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3 Midcentury Examples of Welsh Outcrosses in Off-Island Chincoteague Ponies

Welsh ponies dramatically rose in popularity around the 1950s, with many ponies imported to America from Wales to meet demand. Some pony breeders around this time decided to breed Welsh-Chincoteague crosses—in this blog post, we’ll look at three cases of this! 

Bayside Farms

Bayside Farms of Berlin, Maryland focused on what they described as "the development of a superior type Chincoteague pony." 

They wanted a large children's pony, and the thought was that Welsh blood would add refinement to the "thriftiness, hardiness, and stature" of the Chincoteague. They felt that their 3/4 Welsh, 1/4 Chincoteague crosses achieved their ideal. 

A pony they produced, Bayside Prince Charming, played the part of Watch-Eyes in the 1961 Misty movie.

Bayside Prince Charming, Welsh/Chincoteague cross. 

Bayside Farms started breeding in 1952, crossing their Chincoteague mares with Welsh stallion Farnley Morning Star. They soon purchased Farnley Sun Star and began breeding him as well, though they sold him  in 1959. 
Farnley Morning Star, Welsh.

The farm also started breeding prurebred Welshes, importing four mares with foals at their sides from Wales in 1957. 

By 1959, they had 42 Chincoteague and Welsh-Chincoteague crosses and expected 26 foals! That year, the farm sold all manner of Chincoteague-Welsh crosses—½ Chincoteague and ½ Welsh, ¼ Chincoteague and ¾ Welsh, ¾ Chincoteague and ¼ Welsh. Many of them were pintos, and weanlings sold for $100-150.

According to Ehrman B. Mitchell, Bayside Farms brought some ponies to sell at Pony Penning sometime in the mid 50s. 

Bayside showed their Welshes and crossbreds, placing among ponies from more established breeders in non-riding classes. Bayside Trailblazer was one of their crosses, and she took third in the "Small yearling crossbred colt or filly" class at the Maryland Pony Breeders' Yearling Show in 1961.

Despite being in the horse business for many years and breeding upwards of 25 ponies a year, 1959 was Bayside Farms’ first show season. This struck me as strange, so I did some digging on the owners of the farm. 

Bayside Farms was owned by Thomas B. McCabe (1893-1982) and wife Jeannette. McCabe served as the chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1948-1951 under Harry Truman, and he was the president and CEO of Scott Paper Company—yes, the toilet paper company—for almost 40 years. 

McCabe actually played a part in the formation of the Assateague Island National Seashore as we know it.

By the 1960s, McCabe owned 671 acres on the Maryland side of Assateague. Here, he had a beach house and boat house, and he was not very enthusiastic about the National Park Service's desire to buy him out to create the park we know today. The NPS bought the land in 1969, but McCabe retained occupancy rights until 1979. 

McCabe also donated quite a bit of money to the Republican Party. During his reelection campaign in 1972, President Richard Nixon landed by helicopter on Assateague Island to spend a weekend at McCabe's beach house, possibly making him the most high-profile visitor to Assateague Island. 

Beaufort Farms

Ehrman B. Mitchell of Beaufort Farms founded the Beaufort Hunt near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1929—the hunt is still operating today. By 1952, he had retired as huntmaster and bought two bay Chincoteagues at Pony Penning, plus two gray fillies from Clarence Beebe. Mitchell refers to "the Pony Penning Stallion" he raised from a foal, so one of the bays was likely a colt. 

“[Chincoteague ponies] jump readily and are amenable to training for cow ponies as well. We use them to teach children to ride, which is an indication of their patience and adaptability,” Mitchell wrote. 

Below is a photo of one of Beaufort Farms' gray Chincoteague ponies, Beaufort Blue Bell—it's reasonable to assume this is one of the fillies Mitchell bought from Beebe. She bears some resemblance to a Welsh cross herself, which makes me wonder if Beebe also had a Welsh or Welsh cross in his herd. 

Beaufort Blue Bell, Chincoteague. She stood 12.2hh.

The other gray pony Mitchell bought from Beebe was Beaufort Misty. In addition to being a broodmare, Beaufort Misty was broke to ride, and she won the pony under saddle class at the 25th Anniversary Show of the Harrisburg Horse Show Association in 1956.

Beaufort Blue Belle and Beaufort Misty, Chincoteagues.

Mitchell bred his Welsh stallion Miles River Cymro Bach to the Chincoteague mares, producing several half-Chincoteagues. Miles River Cymro Bach was by Severn Chief, who we will learn about more in the next section. 

Beaufort Misty was bred to Miles River Cymro Bach, producing a half Chincoteague, half Welsh named Once Again that Mitchell used as a stud. 

Once Again, Chincoteague/Welsh cross. 12hh.

Mitchell also bred his "Pony Penning Stallion" to a 7/8 thoroughbred mare. The 14.3hh crossbred was born in 1956 and was named Leap Year. 

Leap Year, Chincoteague/thoroughbred cross.

Ponies for Children and Louise Hollyday 

Louise “Weesie” Este Hollyday (1927-2019) was a notable figure in the Maryland equestrian scene. A founder of the Maryland Pony Breeders’ Association, in 1957, she started an organization called Ponies for Children which taught horsemanship to kids under the age of 12. She taught children for 59 years! 

Hollyday used two Chincoteague ponies in Ponies for Children, one of which was Black Magic. 

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Black Magic showed in the pony hunters and large pony jumpers and was occasionally ridden by Hollyday’s sister Virginia. 

In 1950, Hollyday bought a Welsh stallion named Severn Chief from Mrs. Charles Iliff of Severn Oaks in Maryland, a top producer of Welsh ponies. Iliff also has a Chincoteague connection—before Iliff imported her first Welsh ponies in 1948, she had a Chincoteague pony in addition to some Shetlands.

Hollyday and Severn Chief, Welsh.

In 1956, Black Magic foaled a chestnut half Arabian colt named Cock Robin and was bred back to Severn Chief. Cock Robin was sold as a two-year-old. 

Unfortunately, in 1959 Black Magic suffered from a suspensory injury and could no longer participate in Hollyday’s lesson program. 

Also in 1959, Hollyday also had for sale Copper Coin, a two year old half-Chincoteague flaxen chestnut mare by a part-Welsh stallion.

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