100th pony for 2025 born on Assateague

By Linda Cicoira

The 100th foal born in 2025 to the famous herd of wild Assateague ponies arrived this week just in time for the centennial celebration of pony penning on Chincoteague next week.

The chestnut pinto is a filly and appears to have heart designs in her fur on her left side. She has four white legs and a sweet face of chestnut and white hair. The foal was born on Tuesday to a blue-eyed mother named Freckles, who has what is called cat tracks or spots of chestnut paint, and a sire called Ajax, who is a bay pinto, which means he is brown and white with black in his mane and tail.

DSCphotography.net captured the pictures shown with this article. Photographer Darcy Cole said her family moved to the area in 2009. Cole had a full-blown case of pony fever by 2013, and has been in the photo business for about 10 years.

The 99th foal, a colt who is also a chestnut pinto, was photographed on July 22 as well. He is the son of Dove, and the well-known stallion, Riptide, who is the current King of the pony herd.

Riptide is a “very striking” chocolate brown with a blonde mane and tail. He is the son of Surfer Dude, who is second in fame to Misty of Chincoteague.

The two lead mares in the herd are Surf Queen, who was queen during Surfer Dude’s rein. “Riptide’s lead mare is probably Summer,” Cole reported.

All the ponies born before the pony penning event next week will be auctioned. Younger ones like 99 and 100 would be considered “Fall Pickups” as they will be with their mothers until the Fall Roundup, when the purchasers may pick them up. They will be named by the owners.

Buy Back ponies are purchased with the intent of sending them back to live on Assateague to help maintain the herd. The buyer in those cases also gets naming rights.

The rest of the foals who are sold are picked up right after next Thursday’s auction.