Pony Penning Day-July 22, 2023
Each year, wild ponies on Assateague Island, Va are rounded up and herded across the channel to nearby Chincoteague Island. The fundraiser will benefit the local fire station.
As a rite of passage children the world over, including me, read the heartwarming stories about Chincoteague Island written by Marguerite Henry and illustrated Wesley Dennis.
The first book is Misty of Chincoteague which tells the story of Paul and Maureen who live on the island with their grandparents.
Legend has it that a Spanish Galleon carrying ponies as cargo wrecked in a storm off the coast of Assateague.
The spirited ponies broke free and swam to the island where they have thrived there ever since.
Shipwrecks were numerous along the Atlantic coastline long ago when ships used the stars and lighthouses for navigation. It was all too easy for them to run aground on sandbars or reefs when storms or fog rolled in.
Strong winds from storms would break the ships apart allowing the ponies to break free and swim away to the nearby island.
A book by Mr. John Amrhein, "The Hidden Galleon", details the shipwreck of LaGalga in 1750. The location and circumstances around the wreck tell us there was a great storm in 1749, which destroyed all the livestock on Assateague Island. , "Beach" Ponies were sighted shortly after the unfortunate end of the La Galga,
Ponies thriving on the lush island grasses.
Penning began as a way for livestock owners to claim, brand, break and harness their loose herds. By the 1700's it had become an annual event, complete with drinking, eating, and plenty of revelry by the entire community. The earliest known description of Pony Penning was published in 1835. The practice was then already an "ancient" custom held in June on Assateague Island. Penning on Chincoteague Island is not mentioned in print until the mid-1800's, and it's believed to have been begun by two islanders who owned large herds that grazed on Chincoteague.
The penning continued on both islands for years. By 1885, they were held on Assateague one day and Chincoteague the next. Assateague also had a Sheep Penning, which is believed to be a custom even older than the others. Word of the events began to spread, and hotels and boarding houses were booked for the festivities. In 1909, the last Wednesday and Thursday of July were set as the official dates for the yearly events. As Pony Penning increased in popularity, Assateague's Sheep Penning wound down and was discontinued by 1914.
After a string of disastrous fires in the Town of Chincoteague, the villagers realized their fire fighting equipment was seriously inadequate. In 1925, the town authorized the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company to hold a carnival during Pony Penning to raise funds. That year, over 15 colts were sold to benefit the fire company, and the carnival was a huge success. Bolstered by the interest in the pony swim, visitors began arriving from across the country for the annual penning. The crowd in 1937 was estimated at 25,000. The increased revenue from the carnivals and auctions enabled the fire company to modernize its equipment and facilities, and in 1947 it began to build its own herd by purchasing ponies from local owners. They moved the herd to Assateague where the government allowed publicly owned, not private, herds to graze on the newly established Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.
That same year, 1947, Marguerite Henry published Misty of Chincoteague, the story that made Pony Penning internationally famous. A movie followed, as did several sequel books. The tale of the wild pony Phantom, her foal Misty, and the children who buy and raise her has become a classic, still loved and enjoyed by each new generation.
Pony Penning is still held in July during the Chincoteague Volunteer Firemen's Carnival. "Salt Water Cowboys" herd the horses across the narrowest part of Assateague Channel at low tide, after which they are examined by veterinarians. After a resting period, they are herded through town to a corral at the Carnival Grounds where they stay until the next day's auction. The Pony Auction not only provides a source of revenue for the fire company, but it also serves to trim the herd's numbers. To retain the permit to graze on the refuge, the herd must not exceed 150 horses.
Each year thousands of people flock to Chincoteague Island to watch the Pony Penning and enjoy the Firemen's Carnival. For many of them, the trek to the shores of Assateague Channel on the last Wednesday and Thursday of July has become an annual event, an opportunity to participate in a tradition older than the country itself.
For almost 100 years, we have held our Pony Penning and Carnival to the delight of visitors from around the world. At "slack tide" on the last Wednesday before the last Thursday of every July, Chincoteague's "Saltwater Cowboys" herd the wild Chincoteague ponies from Assateague Island, across the Assateague Channel, to neighboring Chincoteague Island. After the swim, the ponies "parade" to the carnival grounds where the foals are auctioned on the last Thursday of July. On Friday, the adult ponies will make the return swim to Assateague Island where they will live in the wild for another year.
Wesley Dennis illustration of ponies herded across the channel.