BY REESE GALLAGHER
Off the coast of Virginia and Maryland lies Assateague Island, where hundreds of wild ponies call home. The 1947 novel Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry brought light to the ponies and exposed the world to the wonders of Pony Penning Day. That’s when they do the annual pony swim, where the ponies are rounded up and guided across the channel from Assateague to Chincoteague. Weanlings are auctioned off to start new lives on land; some become pleasure riding ponies, while others find their place in the competition world.
The Pony Swim and Auction has become a bucket list event for many equestrians who have read the novel. And an impulsive bid in 2015 at the 90th Annual Chincoteague Pony Auction is how Kelly’s Virginia Seaglass, or “Ginny,” came into longtime horsewoman Annette Waldschmidt’s life. A lifelong dream of owning her very own “Misty” would finally came true with the 3-month-old filly.
When Waldschmidt sent 5-year-old Ginny for a summer of training with Robin Krutke in 2020, she never imagined that the pony wouldn’t leave. Two weeks into training with Krutke, her then 10-year-old daughter Shelby took the reins. A brief winter off from training took place at Waldschmidt’s home before Ginny returned to the Krutke’s. “If I could make a kid happy with her, that’s what I wanted to do,” Waldschmidt says.
For someone who had never heard of a Chincoteague Pony before, Shelby took Ginny’s training in stride. The pair did everything together. They competed in local hunter shows, trying their hand at eventing, and even fox hunting.
There are some things Ginny will never forget, and she often goes back to her roots. “I ride her bareback with just a halter and swim with her in the river.” Shelby says, “I think that’s probably her favorite thing because she knows how to get down to the river. We walk on the bank, and then it drops down, and I just hold onto her mane, and she goes.”
The journey to Pony Finals began last spring, when Shelby set her sights on the prestigious show. Before she could even begin to think about qualifying, Ginny needed to learn her flying lead changes. “I think the biggest challenge was the lead changes,” said Shelby. “Just because she’s kind of spicy. When you’re first warming her up, she’ll throw a buck in for the first few changes.”
Chincoteague Pony representation at Pony Finals usually comes from the Pony Jumper division, but this pair had their sights set high on the Large Pony Hunters. On their first time out, at their first-ever A show, Shelby and Ginny came home with reserve champion honors, successfully qualifying for Pony Finals.
At 15 years old, Shelby rode her once-feral Chincoteague Pony into the Rolex Ring. “My arms were black and blue from pinching them.” Annette Waldschmidt, who joined her pony on the trip to Kentucky, recalls. “It just hit me. This little girl, and what she’s done with my little girl.”
The work doesn’t stop at Pony Finals for Shelby or Ginny. As a recipient of the Feather Fund Award, Shelby has a young Chincoteague Pony of her own at home, waiting for his turn to show the world what the breed can do.
