Hundreds of Ponies Swim Across Virginia Channel in 98th Annual Pony Swim

Over 200 ponies swam across Virginia’s Assateague Channel to Chincoteague Island this week for the 98th year in a row.

Thousands gathered in the sticky early-morning humidity to witness the Chincoteague Island Pony Swim. The event is sponsored by Chincoteague’s Volunteer Fire Company, which manages Assateague Island’s herd of wild ponies.

It’s designed to separate foals for auction in order to keep the herd at a manageable population. The first foal to make it all the way to Chincoteague Island is crowned either King or Queen Neptune, and later raffled off to a lucky winner.

Contestants, herded along by a team of “saltwater cowboys,” stepped into the water Wednesday at 10 a.m. during a time known as “slack tide.” This is when there is no movement either way in the tidal stream.

Footage of the plunge shows hundreds of ponies simultaneously dunking into the channel. As onlookers in boats cheer them on, the saltwater cowboys gradually move the horses to Chincoteague Island.

This year’s Queen Neptune was a chestnut-hued Philly known as No. 70.

The event drew spectators from all over the United States. Some came with their families, while others arrived looking for a good time.

Dubbing themselves the “Pony Party,” best friends Debbie Bice, 62, and Sarah Davis, 65, made the trip  all the way from Maryland.

“The whole pony thing is an experience,” Davis told the Salisbury Daily Times. “We spent yesterday scoping [the view] out; where the ponies were going to come out, where we could park.”

As they left, Davis and Bice made plans to hit up a mimosa bar. “It’s ‘Pony Party!’” Davis whooped.

The Pony Swim is but one event during Pony Penning week, an island-wide celebration which culminated with Thursday’s auction. The event returned to in-person gatherings last year, after a two-year interruption due to the pandemic.