"She's just a piece of wind and sky." Grandpa Beebe, Misty of Chincoteague
I have three daughters. And I am a girl, myself. And if there is one thing I know...girls LOVE horses! It may not be a love affair that lasts a lifetime, but for at least a few years in their youth, girls would love nothing more than to own and ride a horse of their own. And brush it's mane. And braid it. And curl its tail. And paint its hooves pretty colors. And put pretty clothes on it. Horses, to a young girl, is a type of four-footed Barbie...with twice the hair to style!
As girls grow up and their pony interests become keen, well-meaning parents (usually mothers) introduce the works of Marguerite Henry to their daughters. Henry wrote 59 books based on true stories of horses from all over the world, but the one that most girls start with is Misty of Chincoteague.
Misty is the foal of Phantom, both of who make the swim from Assateague Island in Virginia/Maryland to Chincoteague Island in Virginia. The Beebe children are determined to buy a pony at auction and raise it. It is every girls first foray into the addiction that is horses.
For the next couple of years, at least, after reading the book, young ladies will read 58 more works by Henry, buy enough Breyer Horses to start her own virtual horse farm, and beg for horse riding lessons. And if you cave on that, heaven help you!
I read the Henry books when I was a girl, and while I no longer have a desire to own a horse, I still enjoy riding them, when I get the chance. But more than riding a domesticated horse, seeing a pony in the wild, the way Henry described, is still something I greatly desire to see. And that is why my Dream Destination today (and always) is:
The Pony Swim from Assateague Island to Chincoteague Island
The ponies on Assateague Island are believed to descend from ponies that escaped a shipwreck that is believed to have occurred in 1750. Since then, herds of "beach ponies" have been present on the island. They are wild, which means no riding or hair styling for them.
However, in 1925, the sorely inadequate Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department held a festival as a fund raiser during the annual swim and were able to modernize their equipment for the department with the money they raised. Beginning in 1947, the Fire Department on the island began buying and building its own herd. The fire department, to this day, owns the herd that is swum across the channel and receives the proceeds from the auction of the foals on Chincoteague.
Besides the Pony Swim, Chincoteague also offers other activities. Most of these involve tours of the island...by foot, by bike or by boat. I am just thinking there is one mode of transportation that is missing from this list...by HORSE. Perhaps it is only the fire fighters who are allowed to capitalize on the horses' fame, but it sure seems like it is a natural fit to have horse tours of the island. And profitable. I do not believe that most visitors to Chincoteague come for the Easter Decoy and Art Festival. There is a reason that this...
is just not going to drum up as much interest or dollars as this...
I am no rocket scientist, but it seems to me that when an island of 3,000 people sees 40,000 more people every year for a three day event, it might be time to realize that the horses are a big deal. Of those 40,000 people, probably 40,000 of them are there for the ponies and horse related activities. They do offer pony rides in an enclosed pen and they have Pony Day Camps, where kids can do everything with a real, live Chincoteague pony...except ride one. I do not understand the sacred status of the beach pony. They are hardy animals! They live off sea grass and semi-fresh pond water and swim the ocean yearly with their babies. They can surely handle a 70 pound child for an hour or two. And if the kids can ride, then they just need to have horses available for the adults to accompany them and voila! Instant two hour, memory-making, trek for the tourists and year round profitable business for the locals!!
There are a couple of things to keep in mind if you do go to Chincoteague:
Beware Post Pony Depression
As I said, I would be content to see these gorgeous beach ponies swim the channel and then see them at auction. Not all people are content with that, so there are other pony offerings on Chincoteague. Visitors can go to the Pony Show and watch the Chincoteague Pony Drill Team strut their stuff. I just hope I can hear them over the little girls in the audience who are crying because they can't ride "Misty". On a lighter note, one of the other highlights of Chincoteague according to their website is Island Creamery, where they hand make ice cream. Perhaps that is the real money maker. The bribe offered all disappointed children on the island.
Deceptive Advertising
If you sign up to ride the Pony Express, be advised...there are no horses involved in this tour. It is advertised as a trolley that tours the island, but it is not even a trolley. No horse, no horse-drawn trolley (even Disney has THAT and they don't make a livelihood off horses!), no TROLLEY! It's a bus. That looks like a trolley.
But, all of the crying and bribery and disappointment and deceptive advertising isn't going to stand in my way. I still have the memory of Misty too strongly in my heart to pass up an opportunity to see any of her 80 remaining relatives swim the channel. I just want to be able to go before my daughters are out of my house and miss the opportunity to realize this dream with me. After all, we are just horse-loving little girls at heart when it comes to the Ponies of Chincoteague.
So if you have girls...and boys (cuz I am making my boys come along)...don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime chance to make their dream to be a part of an incredible story come true. And as the Saltwater Cowboys on Chincoteague would say (I think they would say it. I would say it if I was a Saltwater Cowboy), I
Gotta Mosey.
