You may be familiar with a book called Misty of Chincoteague.
This true story turned fiction was actually the world’s first official introduction to the small ponies living off the coast of Virginia, on a little island known as Assateague. And that book sparked an international love for the ponies who swam across the channel every year in the month of July.
This is their story.
Shipwrecks and Settlers
There has been a lot of arguments over the origin of the Chincoteague pony, but most evidence turns to a shipwrecked Spanish galleon in the past. Others say that they are descendants of escaped settler’s horses.
In any case, the ponies probably came to the island in the sixteenth or seventeenth century. Being strong little horses and very flashy in color, the nearby settlers decided to try and tame them, maybe sell a few off to bring in more income. Thus, Pony Penning Day (which takes place every July) was born, and still continues to this day.
Saltwater Cowboys
Today, you can go to Chincoteague in July and watch Pony Penning. The Chincoteague Fire Department (AKA, “the Saltwater Cowboys”) maintains the herd and rounds them up in July to sell off the foals, fording the ponies across the Chincoteague channel. All of the money from the auction goes to the department and the ponies. Some of the foals are “buybacks”, meaning that people purchase them so that they can go back to being wild. Other foals are bought to be trained and adopted. There is even an organization that has a contest each year that gives money to kids who want to buy a pony.
Misty of Chincoteague
The famous book written by Marguerite Henry was the world’s official introduction to the Chicoteague ponies. Misty was actually a real pony and you can find her hoofprints in the concrete sidewalk outside of the movie theater.
The real Misty was born on the Beebe Ranch as a captive foal on July 20, 1946. Both the Pied Piper, her sire, and the Phantom, her famous dam, were captive horses. Marguerite Henry came to the island hunting for good story material. When she saw Misty, a weanling at the time, she asked Mr. Beebe if she could buy her and take her back to Illinois. Mr. Beebe was reluctant, but finally sold Misty to Marguerite Henry for $150, on the condition that his grandchildren, Paul and Maureen, would be included in Henry’s book.
Misty was brought back to Henry’s home, and after Henry published the book in 1947, traveled across the US to be shown to fans of the books. She was the only horse to become a member of the American Library Association. A decade after the book was published, Misty was sent back to the island to be bred.
Misty only had three foals in her lifetime: Phantom Wings, Wisp O’ Mist, and Stormy, all sired by a chestnut tobiano named Wings. Phantom Wings was Misty’s only son, a palomino pinto with a wing pattern on one shoulder and a US map on the other. He was born on April 6, 1960. Wisp O’ Mist, nicknamed Little Wisp, was a chestnut filly and was born on March 21, 1961. Both Phantom Wings and Wisp O’ Mist died tragically on the same day in 1964 after they broke into a cattle pasture and ate themselves to death on cattle feed.
Stormy, a chestnut tobiano, was Misty’s last foal and was born during the famous Ash Wenesday storm on March 11, 1962. Her tours with her mother raised enough money for the devasted town of Chincoteague to rebuild.
Interestingly, both Clarence and Paul Beebe died before any of Misty’s foals were born. Paul died at the age of 21 in a car accident and Clarence died two months later, both in 1957. Ida Beebe lived long enough to see Phantom Wing’s birth, but died in October of that year. Maureen, on the other hand, lived to the age of 81 and died in 2019.
As for Misty’s descendants, her lines can be traced throughout the breed. Phantom Wings sired Sandpiper and Wisp had a colt named Cloudy, but all of Misty’s modern descendants come from Stormy. In her thirty-one years of life, Stormy had six foals, one stallion, Thunder, a 1967 palomino pinto, and five mares, Windy (1969, chestnut pinto), Breezy (1972, chestnut pinto), Rainy (1973 solid chestnut), Misty II, (1974 chestnut pinto), and Foggy Mist (1978 chestnut pinto). Seven of Misty’s descendants were donated to the wild herds in 2015 and 2018, so now you can own a direct descendant of Misty.
Your Own Chincoteague Pony?
If you wanted a Chincoteague pony of your very own, you have two options: one, travel to Chincoteague in July and buy one at auction (if you wanted you could even participate in the Feather Fund‘s contest and win the money that they donate to prospective pony owners.
But, most of us can’t afford that, even with the Feather Fund. Luckily, Breyer has produced plenty of Misty models over the years. Not only have they made Misty and Stormy, but they also made Sea Star, baby Misty, the Phantom, Phantom Wings, Misty’s Twilight, Misty II, Black Mist, and Mistys MayDay Twister. So even if you can’t afford your own pony, Breyer has a variety of intriguing Chincoteague pony models.
So that is a brief history of the Chincoteague Pony! If you want more information, check out chincoteague.com. And for more information on Misty (including a list of her living descendants), go to mistysheaven.com.