Chincoteague Ponies in the Fall

 
A chance encounter with the wild ponies at a freshwater pond. Photo by Kellie Kvern
Misty of Chincoteague the famous story by Marguerite Henry was published all the way back in 1947 and it remains THE mustread novel for every horseloving kid. Misty made the island of Chincoteague its wild ponies and Pony Penning Day world famous.
Where is Chincoteague?
The island of Chincoteague is only 7 miles long and 3 miles wide. Its protected from the rough Atlantic Ocean by the barrier island of Assateague. Assateague is a national park that runs 37 miles along the coastline of both Virginia and Maryland. The ponies are named after Chincoteague but they actually live wild on Assateague.

The ponies are divided into northern and southern herds. Separating them prevents bloodlines from becoming too close and makes it easier to keep track of them. The health checks for each herd take place on two consecutive daysusually a Friday and Saturday. On Friday afternoon the cowboys meet at the iconic lighthouse above on the southern end of the island. Photo by Kellie Kvern
There is a fence that separates Assateague island at the border of the two states. The Maryland ponies are managed by the National Park Service. The ponies on the Virginia side belong to and are cared for by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department.
The fire department keeps the herd total to about 150 ponies. The foal auction helps maintain these numbers and while most foals auctioned leave the island for new homes some are designated as buy backs. These foals are auctioned as donations back to the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department and will return to Assateague where they become part of the wild herd. Some of the buyback ponies have captured the highest auction prices. Photo by Kellie Kvern
Summer Pony Penning in Chincoteague
The famed Salt Water Cowboys of Chincoteague are all volunteer firefighters. The fire department cares for their ponies yearround and they run the Pony Penning swim parade carnival and foal auction.
The southern roundup starts Friday afternoon and only takes about two hours. The northern herd is larger and spread out across more remote and rugged terrain. Their roundup starts Saturday morning and can take more than five hours! Photo by Kellie Kvern
The smaller southern herd is brought into a large holding pen in front of a trail parking lot on the beach road. Theres plenty of space to park and find a great