Annual Chincoteague Pony Roundup

            I visited Pony Penning during the summer of 1988 while serving as a seasonal park ranger at Assateague Island National Seashore. The following year, this article appeared in Cappers, a weekly tabloid newspaper published in Topeka, Kansas, with national distribution. Cappers began as Cappers Weekly early in the 20th century, has changed names over the years, and is now published as Cappers Farmer.

Annual Chincoteague Pony Roundup

Picture a land where wild horses charge down a sandy beach on a remote island. Suddenly, they stop near a patch of fresh grass, and an older mare takes her station in the lead. Meanwhile, a stallion takes his position in the rear of the group. The herd begins to graze, and a young foal walks to its mother's side for fresh, warm milk. Ocean waves crash just a few feet away as the small stallion and his harem go about their business.

Such a scene is not imagination, for they are the feral horses of Assateague Island. Although they are called ponies, they are horses too large to qualify as ponies. A herd of 150 grace the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, located at the south end of Assateague Island. This wildlife refuge lies on the Atlantic flyway, the easternmost route for North America's migratory birds, and was established as a stopping place for migrating snow geese in 1943.

When land is set aside for one species, many others benefit. Wild ponies are such a species. Their range is preserved forever as part of the refuge. This arrangement also supports the fire department of nearby Chincoteague Island. They own those horses that graze on the Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge under a special permit. The horses are better known as Chincoteague ponies, although their status as ponies or horses has been debated.

During the final week of July each year, the firefighters don cowboy clothing and round up their ponies. The roundup takes place on Monday and Tuesday when these seasonal cowboys corral the ponies on the island. On Wednesday, the ponies swim across the straits to neighboring Chincoteague Island.

Thousands of people visit and see the ponies swim and the Thursday Auction. Buyers anxious to add sturdy animals to their herds purchase the foals. Generations of life on the wind-swept island have made the ponies hardy, and they pass on their hardiness.

The adult ponies and any unsold foals swim back to Assateague Island on Friday. Enough foals are returned to maintain the herd, and some horses are added occasionally to keep the horses vigorous and diverse.