Chincoteague Pony

National Chincoteague Pony Association

2595 Jensen Road

Bellingham, Washington 98226

www.pony-chincoteague.com

There is a race of hardy ponies that live on the islands of Chincoteague and Assateague off the coast of Virginia and Maryland. They are small, compact and good natured. Legend has it that their ancestors swam ashore from a Spanish vessel, a galleon named the Santo Cristo, which had capsized off the coast around the year 1600. The ship had been headed for Panama, but never made land. Its cargo of horses was to go to the viceroy of Peru to help in the gold mines. The horses lost at sea are believed to have swum to the nearby islands, and their descendants have been living there ever since.

Life on the islands was tough, and the growth of the horses in succeeding generations became stunted due to the harsh environment. To keep from starving they ate coarse saltmarsh cordgrass, American beach grass, thorny greenbrier stems, bayberry twigs, seaweed, and even poison ivy. When their freshwater sources froze during cold winters or dried up during the hot summers, they learned to survive on small amounts of seawater which, at times, gave them the appearance of being fat or bloated. Thus the horses bred down in size and became the unique breed known today as the Chincoteague Pony.

Today, there are two groups of wild ponies descended from the original horses that survived the famous shipwreck. These two groups are the Maryland Herd and the Virginia Herd. The Maryland Herd consists of approximately 140 head and is owned by the Maryland Park Service. The Virginia Herd consists of approximately 150 head and is overseen by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company. Both wild herds are now on one island, Assateague Island, Virginia–Maryland, which has no human populations. The ponies graze in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, located on the Virginia portion of Assateague Island. There is a secure wire fence dividing the island and the herds. The Maryland Herd has anti-fertilization shots to keep them from reproducing.

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The pleasant Chincoteague head belies its wild background. Daniel Johnson

The famous annual Pony Round-Up and Pony Swim are held each year during the month of July. This roundup began in 1927 after the town on Chincoteague burned down due to not having a fire department, thus the pony auction was instituted to help finance one. The proceeds helped to build a large firehouse on Chincoteague Island, and the auction continues to provide money for the upkeep of the ponies and local charities.

On pony penning day, the Chincoteague volunteer firemen drive the Virginia Herd ponies off the wildlife refuge on Assateague Island, through the seawater channel at slack tide, and to Chincoteague Island in Virginia. This is when the water is at its calmest and the tide is neither coming in nor going out, making it the easiest time for the ponies to swim across the channel. Traditionally, this roundup happens during the last Wednesday of every July. Then the ponies are gathered for the auction, which takes place the next day. Here the foals are auctioned off to the highest bidder.

People from all over the world come to the annual Pony Swim and penning, and it is a favorite event particularly with local children. Chincoteague Island, unlike Assateague, is well populated with people and has seafood restaurants and hotels accommodating the crowds that come to see the ponies year round. The crowds are especially heavy during the last Wednesday and Thursday of July, when the famous pony auction takes place. In 2001, the highest bid ever for a pony was $10,305, setting a new record. The foal was a black and white pinto filly.

After the foals are sold, the stallion and mares are taken back to Assateague Island, again swimming the channel at slack tide. About three to four stallions are returned with all the mares, and sometimes the foals too young to leave their mothers are also returned.

There are three bands of the Virginia Herd running on the wildlife refuge on the island. Each band consists of one herd of ponies with one stallion. All are mixed up at the pony penning, and when they are returned to their home on Assateauge island, the bands are formed once again. The whole process of the Pony Round-Up, auction, and return swim takes three days. There is also an auction in the autumn for the very last foals to be sold for the year.

The movie Misty, a Twentieth Century Fox Production released in 1961, depicted the Pony Swim and auction, and one young boy’s quest for ownership of a beloved Chincoteague Pony. This movie was based on a series of children’s books about the Chincoteague Pony by Marguerite Henry. The first of the series and her most popular book, Misty of Chincoteague, is a children’s classic based on a true story and was first published in 1947. Famous for her many horse novels, she subsequently wrote many more tales about these ponies including Stormy, Misty’s Foal, and Sea Star: Orphan of Chincoteague, which introduced many young readers to the Chincoteague Pony. Henry’s books and the movie brought sudden popularity to this little breed, and it has enjoyed recognition ever since. There are now approximately 3,980 privately owned Chincoteague Ponies scattered across the United States and Canada.

Registry

In 1983, after obtaining three Chincoteague Ponies in 1975, a breeder named Gale Park Frederick founded a non-profit organization for the breed, named the National Chincoteague Pony Association, which is now the oldest Chincoteague Pony registry. Subsequently, the ponies were recognized as a pure and rare breed.

Park is the only known breeder of the ponies. After purchasing her original three Chincoteague Ponies, she transferred them to her farm in Bellingham, Washington, and has been successfully breeding Chincotagues ever since. For over thirty-four years, she has been keeping the bloodlines pure through selective breeding. Every twelfth foal born is a Misty or Stormy look-alike. A herd size of thirteen ponies ensures that five lucky people can purchase a new pony each year from her place.

In recent years, the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company introduced a few mustang horses and purebred Arabians into the Assateague herd to strengthen and diversify the bloodline. Due to this, purebred Chincoteague Ponies are even harder to find and more valuable.

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The petite Chincoteague Pony retains characteristics of its horse ancestors. Daniel Johnson

Standards

Color: Most Chincoteague Ponies have pinto/paint spotting: overo (solid color with white splashes), or tobiano (white base with irregular patches of solid or roan color). Spotting colors include palomino to dark bay on white, dark red on white (tobiano) with black points, and strawberry roan on white (tobiano). Other color variations include solid black, solid sorrel with flaxen mane and tail, and solid chestnut with flaxen mane and tail. Currently, on the Assateague Island the ponies come in all colors.

Conformation: The Chincoteague Pony is a well-proportioned horse with a strong and muscular, compact body. They typically stand 14.2 hands or less and weigh between 800 and 900 pounds.

The body tends to have a unique style and balanced conformation that includes a well-rounded rump. The tail sits low on the rump. Manes and tails are extra long, and the tail may touch the ground and flag when the pony runs.

With its strong hooves, the pony makes for an excellent long distance runner and can gallop very fast for its size.

Coat: The hair of a Chincoteague Pony is strong and thick. An extra thick mane and tail can grow to a great length, if allowed, and may also grow long on the forehead. The forehead has one or two cowlicks. Fetlocks have light feathering, adding to the unique appearance of the pony. During the winter months, the pony grows a heavy coat of hair, causing it to become shaggy in appearance. This helps the Chincoteague Pony stay warm on the island and makes it a good choice for those who live in cold climate areas.

Disposition: The Chincoteague Pony is well known to be good natured, kind, sweet, and gentle. It has a love of people and is highly intelligent, versatile, and well suited for children. The personality of a Chincoteague Pony has been described to be like a puppy. It is very brave, honorable, and loves to play and learn new things.

Traits: The Chincoteague Pony requires little food compared to an adult horse. It has a reputation as an easy keeper and will do nicely in a weed patch, plus hay, a salt block, grain, and fresh water. There is a saying about the ponies: A Chincoteague Pony can get fat on a cement slab.

A Chincoteague Pony will only use one corner of its stall, paddock, or pasture to deposit fecal matter, making for easy cleanup. This is a trait learned from island living to protect their limited grazing land.

English or western saddles can be used on Chincoteague Ponies. They are natural in dressage and perform well in hunt seat, jumping, driving, and trail riding. They respond well to gentle training techniques because of their easy attachment to their owners as well as other horses. Their colorfully marked coats are a particular favorite in pony halter classes.

In Park’s experience raising Chincoteague Ponies, she has gathered many delightful observations about them. She had a mare that liked to have help in birthing her foal while she was lying down, eating grass! There was an incident when a Chincoteague dam confronted a large stallion to protect another pony in the field from being harassed too much. Another time, a stallion diverted its position in a herd and protected Park by shielding her from the herd rushing up toward her.

Chincoteague Ponies thrive on the attention and love that people give them. When cars drive up, the ponies come running in from the pasture and stand by the fence, waiting for someone to come see them. They love the smiles and petting that delighted visitors are so generous in giving.

“If we stand and clap and laugh, the Chincoteague Ponies run, jump, gallop, and frolic in the green pastures,” says Park. “They love the attention and provide hours of amusement. Each pony has its own personality.”

Credit: Gale Park Frederick and the National Chincoteague Pony Association

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