Store owners, Owen Hooks and Kathryn Adkins are natives of the Eastern Shore of Maryland. They reside at Pine Ridge Horse Farm in Salisbury, Maryland. Owen works on the environmental team at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia, just across the bay from Chincoteague. Kathryn is a licensed counselor and therapist, and has earned certification in Equine Assisted Psychotherapy. She maintains a private counseling practice at their farm, where she often uses horses and other family pets, to assist in the therapy process.
In 2005, Owen and Kathryn published the first edition of Pine Ridge Horse Farm's Illustrated Guide to: The Wild Pony Auction at Chincoteague - A World Famous Attraction. In 2006, they published the second edition. A third edition is scheduled for summer 2012. Kathryn took most of the photographs which appear in all three editions. The auction guide describes the history of horses on Assateague, as well as the history of the pony round-up and auction. In addition, the guide gives a detailed description of how the auction is conducted. Of course, the auction guide is always available for purchase at the Kite Koop & Book Store.
Kathryn has been photographing images on Assateague Island and Chincoteague throughout her life. She has published several of her photographs as postcards which are available in the store. In addition, many of Kathryn's photographs are available matted and framed. You will find some of her photos on various pages of this website.
Owen is also a member of the regional musical trio, "3 Sheets." In addition to Owen on guitar, mandolin and tenor vocals, the group includes Thom Nolan as lead baritone and percussionist, and Bill Troxler on hammer dulcimer, guitar, banjo, vocals. The trio offers a mix of Celtic, nautical, traditional and contemporary music. For more information, see their website at www.3sheetz.net.
We are proud to be members of the Chincoteague Island community and, as such, are pleased to be active supporters of the Chincoteague Cultural Alliance, the Historic Main Street Merchants Association and the Island Bluegrass Alliance.
