April 26, 2023 Chincoteague Pony Redux

[To immediately understand the title, scroll down to the bold print, then read the last two paragraphs]

When the kids were 8 and 11 respectively, our family took the only vacation we ever did in the US which had nothing whatever to do with family. The Ex held this unwavering belief that all Americans should visit the nation’s capital at least once in their lives. We went in August, during the time frame that purposely coincided with Jane’s desire to see the pony swim in Chincoteague, Virginia.

Once a year, wild ponies which live on the coastal island of Assateague would be herded up and forced to swim the narrow channel to an auction site in Chincoteague where they would be sold at auction. This is done to thin the herd, the constantly growing population of which could not be sustained on the island. This practice started in the 1920s and is a wildly popular event.

How did these ponies come to live on Assateague? Two legends tell the unknown origin story: either the Chincoteague ponies descend from Spanish horses shipwrecked off the Virginia coast on their way to Peru in the 16th century, or they descended from horses left on the island by pirates.

They are no longer horses, if they ever were, as they stand between 12 and 13 hands, while only equines over 14 hands are considered horses. For the uninitiated reader, a “hand” is 4 inches. So, these ponies are about 52” or 4.3 feet while my horse Greyson is nearly 16 hands, 64” or 5.3 feet. Unfortunately, it seems that whenever I look for a new horse, the best ones are too tall, but I get them anyway because they are the best ones.

Back to the family vacation. Washington was exceptionally hot and muggy. We decided to take a break from the misery of sightseeing and rented a boat to go out onto Chesapeake Bay. We went fast for the breeze which cooled us, and this boat ride was the best thing we did in DC. I drove the boat once, and just before gunning the motor I yelled, “Hang onto your hats!” To my surprise and horror, my son Edward was standing while he literally grabbed his hat and promptly fell. Poor kid.

He was also beset with a bad, day-long migraine while we were in Chincoteague. Edward was fine on the day of the swim and all of us were very excited. At least half or more of the spectators were in boats, lined up along the watery path of the ponies’ swim. We did the same. The swim is in the early morning and to get a good spot, we rose nearly at dawn. Jane was practically jumping out of her skin.

The swim was an amazing sight. While most of the ponies were adults, there were also colts. All those cute little heads just above the water as they swam made quite an impression, as did the Salt Water Cowboys who had rounded up the ponies the day before and escorted them across the channel and beyond to the auction area. The swim for each pony did not take very long, maybe about 30 minutes, but there were so many that had been rounded up that the entire event lasted perhaps two hours or more. This was decades ago, so please forgive any misstatement of fact here.

The auction started in late afternoon/early evening. Jane and I went by ourselves. It was so fun to look at all the ponies as they were paraded around the area for all to see. Neither of us had ever been to an auction before, so everything about it was fascinating. Prices for each pony sold were rather high.

As I have said before, the Ex has a creative bent. In this case, though, we all joined in to create this song on the drive back home. It was to be sung to the music of a well-known song, but now I cannot remember which one. I truly felt that if we ever recorded it, it would sell like hotcakes back at Chincoteague.

Ballad of Medicine Head

From the west the family came, by plane and train,

To the island that bore the ponies’ name.

Herded and corralled on Assateague,

The ponies waited for their swim to Chincoteague.

(“Rawhide whip”)

Chincoteague Pony! The pony that almost was.

Chincoteague Pony! The pony that almost was.

Pony, Pony, Pony!!

Pony, Pony, Pony!!

Across the channel ponies swam with all their might

To where family waited since early morning’s light.

Down Bay Street up Main to the Salt Water Cowboys’ cry,

The ponies paraded under a hot high noon sky.

(“Do not forsake me oh my darling”)

Chincoteague Pony! The pony that almost was.

Chincoteague Pony! The pony that almost was.

Pony, Pony, Pony!!

Pony, Pony, Pony!!

At the auction people bid and Mom bid just for fun,

Never thinking that her bid would be the one.

A tiny colt came in, a cut upon his head

With the auction hammer’s fall

Mom felt like Lucy Ball

(Theme from “I Love Lucy’)

Chincoteague Pony! The pony that almost was.

Chincoteague Pony! The pony that almost was.

Pony, Pony, Pony!!

Pony, Pony, Pony!!

To the firemen the family turned with their mistake,

But back to Assateague only fillies would they take.

And then a gentle man, Virgil Watson III,

Said he’d take the pony back home to “Virgini”

(“Carry me back to old Virginia”)

Chincoteague Pony! The pony that almost was.

Chincoteague Pony! The pony that almost was.

Pony, Pony, Pony!!

Pony, Pony, Pony!!

Back home the family went by train and plane,

With the hope to see the pony again.

Then the family made this solemn vow:

To return each year to pony swim somehow.

(“Beverly Hillbillies”)

Chincoteague Pony! The pony that almost was.

Chincoteague Pony! The pony that almost was.

Pony, Pony, Pony!!

Pony, Pony, Pony!! (“Rawhide whip”)

Pony, Pony, Pony!! (“Rawhide whip”)

END

Yesterday, one of the wildlife preservation groups to which I have donated for years held an art auction. I have been wanting to exchange the cheap print in the downstairs bath for years with something real, so this event was of extreme interest to me.

Chincoteague Pony Syndrome came upon me, without remembering the golden rule of auctions: a bid is a bid, and you cannot get out of it. Forgetting that rule, and thinking that there would be other bidders for the items I was interested in, I placed the minimum bid on 5 pieces. Alas! There were none, and I ended up with 4 of the 5 getting charged to my credit card. At least this time, the “pony” mistakenly purchased can be shipped!