CHINCOTEAGUE, VA. — Laura Crump climbed a tree. Shirley Rivens traveled from Washington to stand in the muck. Diane Huntley came from Fredericksburg, Va., only to lose a shoe in the tidal marsh.
They joined tens of thousands of tourists and local residents jockeying for the best vantage points Wednesday morning to see the barrier island town's annual pony swim. Complaints about mosquitoes, mud and traffic halted abruptly as dozens of wild horses bobbed into view, crossing the narrow channel from Assateague Island to Chincoteague.
"It was amazing. I couldn't even take pictures because I was mesmerized," said Sharon Hammond of Woodbridge, Va., her camera dangling forgotten around her neck.
In its 90th summer, the annual swim retains an enduring appeal, mixing nostalgia and small-town Americana with a love of horses and wildness into a captivating spectacle that serves as an economic boon to this Eastern Shore island town.
While the penning of the barrier islands' wild horses can be traced to before the Revolutionary War, the modern-day pony swim began in 1925 after a series of fires showed the inadequacy of the volunteer fire company's equipment. During that year's penning, the town of Chincoteague let the fire company host a carnival and auctioned 15 ponies for the company's benefit.
The pony swim quickly became a popular event drawing thousands to the island, including Marguerite Henry, who immortalized it in 1947, writing "Misty of Chincoteague." The much-loved children's classic about a boy and a girl who lived on the island and their love for the wild ponies was made into a popular movie in 1961.
"It goes back to 'Misty of Chincoteague,'" said Robert Ritter, the town manager. "There are a lot of children that read that book, and their parents bring them here."
The swim, held each July, is still accompanied by a multi-day carnival and a pony auction the next day for the fire company. The horses, which live in the wild on Assateague, are rounded up by a volunteer team called the Saltwater Cowboys for the brief morning swim across the channel.
The auction sustains the town and its firefighting needs and helps the herd because the habitat on Assateague can support only about 150 horses.
Last year, 54 ponies were sold at an average cost of $2,772, a record. To replenish the herd, the fire department always designates a few foals as "buybacks." Those foals will return to Assateague but the "owner" gets to name the pony first.
The ponies seem to hold particular appeal for girls, said Accomack County Supervisor Wanda Thornton, who lives on Chincoteague.
"I have a granddaughter who rides a Chincoteague pony" purchased four or five years ago for $900, Thornton said. "She rides nearly every day. She lives and breathes ponies. Most girls love horses, much more so than the young men."
Crump, 24, said she came to Chincoteague for the first time when she was 3, desperately wanting a horse. Much like the heroes of Henry's book, she saved money from lemonade and yard sales and bought one in 2000 when she was 9 years old, naming her pony Millennium Mystic.
"I trained him from a baby," said Crump, who now takes care of horses for a living and climbed a tree to get a good view of Wednesday's swim.
Asked why she came from Washington to stand in the muck to watch, Rivens, 73, had a two-word answer: "Bucket list."
Most Americans, particularly those in urban areas, rarely get the chance to encounter such enchanting animals in the wild, she said. "Most people don't know anything about ponies."
The event poses challenges for its fans. Some crane their necks to see the ponies from a waterside park. Others brave mosquitoes and mud to get a closer view.
Huntley put her foot in the muck and when she lifted it her shoe was gone.
"I didn't want to stick my hand in to get it," she said. "I think bare feet would probably have been best."
But Huntley wasn't complaining. She had secured a clear view of the channel with its sea grass, charter boats and kayaks. Sea gulls glided overhead and a lighthouse could be seen in the distance.
The Saltwater Cowboys waited to herd the horses across the channel until they determined the water was between tides and calm. The timing of the slack tide varies, but Wednesday's swim was scheduled between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. It commenced about 8:15 a.m.
There was a cheer as the first ponies appeared. They shook themselves and whinnied when they arrived onshore. "Look at the baby!" a spectator shouted.
"I absolutely loved it," Huntley said later as the ponies were paraded into town in preparation for Thursday's auction.
The ponies are integral to Chincoteague's identity and perhaps its biggest tourist lure, though the town also enjoys unspoiled beaches and a small-town charm that Americans seem to crave, said Mayor John H. Tarr.
He recently took daughters and grandchildren to Disney World, where he encountered Disney's commercialized version of Main Street. Chincoteague's Main Street is authentic, Tarr said.
The town garners about $1.7 million per year in crucial revenue from a meals tax and a tax on hotels, motels and rental properties, Tarr said.
Ritter, the town manager, said the summer season — and particularly pony swim week — provides "a short-lived window for the shops to make their money. It puts food on the table for the rest of the year."
There is pony art and pony T-shirts, jewelry and ornaments.
"Basically, you could call that our branding," he said.
Ritter said regular visitors know they can count on the pony swim, marking it on their calendars each year.
"It's pretty much the same as it has been the last 90 years," he said.
Baltimore Sun reporter Jessica Anderson contributed to this article.
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