‘Montie’: The black sheep of Balloon Fiesta

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Typically, being the black sheep of the family isn’t a good thing – unless you’re talking about the Balloon Fiesta family.

Greg Ashton is that black sheep. He is the chief pilot of Montie the Black Sheep, who is named after Montauciel the sheep. Montauciel traveled with a duck and a rooster in the balloon’s maiden voyage, which lasted for eight minutes over Paris as they traveled for two miles at 1,500 feet.

Montie will fly in the Special Shapes Rodeo. You can purchase a stuffed version of Montie at Balloon Fiesta Park or on the “Montie the Black Sheep” website.

More on Montie in our Balloon Fiesta spotlight in the video above.