Chincoteague pony

The annual Chincoteague Pony Swim on Virginia’s Eastern Shore has been canceled for the first time since World War II because of the coronavirus outbreak.

If the pony did have “swamp cancer” she would be the eighth Chincoteague pony to die from the disease since it was first reported in the herd in 2018.

A group of three adult horses grazed in an adjacent enclosure, newly arrived gifts from Chincoteague pony raisers wanting to replace some of the recently lost animals.

The Chincoteague Pony Pedigree database says Essie was born in 2013 and bred by the fire company, which cares for the ponies.

Riptide is one of the most recognizable horses in the 91st annual Chincoteague Pony Swim, in which all the wild horses—about 200 of them—on the Virginia side of Assateague Island were rounded up and herded through a channel, then put up for auction.