Virginia Designates Chincoteague Island Pony as Official State Horse
Virginia lawmakers on Tuesday approved a bill designating the Chincoteague Island pony as the official pony of the Commonwealth.
The bill was introduced by Republican state delegate Robert Bloxom Jr., who resides on the east coast of Virginia, where Chincoteague Island is located.
CHINCOTEAGUE, VA – July 25: Wild ponies are herded into the Assateague Channel for their annual swim at Chincoteague Island on July 25, 2012 in Chincoteague, Virginia. Each year the wild ponies are rounded up for auction by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
“It’s probably the most important bill of this legislative session. It’s the main event,” Bloxom told the House of Delegates last Friday.
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The delegate gave a brief history of the Chincoteague pony, which he called a “special breed” that has lived and raced wild on Assateague Island for hundreds of years.
Stories passed down through generations have linked the horses to an old Spanish galleon that was wrecked off Assateague Island in the 1700s.
Chincoteague ponies gallop in the corral at the Chincoteague Carnival Grounds after the 90th annual Chincoteague Pony Swim on Wednesday, July 29, 2015. A portion of the herd of ponies will be auctioned Thursday to benefit the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, which owns and maintains the herd . (Jay Diem/The Daily Times via AP)
Bloxom said DNA tests were carried out on the herd, which linked the ponies to Spanish origins.
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For the past 98 years, a pony swim has taken place on Chincoteague Island.
“This is where the ponies are herded to swim to Chincoteague Island every year on the last Wednesday in July at morning low tide,” Bloxom said.
Once in Chincoteague, some of the foals are auctioned off, not only to control the size of the herd, but also to bring in money for the Chincoteague Island Volunteer Fire Department.
July 29, 2015: A pair of Chincoteague ponies make the 90th Annual Chincoteague Pony Swim through the Assateague Channel in Chincoteague Island, Virginia. (AP)
The department provides fire and ambulance services to the nearly 3,000 residents of Chincoteague Island.
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Last year, Bloxom said, the auction brought in more than $400,000.
The pony swim was made famous by the book “Misty of Chincoteague”, written by Marguerite Henry in 1947, then made into a film in 1961.
Bloxom told the House Speaker that he hoped to see the significance of naming the Chincoteague pony the state pony.
“It’s time for the Commonwealth to stand up and give Chincoteague’s heritage the recognition it deserves,” Bloxom said.
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Delegate William C. Wampler III, a Republican from Abingdon, Va., said he believed the current state pony was in mountainous Grayson County and wondered if the delegate from that county wanted to defend its current state pony designation. But the room was silent.
“I would put my bid against his auction, which I don’t believe there is, any day,” Bloxom said. “I would put my saltwater cowboys to herding my herd, long before they ran amok in the mountains and were never penned.”
As the discussion ended, several delegates threw jokes into the ring, including Republican House Delegate Tony Wilt of Rockingham, who asked if anyone wanted to vote against the measure, if the answer would be “no.”
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When the issue came to a vote on Tuesday, House delegates approved the measure, 93-7.
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