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Shetland Ponies Running Wild? Confirmation of Shetland Outcrossing in the Chincoteague Pony Breed

It’s often been said that the Chincoteague breed’s beloved pinto coloring originated when Shetland was introduced to the wild herd, but mentions of Shetland outcrossing have been vague. I’ve found confirmation that at least one Shetland pony was released into the wild: in the early 20th century, Edward P. Timmons introduced Shetland to his wild Chincoteague ponies.

Background: Early 20th century pony management

Let’s back up and talk about herd management at the time–in the early 1900s, wild Chincoteague ponies were managed much differently than they are today. Nowadays, the wild herd lives on Assateague island and are owned and managed by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department, but back then, the wild ponies lived on Assateague, Chincoteague, and Wallops Islands and were owned by individuals on Chincoteague. 

During the annual Pony Penning event, the Chincoteaguers came together to round up everyone’s ponies and sell the offspring for a profit. To keep track of whose ponies belonged to who, the ponies were branded with their owner’s brands and it was understood that foals belonged to their dam’s owners. 

Photo from a 1910 artice in Bit and Spur. Note the ponies' color. 


Timmons and his ponies

Edward P. Timmons was one such owner of wild Chincoteague ponies. Any mentions of outcrossing always pique my interest, so when I stumbled upon this sentence in a July 1912 edition of The Marylander Herald, I immediately wanted to learn more: “The penning this year will include the ponies from Chincoteague, Assateague, Wallops, and a large number of Shetlands of E.P. Timmons.”

Originally from Chincoteague, Timmons was a wholesale seafood dealer in Philadelphia. Though it appears he moved to Philadelphia around 1890, he made frequent trips to Chincoteague and in addition to his involvement in the seafood business, he maintained livestock–cattle and ponies–on the island. 

Ad in Camp Dix News, August 15, 1919. 

Timmons was more than an oyster dealer; he was quite interested in horses. In 1890, he was secretary for a project to establish a “Gentlemen’s Driving Park” on Chincoteague, and he was involved in the trade of at least one “fast trotting colt.” That same year, he and a man named John Hill purchased ponies from Nevada, which they shipped to Chincoteague to be sold for $60-80, and a few years later in 1888 Timmons bought “a drove of Mexican ponies” with the intent to raise and sell even more ponies.

A 1914 article listed Timmons as among the five men who owned the largest numbers of Chincoteague ponies. 

Timmons kept at least some of his ponies on Pope Island, which is located within swimming distance of Assateague. Most of Pope Island is north of the Maryland border.

via Google Maps

Most importantly, he also kept Shetland ponies, many of which he put for sale at 1912’s Pony Penning festivities. Two years later, however, he wanted to get out of the pony business, and “liquidat[ed] his extensive herd of ponies” during Pony Penning. 

The August 10, 1920 edition of The Daily Banner, the newspaper of Cambridge, Maryland, confirms that at least one of these ponies interbred with Timmons’ herd of wild ponies: “About 20 years ago [around 1900] Ned Timmons brought a Shetland pony. The Shetland addition to the stock made the offspring smaller in size but more healthy.” 

Timmons may have sold off his Shetland ponies, but it’s possible that Shetland genetics still live on. 

The bigger picture

From the 1800s into the early 1900s, newspaper articles and other sources state that Chincoteague ponies came in solid colors, no pinto to be seen. But by 1924, when the footage below was recorded, a number of wild pinto Chincoteague ponies existed. 

Many have said that the Shetland introduction led to the widespread pinto coloration in the breed, like Dr. Ronald P. Keiper, author of The Assateague Ponies.

This information about Timmons and his ponies could connect Shetlands to the wild Chincoteague ponies around the right time frame for a few Shetland crosses to grow up, pass their pinto genes along, and create the plethora of pintos we see in the 1924 footage. 

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