The Chincoteague Pony

         

The Chincoteague Pony (Picture from the Internet)

You might have heard about the Chincoteague ponies because Marguerite Henry wrote a famous book called “Misty of Chincoteague”.   Chincoteagues are wild ponies living on the coast of Maryland and Virginia. There are two pony herds that live on a small island called Assateague Island. There is a fence along the border of Maryland and Virginia.  The ponies are healthy, strong. The Chincoteague Valley Fire Department makes sure that the ponies are well fed and cared for.  Only one hundred fifty ponies are allowed on Assateague Island so an auction is held every year in July to sell some of the ponies.  The pony auctions began in 1925 to help raise funds for the fire department that cares for the ponies. How do people get the ponies to auction? They round them up and the ponies swim across the channel from Assateague Island to Chincoteague Island. Thousands of people come to meet the ponies and try to buy one. What would you do if your parents bought one for you? You would need to have him professionally trained. Remember he’s a wild pony, even though he looks cute and sweet. He needs to learn manners, just like you did when you were younger. Even if you can’t come to the Chincoteague pony auction, you might be able to visit Virginia between May and October. That’s the time of year that you can take tours of the Islands and watch the ponies roaming around. You can admire them and see the little baby ponies (called foals) exploring their world.
I hope you enjoyed learning about these cute little ponies. My sister, Holly, trained one of them when she was only 5 years old!