Off the coast of northern Virginia lies the small island of Assateague. There, wild ponies roam free. The horses attract millions of visitors year-round. Every summer though, there’s a special event: The ponies take a celebrated swim to get to their annual checkups.
The wild ponies have roamed the island for more than 400 years, but the swim has been a tradition since the 1920s. Back then, the nearby island of Chincoteague was struggling to raise funds to expand its fire department following a series of devastating fires. Around the same time, the department also took on the responsibility of caring for the ponies. Someone had the idea of raising money for the fire company through a pony swim and auction, which became an annual event.
Wild ponies roam free on the small island of Assateague. The island is off the coast of northern Virginia. The horses attract millions of visitors all year. But every summer there’s a special event: The ponies swim across a channel to get their annual checkups.
The wild ponies have roamed the island for more than 400 years. But the swim has been a tradition only since the 1920s. Back then, the nearby island of Chincoteague had a problem. It wanted to build a bigger fire department after a series of tragic fires. But it was struggling to raise the money.
Around the same time, the department started caring for the ponies on Assateague. Someone suggested using the ponies to raise money for the fire company. They held a pony swim and auction, which became an annual event.