When Sarah Boudreau, author of the new book Before Misty: Early Chincoteague Pony History, was eight, she found the book Misty of Chincoteague and read it all in one sitting—the beautiful storyline so captivated her. Then her Aunt Kim, a passionate horsewoman, revealed something BIG!
The wild swimming ponies of Chincoteague were real!
Soon after, aunt and niece hatched a plan to travel from Massachusetts to Virginia to see the ponies firsthand.
That inaugural trip to Chincoteague Island in 2004, launched an annual pilgrimage. Over time, Aunt Kim bought three Chincoteague Ponies from the fire company’s auction which she trained to be driving ponies. Peep two of them here in this blog post.
Over the years Sarah learned the names of all the wild Chincoteague Ponies, got to know locals, and kept records of stallions, mares and foals in elaborate folders on her computer. In more recent years, Sarah created the website Chincoteague Pony History to share true stories of the ponies and their people. She’s spent countless hours conducting archival research online, tracking down every story, clue or reference possible in primary sources such as newspaper and magazine articles.
During the 100th Pony Penning Week, Sarah gave a Before Misty presentation at the newly opened Beebe Ranch, and I was thrilled to attend (and say hello to Aunt Kim).
Overall Impressions of Before Misty
Before Misty is 120 pages of well-researched history about the wild Chincoteague Ponies presented in easily-digestible stories, with a multi-page Notes section listing all the sources.
I’m a total history nerd (former middle school history teacher), but you don’t have to be an avid history lover to enjoy Sarah’s debut title.
The author organizes the information well into smallish chapters, and most of them contain fantastic historical photos gleaned from postcards or historical society archives. The author is also an artist! Sarah included a few original illustrations of notable ponies (I love the one of Baby, the 1940s-era show jumping pony).
Chincoteague Pony Origins
The beginning chapters of Before Misty address the question: Where did Chincoteague Ponies come from? Sarah expertly lays out the two prevailing theories. Readers of Misty will recall—the Spanish shipwreck theory, in which ponies swam to shore.
The other theory is much less romantic—that the residents of the Eastern Shore used Chincoteague and Assateague as grazing lands for their stock.
Once you’ve read Before Misty, share which origin story theory you believe. Tag me @saddleseekshorse on Instagram or Facebook or drop me an email at Susan at SaddleSeeksHorse dot com. (And I’m sure Sarah would love for you to tag her too at @chincoteagueponyhistory.)
Pony People Personalities
One of the chapters I enjoyed the most featured stories of the early pony owners. A colorful gentleman named Kendall Jester (whose last name is spot on) was one of the first to brand his ponies and served as the boss of pony pennings.
Jester drank too much, and a story was told that an out-of-towner was hopeful in his drunken state, Jester would lower pony pricing. Quite the opposite occurred. The more he drank, the more he would raise prices.
In his alcohol-diminished condition, Jester’s saintly sorrel mare would carefully deliver him home. At the time of Jester’s death, he had 162 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His obituary appeared in publications across the country as far away as Chicago and Oakland!
Another personality Sarah discusses is Clarence Beebe, aka Grandpa Beebe, the breeder of Misty, and beloved character in Marguerite Henry’s books (see pages 59-60).
Pony Penning Traditions
Sheep penning was a popular activity on Chincoteague over 100 years ago, but that wooly pursuit could not match the adventure and drama of wild ponies being rounded up.
Sarah reveals how early pennings were like festivals with food, music and revelry. I laughed aloud when I read this quote detailing the types of folks who participated in Pony Penning:
“All who loved wild adventure–whose hearts danced at the prospect of a distant water excursion … all who had a new gown to show, or a pretty face to exhibit … belles that sighed for beaux, and beaux that wanted sweethearts; all who loved to kiss, or to be kissed, to caress, or be caressed; all, in short, whose hearts delighted in romance.”
Evolution of a Storybook Breed & Notable Ponies
From Shetland ponies to Arabians, and a “large brute” of a Canadian stallion to Western ponies from Mexico, Sarah shines a light on various influences on the Chincoteague breed. There’s even a full chapter “Pinto Genes,” detailing how their splashy colorful coat patterns came to be (early accounts of the ponies reveal they were all solid colored).
I loved the story of Spoogie Woogie, a 1938 Pony Penning alum who had an illustrious horse show career. Spoogie Woogie lived with her family in Warrenton, Virginia.
She came in second in a “touch and out” class, clearing a 4-foot jump (I wonder how high the winner jumped)! Spoogie Woogie showed in both pony hunter and jumper classes and even came in first in a race in 1941 in North Carolina.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Before Misty: Early Chincoteague Pony History and believe you will too. You can snag your own copy to read here on Etsy.
You might also enjoy this interview with Sarah of Chincoteague Pony History
Thanks for reading, and if you need more Chincoteague Pony books in your life, this October I'm hosting a virtual Sea Star book club on my Facebook Page. CLICK HERE to RSVP today!
Psssttt!!! If you love horse books, grab a copy of my free guide.
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I'm Susan and this is my horse Knight. We have been a blogging team since 2015 and we're glad you're here. Tally ho!
