story of
Misty and what the foundation is
trying to do. They travelled to the
Kentucky Horse Park in Lexing
ton, Kentucky, where Misty II
either frolicked in front of her
audience in her special pasture or
performed in the Parade of
Breeds. While there a special ten
minute pony ride on Misty II was
auctioned off at a benefit auction
for the Misty Foundation and two
youngsters pressed the bidding to
$B5 when the Allens stopped the
auctioneer and awarded a ride to
both children.
Misty II and Kerra were also
invited to the Washington D.C.
my mom and dad announced that
they had just bought Misty 11, a
Chincoteague pony that just hap
pened to be the true-life grand
daughter of Misty of Chinco
teague, the beloved pony made
famous in the children’s books by
Marguerite Henry. I couldn’t
believe it. It was like having a
movie star move to your house.
The “Misty family’’ of ponies
had been kept on Chincoteague
after the Beebe family (the origi
nal owners) had sold them to Paul
Merritt, who had his own pony
farm. But now he had decided to
retire and was selling some of the
ponies, and he had decided that he
would sell Misty II to us.
Wow! Misty 11, named Misty II
because she looked so much like
her famous grandmother. She had
almost the exact same markings as
the original Misty, even the map
of the United States on her side.
And so we went down to Chin
coteague to pick up this 14-year
old large pony, and reality set in.
We knew that she had never been
ridden, or hauled in a trailer, or
actually had much work done to
her other than to be trained to lead,
so it was much like buying a wild
pony a 14 year old wild pony
set in her ways. But that didn’t
slop us.
Back at home it was a whole
new way of life for Misty 11. First
she had to get used to life away
from the sleepy island of Chinco
teague. There was more traffic on
the road in front of our bam, there
were rolling hills and meadows,
streams and ponds to get used to.
Electric fence strung around the
inside of the rails was a shocking
...A •
the luck-
To Raise Money For Beebe Farm
International Horse Show, one of
the largest horse shows in the
East. There they were part of an
educational exhibit, and Misty II
had so many fans waiting to see
her that the head of the exhibit
asked Kerra to take her out and
ride her so that everyone would
have a chance to see her.
And Misty II and Kerra also
travelled to the Pennsylvania
National Rodeo last year where
Kerra traded her English riding
habit in for Western jeans, boots
and a cowboy hat. At each perfor
mance, she and Misty II rode
around the arena for their fans,
telling of the Misty Foundation.
Since then Misty II has been on
maternity leave, since on May 1 of
this year she gave birth to her sec
ond Pennsylvania foal, Misty’s
May Day Twister, a palomino filly
with a wide blaze on her face
resembling a tornado funnel
cloud.
There are two events coming up
in the near future that you should
know about if you are a Misty or
Chincoteague pony fan.
There will be a special birthday
party for Black Mist at the H & H
Tack Shop in Annville on June 17
from 4 to 8 p.m. there will be
games and food, and Black Mist
will be on hand to greet her guests.
There will be Black Mist T-shirts
for sale at the event.
Anyone bringing in $5O of
donations for the Misty Founda
tion will receive a special hard-
0
Kerra hoped Misty II would have a black and white foul.
She did! Kerra named her Black Mist.
horses we had ever had. She
wanted to please you, and if you
took your time and were very
gentle, she quickly learned what
you wanted.
When it came to getting her to
accept the bit, it was a slightly dif
ferent matter. That snaffle bit was
a foreign object that didn’t taste
(Turn to Page B 12)
experience and taught her respect
for our fences.
But “a horse is no good if you
can’t nde it” my parents always
said, so at the advanced age of 14,
Misty II began training.
My mom and dad worked her
with the saddle, getting her used to
the girth. We quickly discovered
she was one of the most intelligent
bound edition of the book The Pic
torial Life History ol Misty, auto
graphed by Maureen Bccbc, the
truc-lilc character in the story. All
profits made during the evening
will go towards the Misty Founda
tion.
And on July 13 and 14 there
will be a Regional Brcycrfcst at
the York Fairgrounds (on the
13lh) and the Wild Horse and Bur
ro Center (on the 14th). Breycr
Horse Model collectors from all
over will be travelling to the event
for many different events.
At Breyerfest, Misty II and her
buy the Beebe farm where the stories of the famous Chinco
teague ponies took place. Plans are to turn the delapldated
property Into a museum.
new foal, “Twister” arc sche
duled to make their first appear
ance at the event, leaving the farm
for the first lime to help raise
funds for the Misty Foundation.
Anyone interested in helping
the Misty of Chincotcaguc Found
ation can send a contribution to it
af Misty of Chincotcaguc Found
ation, Inc., Box 4352, Charlottes
ville, Va. 22905.
Black Mist’s Birthday Party
(Misty of Chincotcaguc’s great
granddaughter is two years old)
June 17th 4 to 8 p.m.
H & H Tack Shop; Annville, Pa.
Come and help us celebrate!!!