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92nd Annual Wild Pony Swim Between Assateague, Chincoteague Lasts 18 Minutes

CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. (AP) — The 92nd annual Chincoteague pony swim has finished up.

The Daily Times of Salisbury reports that the crossing lasted about 18 minutes.

The wild ponies of Assateague Island swam across to Chincoteague Island in Virginia. A flare that lit the sky at 6:47 a.m. signaled the beginning of the swim. It ended about 7:05 a.m.

The event draws thousands of tourists each year and was memorialized in Marguerite Henry's novel "Misty of Chincoteague."

An auction on Thursday of a portion of the herd will benefit the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department. After the swim ended, crowds watched as the ponies were paraded down Main Street to carnival grounds where the auction was planned.

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(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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