Chincoteague Pony History has moved!

Hi folks! I've created a fancy new website for this project. You can find many more articles and blog posts here: Chincoteague Pony History.

I will no longer update this blog and will be focusing on the website!

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Surfer Dude: The Pony, the Myth, the Legend

For well over a hundred years, people have argued over the true origins of the Chincoteague ponies, so it's appropriate that the origins of the most famous wild pony are not completely known. The wild Chincoteague pony stallion Surfer Dude captured the hearts of thousands with his distinctive looks: his deep chocolate-brown coloring, his blonde mane, his partial blue eye, and the spot of gray below his '92 hip brand. Surfer Dude in 2010. Photo by Sarah Boudreau. Surfer Dude was born in 1992. The CVFC started freezebranding with the year of the pony's birth in 1991, which allowed for easier recognition and record-keeping. Two years after Surfer Dude was born, the Chincoteague Pony Association was formed. The CPA was organized by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department, and it was the primary pony registry for many years, keeping track of which foals were born to which parents. It is difficult to verify information on many of the ponies born before the CPA, because ...

Sadie Bell: Trotting Horse, Pride of the Eastern Shore… Chincoteague Pony?

On March 27, 1877, the front page of Norfolk, Virginia’s The Public Ledger declared: “A trotting race is to come off at Campostella race-course on the 5th of April between Mr. Daniel Steever’s Maryland horse Carrollton and Sadie Bell, the famous Chincoteague pony, owned on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.” Sadie Bell Sadie Bell was a trotting legend from Accomack County, Virginia who astounded crowds with her speed. The mare was reported to be about 15hh and was a light chestnut color. She had two back stockings that went halfway to her hocks, and she did not pace. Media at the time often called her a Chincoteague pony. Let’s explore Sadie Bell’s life and lineage and celebrate a remarkable racehorse of dubious origin. Sadie Bell’s breeding Was Sadie Bell born a wild pony on Chincoteague? No, but she possibly had Chincoteague blood through her mother’s side, with emphasis on the possibly . In newspapers, Sadie Bell was frequently referred to as a Chincoteague pony, ...

Fact or Fiction? Four Chincoteague Pony Tall Tales from History

As an amateur Chincoteague pony historian, I’ve combed through a ton of old newspaper articles, book chapters, and magazine stories. Lots of people speculate on the origin of the breed—did pirates leave their ponies on Assateague? Is the Spanish galleon shipwreck a true story? Here are four anecdotes about the breed that made me say, “Wait, what???” Enjoy! 1. Fish-eating ponies? This 1915 article in The Evening Star gets more wrong than it does right. “There was at one time a peculiar breed of ponies to be found on the coast of the Carolinas. They were known as “Chincoteague marsh” ponies. They were, of course, in a very wild state, and it is claimed that they subsisted on crabs and fish. This probably would render their flesh unfit for food.” The writer is confusing the Chincoteague pony and the marsh tacky , which is a very special breed of Colonial Spanish Horse from South Carolina that even has its own unique gait, the “swamp fox trot.” There are only about 400 ma...

Chincoteague Pony Breed History

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