Pony penning

Pony Penning is an annual event held in Chincoteague, Virginia on the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday in July. The Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department conducts the event and it consists of a Wild Pony Swim on Wednesday and a Pony Auction on Thursday. For the Wild Pony Swim, Salt Water Cowboys round up feral Chincoteague Ponies from Assateague Island and drive them across the Assateague Channel to Veteran’s Memorial Park on Chincoteague Island. The ponies swim across the channel during slack tide, when the water has minimal tidal movement. Once on Chincoteague Island, the salt water cowboys herd the ponies to pens on the Chincoteague Carnival Grounds where some of the foals are auctioned off on Thursday.