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Possible Beebe Pony Outcrossings

Long before Misty of Chincoteague made him famous as the lovable Grandpa Beebe, Clarence Beebe owned a considerable number of wild Chincoteague ponies. In 1952, the Suffolk News-Herald reported that Beebe had a herd of 200!

Today, we’re going to explore two possible instances of outcrossing in the Beebe herd. 

Pony management

Let’s start with some extra context.

Nowadays, the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company owns and manages all of the wild ponies, who all live on the Virginia side of Assateague. That wasn’t always the case—historically, wild Chincoteague ponies have lived on Assateague, Chincoteague, and even Wallops Island and were owned by private owners. From time to time, those owners sought to improve their stock and added in horses and ponies from other breeds. 

Beebe kept his herd on Chincoteague, but on Pony Penning Day, all the wild ponies were rounded up and the foals sold, and Beebe’s ponies mingled with the fire company’s and other private owners’ ponies. 

Arabian?

In 1944, an Arabian horse may have spent a breeding season at the Beebe Ranch. 

Humphrey S. Finney was the founder and editor of The Maryland Horse, the publication of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association, for which he served on the board of directors. He went on to work for Fasig-Tipton Company, the notable Thoroughbred auction house that has since sold two Triple Crown winners. 

In November 1943, Finney made a quick trip to Chincoteague Island, where he got a peek at the famous Chincoteague ponies—though, as he noted, most of them were on Assateague and thus out of view. 

Finney spoke with Clarence Beebe "and arranged with him to send down a pure Arabian stallion next spring to try to improve his stock." 

Whether or not the stallion arrived in the spring is a mystery, but it’s a mystery I’m keeping my eye out to solve. 

Welsh

A Welsh stallion that lived on the Beebe Ranch may have passed gray coloration on to his offspring! Gray has not existed in the Chincoteague pony breed in many decades, and it was not a common color in the breed in the 50s or 60s.

In the book Hoofprints in Time by George B. Russell, the book's author met with Ralph Beebe and several other Chincoteaguers shortly after the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962, and he mentions that "a fine Welsh stud" on Beebe Ranch was saved from the storm.

In the 1980 book Wonders of Ponies by Sigmund A. Lavine and Casey Brigid, the authors directly connect the color and the outcrossing: “An infusion of Welsh blood led to the ponies’ becoming smaller and, in addition, gave them dapple-gray coats.” 

In 1952, a man named Ehrman B. Mitchell bought two gray pony mares from Clarence Beebe and brought them home to Beaufort Farms in Pennsylvania. He named the two ponies Beaufort Blue Bell and Beaufort Misty. You can learn more about them in this blog post. 

Beaufort Blue Bell and Beaufort Misty

Beaufort Blue Bell stood 12.2, and it appears that Beaufort Misty was of a similar size. At the time, this was not a particularly small size for a Chincoteague pony; Claire Taylor’s famous Baby was a little over 12 hands herself.

Beaufort Blue Bell

I believe that it’s highly likely that the two Beaufort ponies born on the Beebe Ranch were by the Welsh stallion Russell mentioned!

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