Annual Chincoteague pony swim off Va. set for Wednesday

The Virginia wild pony roundup was made famous after the 1947 Marguerite Henry book, Misty of Chincoteague, became a bestseller and made national headlines.

The Chincoteague Fire Company has announced that Wednesday’s Pony Swim will take place between 7 and 8:30 a.m., during “slack tide”.

The ponies are then sold at auction to raise money for the local Fire Department.

Today marks the 90th anniversary of Virginia’s Chincoteague Pony Swim. A group of volunteers called the “Saltwater Cowboys” rounds up the ponies and leads them through the passage at slack tide.

After the auction, the herd – minus a key player this year, Surfer Dude – will swim back to their Assateague Island home on Friday. The auction helps the department comply with a directive from the National Park Service, which allows only 150 horses to stay on the island, Delmarvanow.com reports.

After the swim and a 45 minute pause for the ponies they will be herded to Main Street for a parade. The stallion reportedly roamed Assateague Island, captivating those who saw him with his long, blonde mane and mismatched eyes. Organizers said spectators can catch the ponies ashore at the end of Pony Swim Lane.

Seven-year-old Carlin Makibbin of Ocean City, Maryland, kisses a wild pony after ponies swam across the Assateague Channel. The yearly Chincoteague wild pony swim began in 1925. The ponies will be auctioned off Thursday morning on carnival grounds.