Chincoteague Ponies Hit the Beach

• July 29, 2026

A group of horses, including a white chincoteague leaping out of water, run through a grassy field. Some riders are partly visible in the background.

The Chincoteague Ponies make their way onto the shoreline after swimming across the Assateague Channel during the 90th annual Pony Swim on Chincoteague Island, Virginia, on July 29, 2015. (Brittany Greeson/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Virginia’s most famous roundup is underway at Chincoteague Island. The 101st annual pony swim brought about 150 adult wild ponies and more than 60 foals that live on Assateague Island down to the channel, where they swim across to Chincoteague during “slack tide” (when there is no current) so the young horses can be auctioned off tomorrow.

The swim is just part of a weeklong process. Last weekend, “Saltwater Cowboys” began rounding up the wild horses and herding them into a corral on the island. The ponies live in two herds, one on the northern end and the other on the southern end of the island.

By Tuesday, all the ponies were enclosed and were checked by veterinarians to ensure they are healthy enough to swim the channel.

Once they make it to Chincoteague, the ponies parade down Main Street to the carnival grounds for tomorrow’s bidding. The auction helps control the size of the herd, since the island can only support about 150 horses.

The event started as a fundraiser for the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, which wanted to buy a fire truck in 1925 after a pair of fires threatened the island. The tradition continues every July and supports the firefighters and the animals, which were named the Official Pony of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 2023.

A handful of the foals will be purchased but will then return to Assateague to eventually breed. These are known as “Buyback Ponies.” The top bidder is allowed to name the animal, and these buybacks are often the most expensive of the ponies.

The Pony Swim earned international fame when Marguerite Henry published the novel “Misty of Chincoteague” in 1946, featuring the story of a real-life pony. The novel was made into the film “Misty” in 1961. That movie plays this week at the Island Theatre.

It isn’t clear how the ponies came to live on Assateague Island, but they’ve been there since the early 1700s. They may be the descendants of animals that were released to forage on the island by settlers who wanted to avoid paying taxes on livestock. Alternatively, they may have swum ashore after a Spanish ship ran aground nearby.

In any event, if you missed Wednesday’s swim, locals say the best part of the week is still ahead. On Friday, after the auction, adult ponies make the return swim to Assateague. Then, there is always next year.

Rich Tucker | Virginia Correspondent

Rich Tucker, a journalist based in Richmond, is a Virginia correspondent with the Daily Signal. He was founding editor of The Virginia Flyover and writes the Student Driver on Substack, where he promotes free market ideas.

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