The feel-good and joy has not worn off from the 100th annual wild pony swim, which took place the last week of July. Perhaps you caught some of my early impressions of the centennial Pony Penning Week in this post: 100th Chincoteague Pony Swim Highlights Part 1. So much happened that week I had to break down my writing into two manageable chunks for your reading pleasure! And let this be a sign that if you’ve EVER thought about going to Chincoteague to see the wild pony swim, YOU MUST!

In my last post, I shared pictures of the amazing Chincoteague Pony Drill Team from their annual open house. There I reconnected with my friends Amanda and Rebekah of the International Chincoteague Pony Association and Registry and met—for the first time—Alyssa of Discover the Horse. (She’s someone you’ll definitely want to follow).

Alyssa’s a YouTuber with huge fan base, and her life’s quest is to ride all the breeds in the horse world and document them to share with fellow horse lovers. So far she’s on breed number 150! She attended the centennial celebration in order to get to know and ride a Chincoteague Pony!

In the photo above, Amanda is holding Misty’s Audra Rain, a Misty of Chincoteague descendant. I’m peering over her crest, and Rebekah is on the far right. Alyssa of Discover the Horse is kneeling.

Pony Penning Week = Summer Horse Camp Vibes

Chincoteague Island during Pony Penning Week is like summer camp for horse lovers. You can’t help but meet new people and make new friends who are also passionate about ponies! I guarantee the things to do and places to go are all fine, but it’s the people you meet that will make an impression on you.

This time around, I met up with a new pony pal from the DC area. She and I are working together on a top-secret project, which requires illustrations of darling foals. Stay tuned for the reveal in early 2026!

One of the best events of the week was attending the Fireman’s Carnival. There are several vintage rides, including a glimmering carousel of all-white horses. The ride is really meant for kids, and there was a sign to the effect of kids only. Well, my friend Margo (you can read about our meet cute on a boat watching ponies swim on page 194 of Marguerite, Misty and Me—my Marguerite Henry fangirl memoir) embraces a spirit of bold adventure and her winsome Minnesota-nice demeanor affords her opportunities to experience the joys of life that the rest of us might overlook. Like riding an antique merry-go-round with ivory steeds.

Even though the ride is for kids, Margo waltzed up to the ticket taker, had a brief conversation and then nodded to the eight of us kids-at heart-and we gleefully selected our steeds. Next, we whirled round and round, up and down on our mare-glare-faced charges. I giggled the whole time. One of the members of our party was in her eighties, and she rode as well as any youth.

One Girl’s Chincoteague Pony Dream Fulfilled

Speaking of youth, one of the most heart-warming experiences I had was meeting a freshman from the Charlottesville area who bid on and won her dream Chincoteague filly. We connected at a book signing, and later in the week she had her mother text me an invitation to go see her new filly and have lunch. You can see the darling chestnut pinto pony below in one of the foal pens at the carnival grounds.

I was so curious out of 100 foals to choose from, how my new young friend had decided on this filly. When I’ve been to the auctions, each foals seems cuter and more desirable than the last. In previous years I’ve sat at the auction thinking, “Oh, if I were bidding, I’d want that bay foal.” And then the next foal was a buckskin or flashy chestnut and I’d think, “Wait, I would take that one.” Then a palomino pinto like Misty would enter the pen and I’d revise my previous choices. But really, they are all so sweet–I wondered how to decide.

The new pony owner friend shared she wanted a pony that would be on the taller side and be suitable for eventing. She knew the sire and (obviously) dam of this pony and wanted those attributes in her new best friend. Her astute logic in pony selection impressed me.

A few days into their horse-and-girl partnership, her mom texted, “They are the best thing ever to have happened to each other!” She sent over a few photos and videos. The pony looks darling in her tiny leather halter. She obeys voice commands for backing up, and will even wait for a verbal cue before she digs into her grain bucket!

Marguerite, Misty and Me Author Talks

A highlight for me is sharing stories about the life and writings of Marguerite Henry. At the Museum of Chincoteague Island, we had a full house and Marguerite’s great-great niece attended, sharing a few family photos and a postcard Marguerite wrote with me.

At the Chincoteague Island Library, I presented a talk titled “Marguerite Henry: the Midwestern Girl Who Longed for a Pony.” We had another full house. Following the event, I walked down the block to Sundial Books, a fabulous mom-and-pop bookshop for a book signing. What was supposed to last one hour actually lasted three, as there were so many Marguerite and Misty fans eager for books!

Notice all the seashells that line the landscaping bed in the above photo. Don’t you love that Misty window art? (To get a quick glimpse of the interior, read 100th Chincoteague Pony Swim Highlights Part 1.)

When you take your special trip to the island, be sure to visit the museum. The artifacts and local lore will wow you. You also need to check out the newly-opened Beebe Ranch house where Misty weathered the storm from the story Stormy, Misty’s Foal.

Summer Camp Vibes Continued

While enjoying a sweet treat at Island Creamery, I bumped into Kendy Allen (founder of the Chincoteague Pony Drill Team and Misty bloodline preservationist) who was at a picnic table with Amanda (of the website Misty’s Heaven and the Chincoteague pony registry). That small-town charm of seeing people you know while out and about is something I don’t experience in my everyday life.

As the three of us chatted, an exuberant Marguerite Henry fan named Beth happened upon us. When she realized Kendy and I were authors of books about the ponies and Marguerite Henry, she enthusiastically requested an impromptu book signing, divulging that she is a teacher.

In 2007, she created the I Love Chincoteague Ponies Facebook Group, even though she had yet to see the wild pony swim. That act speaks volumes about the power of a story like Misty of Chincoteague, a story so infused with pony magic, it lives on and still affects people almost 80 years after its publication.

Friday Swim Back

Anyone who’s familiar with the Chincoteague Ponies knows about the big swim from Assateague to Chincoteague, but did you know there’s a lesser celebrated pony swim back to Assateague? Instead of hopping on a kayak or boat, I opted to watch the return crossing from land (with several hundred other pony seekers).

To get to the viewing spot, I had to cross a mucky, marshy area on the shore. And I had a tree-obstructed view, so I didn’t see the ponies enter the water, but caught them on video once they had paddled out quite a distance. Notice the iconic lighthouse on the far left, the escort boats that travel alongside the ponies and all the kayakers positioned to track the ponies as they step ashore in freedom once again.

Walking back to the car, I had to snap a photo of the pony prints in the marsh mud. If you decide to take your own pony-watching adventure, don’t wear flip-flops or Crocs, as you will end up losing them to the thick mire. lol But perhaps that is just the perfect excuse to extend a Chincoteague stay–“I left my shoe/heart/dreams on the island.”

Thank you for reading Part 2 and tally ho! I hope you plan to make the trip next year—you will have a blast.

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