Chincoteague wild pony swim celebrates 90th anniversary

Sarah Barban | Salisbury (Md.) Daily Times

CHINCOTEAGUE ISLAND, Va. -- For nearly a century, the last week in July on Chincoteague Island has been all about ponies.

This year will be no different.

Over the weekend, the "Saltwater Cowboys," a group of volunteers who help maintain the herd, began rounding up the wild Chincoteague ponies on Assateague. On Wednesday, the group will swim them to Chincoteague, auction off the foals and swim them back.

This 90-year-old tradition may have been made famous by Marguerite Henry's 1947 book Misty of Chincoteague, but this annual event has been an island staple since 1925.

Pony Penning originally started as a fundraiser for the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, which owns the herd, so it could purchase fire equipment.

Today it still serves as a fundraiser for the company, but it also helps them comply with a directive from the National Parks Service. The fire company holds a grazing permit from the National Park Service that only allows 150 horses to stay on the island.

Gallery: Pony Penning through the years

This year's event seems to be shaping up to be a big one. Pony Penning isn't a ticketed event, so it can be hard to anticipate attendance, but hotels around the island began filling up well in advance of the weekend festivities, according to Evelyn Shotwell, executive director of the Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce.

"The hotels have been filling up a little faster than they have the past two or three years," she said. "I do expect an increased attendance. Pony Swim is going to be a sold-out event this year it looks like."

Denise Bowden, spokeswoman for the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, is expecting this year's Pony Penning to be bigger due to the death of one of the herd's most famous ponies, Surfer Dude.

"This is what I'm calling the 'Surfer Dude Summer,' " she said. "The last foals of his will be sold this year. I have quite a high expectation. They may bring some high dollars at auction. With this being the 90th anniversary of the fire company and the 90th anniversary of the carnival I'm expecting a little bit larger than normal crowd."

On Wednesday, the ponies make their famed swim from Assateague to Chincoteague. The swim occurs at what's known as slack tide, a period between the tides when there's no movement in the water.

Any pregnant mares, mothers with very young foals or injured horses will be transported to Chincoteague by truck. Roughly 130 ponies are expected to make the swim, Bowden said.

After the ponies land on Chincoteague, they rest for a bit before being paraded down Main Street to the Carnival Grounds. On Thursday, the ponies are auctioned off at the Chincoteague Carnival Grounds and on Friday they swim back to Assateague, Bowden said.

Wednesday's Pony Swim can be viewed in several ways. Setting up camp at Pony Swim Lane offers an up close look at the ponies when they land, but comes with challenges.

"At Swim Lane you're walking through marsh mud and sitting in salt water," Bowden said. "You get right in there with the crowd so come with an open mind. Down there it's muddy but it's a lot of fun. The ponies swim right up in your face."

Public parking isn't available at either spot, area residents offer up parking in their yards, but the best way to get to and from the swim is via the town shuttle, Bowden said.

"The town does a great job with the shuttle," she said. "I would encourage everybody to use it. I invite people to park at the carnival grounds or high school and grab the shuttle. It takes everybody back to carnival grounds after the swim."