THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 24, 1996 TAG: 9607240002
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 44 lines
Virginia's saltwater cowboys will take to the water today to swim the wild ponies of Assateague to Chincoteague for the annual pony penning.
On hand will be a crowd of about 50,000 tourists - with some of these visitors traveling from as far away as Japan - to see the ponies swim 400 yards across the Assateague Channel. Tourists have jammed the Delmarva Peninsula for the event and hotels are booked solid from Dover, Del., to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
The pony penning, in its 71st year, is critical to the economic life of the Eastern Shore and is one of the biggest tourist events in the state. The penning and the two-weeks-long festival that surrounds it, is the lifeblood of the the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company. The fire company owns the ponies and keeps the proceeds from the pony auction. Last year the auction alone raised about $70,000.
Most of the fascination with Chincoteague's pony penning can be traced to one little book - Misty of Chincoteague, by Marguerite Henry - which has enchanted people the world over since it was published in 1947.
This year is a special one for fans of the classic children's story about the mysterious wild ponies. This summer would mark the 50th birthday of the Misty, beloved by children the world over. The real Misty died in 1972.
While animal-rights activists will undoubtedly let loose with their annual howl of protest, the pony penning is vital to the health of Assateague's herd of hearty ponies. All of the ponies are examined by veterinarians during the penning - as they are throughout the year. Selected members of the herd will be auctioned on Thursday to keep the numbers on Assateague constant. Assateague Island is small and can support only about 150 ponies. If the herd is allowed to grow larger, starvation would surely set in.
There is no other event quite like the pony penning. The Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce reports that last year German, French and Japanese television broadcast the pony penning live. This year inquiries about the event have come from far-flung corners of the world: Iran, South Africa, Switzerland and Guyana.
What started in 1925 as a small pony swim, has ballooned into a major tourist attraction. In the process, the Assateague herd has been well-tended and the isolated Eastern Shore has gotten its share of tourist dollars. That's a winning combination. by CNB