A Real Life Misty of Chincoteague Pony Tale

eMy Story Misty of ChincoteagueA Real Life Clipper and Lida with the book that started it all – “Misty of Chincoteague” by Marguerite Henry. Photo by Melanie Eckert By Lida Bard mothers or played with their friends. That night I began asking my father for a pony. “We went over I first read Marguerite Henry’s beloved book Misty of this before we even left the house, no more ponies,” he told me. ChincoteaguePony when I was Talefive. I then asked my father if he would I begged and tried to make all sorts of deals with him, saying I’d take me to see the famous swimming ponies and he said yes. He keep my room clean and get straight A’s in school were the two I didn’t take me until I was 16, though, and by that point I’d started repeated the most. He remained firm in his answer. riding and had two ponies and my event horse. Over the next few days we watched ponies, played mini golf, This was certainly a trip I’d been looking forward to for a very watched ponies, looked through the local shops, watched ponies, long time, 11 years to be exact. As the last week of July 2007 visited the Pony Centre and watched ponies some more. I couldn’t came closer I researched online to find out all I could about what take my eyes off of all of those little pinto foals that were frolicking to expect. We’d booked our hotel reservation a year in advance and playing. I kept working on my dad. My mom was trying to help to make sure that we would have a place to stay during the one me strategize how to change his mind. He went from a straight out week of the year that Chincoteague Island attracts 40,000 or more “no” that first day to “well if we got one, which one’s do you like?” people. Upon departing for our family vacation my dad made sure to “ok, which one do you want?” I had finally worn him down! to inform me we were not coming home with a pony. I agreed While the majority of the ponies remained penned up on because I didn’t want the trip to begin with tension. Assateague until the morning of the swim, a few mothers and It’s probably almost seven hours from New Jersey to foals were trailered across the causeway to Chincoteague and Chincoteague Island. When we arrived we checked into our hotel put in a pen on the carnival grounds where the other ponies would room and decided to cross the causeway onto Assateague Island soon join them. The reason for this was because these foals were to see if we could find the ponies. We’d been told that some were even younger than the rest, about a month old, maybe less. The already penned up, ready and waiting for the swim in several Salt Water Cowboys, who run the week, were concerned for these days. The ponies were not hard to find. The road was lined with few foals’ safety and weren’t sure they would survive the swim. It cars and my parents and I piled out and walked to the fenced-in was here that I first saw the pony that would become mine. enclosure. Pony Number 98B The First Sight of Ponies He was grazing next to his mother, a large bay pony mare. He My first thought was that these ponies were beautiful. They was a bay pinto with a backwards quarter moon on his forehead, were every color - pintos, bays, chestnuts, buckskins, palominos, and had four white stockings. He was gorgeous. He made the top some even looked like Misty and it was these that drew in the of my list not only because of his looks but because we were pretty most attention because of the speculation that they may be her confident he’d grow up to be a large pony that I’d be able to ride descendants. My parents and I were shocked to see how mellow and enjoy. We were told by other onlookers who had made the the ponies were. There were probably 70 or 80 ponies in the yearly pilgrimage to Chincoteague before that the mare’s name pen and most were just grazing. The stallions watched over their was Periwinkle and that her stallion was Billy Ray; but that no mares and the foals, practically newborns, either clung to their Continued on page 54 52 SIDELINES OCTOBER 2012 FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE.

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