Uncovering Chincoteague Pony History with Sarah Boudreau

Sarah Boudreau, founder of the website Chincoteague Pony History, is an ed tech marketer by day and Chincoteague Pony historian 24/7. Sarah shares her breed knowledge and passion for the herd made famous in Marguerite Henry’s Misty of Chincoteague on her blog, Facebook and Instagram accounts. By following Chincoteague Pony History, I’ve recently learned:

• • the legend of George Washington owning/riding a Chincoteague Pony (spoiler alert: not likely)

• • the tale of Circuit Breaker, a bay Mustang stallion released onto Assateague Island to intermingle with the wild Chincoteague Pony mares

• • and the heart-warming story of Icy, a mare who almost froze to death in the wild, but was saved by the Saltwater Cowboys. She gave birth to a colt in the firehouse. They named him Icicle. Fitting. 

Recently I interviewed Sarah about the ponies and their stories on the Horse Girl Book Club Instagram account. Watch the replay at THIS LINK! I believe our conversation could have gone on for hours, but I tried to show restraint. lol!

In case you missed it, my book Marguerite, Misty and Me was selected for the spring @HorseGirlBookClub read. Come join the fun June 5 at 4 PM Central as we’ll have a live author talk over on Instagram–go to the Horse Girl Book Club account.

From Misty Reading to Spreadsheet Keeping

As you might have imagined, Sarah grew up reading and loving Marguerite Henry books, especially Misty of Chincoteague. When Sarah was around eight, her Aunt Kim, an all-around horseperson, said, “Did you know it’s real?” An island adventure was planned, and aunt and niece traveled to Chincoteague to see the real ponies they had read about in Marguerite’s classic stories.

That first trip became an annual pilgrimage. Over time, Sarah learned the names of all the wild Chincoteague Ponies, befriended island locals, and kept records of stallions, mares and foals in elaborate folders on her computer–a hobby that was hidden from her high school friends. During their trips Sarah’s aunt acquired three Chincoteague Ponies which have been trained to drive.

Kim Porter’s Chincoteague Ponies: Thunder and Surfer Girl.

“I love Chincoteague Ponies so darn much I had to do more research. I’ve been going to Pony Penning every year since 2004. I’ve done this over half of my life,” Sarah said. She was so immersed in the island pony subculture from all her visits to see the wild herd, that Sarah became somewhat of a recognizable authority. When she finally convinced her parents to join her to visit the island for their first time, her dad was surprised and got a kick out of the fact that people on the island recognized her and knew her name.

See more of Sarah’s art at Chincomaniac on Etsy. (affiliate link)

As life marched on, college and grad school studies took up more time and Sarah had less time for her spreadsheet work tracking wild ponies. Meanwhile a couple who had moved to Chincoteague began taking pictures, hiking Assateague Island almost daily, and documenting the wild herd. The advent of social media made it easier for them to share the pony love. Sarah pivoted her efforts by creating a website that recorded stories and lore surrounding the breed. She got inspired to conduct archival research. In addition, she launched an Esty store named Chincomaniac where she sells paintings and linocut prints to delight fans of Chincoteague Ponies. 

Check out this Misty linocut print on the Etsy store (affiliate link).

While researching my Marguerite Henry biography Marguerite, Misty and Me, I found it interesting that the Chincoteague Ponies have had various other breeds introduced into their bloodlines. Sarah shared a little background. She said in the 1800s is when first accounts were noted–because transportation was easier to get to Chincoteague. Back in those times Chincoteague Ponies were privately owned. The ponies lived on Chincoteague, Assateague and Wallops which is where NASA is today. Even though the ponies lived wild, they were still owned by locals, and if they wanted to improve their stock they would introduce new breeds.

For example, in the mid-1800s one of the pony owners released a Canadian horse stallion who was big, with a blocky head and he paced. So there were pacing ponies. At that time there was no concept of “breed purity.” Also, shorter ponies could be sold for higher prices as a mount for a child or ladies driving pony. So Shetlands were introduced. 

Today most people think of the Chincoteague Ponies as flashy pintos. A gentleman from Philadelphia by the name of Timmons brought in some western horses of unknown breeding, and that’s how the pinto coloring was introduced to the breed. 

Mustangs were also introduced. See Sarah’s post “The Wild Horses of the West Meet Wild Ponies of the East,” as were Arabians.

One of Sarah’s research “Holy Grail” items is a photograph of the Arabian stallion Premierre who was born in 1991 (If you’re an Arabian fan and have old magazines or connections who might know how to track down a photo, reach out to Sarah). 🙂 There’s a bit of intrigue surrounding that stallion as he was released onto Assateague in 1996 and went missing in 2000. Some say he was stolen, as he had outstanding bloodlines and would have presumably been an expensive horse. 

Sarah’s Chincoteague Island selfie. If you see her during Pony Penning Week, go say hello. 🙂

Connect with Chincoteague Pony History 

Sarah will be at Pony Penning this year (the week of July 21, 2024) and she’s always willing to talk about Chincoteague Ponies. If you also plan to attend Pony Penning Week you need to check out the helpful information on the website FAQ: Wild Ponies and Pony Penning.

If you would like to connect with Sarah or have info for the “Pony History Tip Line,” reach out via this contact form on the Chincoteague Pony History website, or through Facebook. 

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