Famous 'Pony Swim' in Virginia Has Everyone So Captivated

Each year, thousands of people head to Virginia to watch an interesting, unique event — the Pony Swim. People come from all over to the eastern shore in the town of Chincoteague, and a new TikTok video shows exactly why.

WTKR News 3 posted a clip to TikTok of the famous Pony Swim, and it’s easy to see why everyone is so captivated. Take a watch!

The news station shared a 33-second video of the famous pony swim, and it’s something else! “Look at them go!” the caption of the video reads.

“This year's Chincoteague Island’s World Famous Pony Swim looks like a blast.”

In the video, it’s figuratively a sea of horses — literally, it’s approximately 150 ponies are swimming in the Assateague Channel. And if you’ve never seen ponies or horses swim, it’s definitely an interesting sight.

“It is beautiful to see, from Va. everyone needs to see at least once,” one person shared.

I loved ‘Misty of Chincoteague.’ This made me cry but in a sweet childhood way,” added someone else.

“Takes me back to all of the books I read as a kid - Misty, Stormy, Sea Star,” another viewer wrote.

“I must say, I don’t think I’ve seen anything like this before,” someone else shared.

According to Assateague Island National Seashore, the pony swim has been a yearly event since 1925. “During the brief 3 minute pony swim event, the wild horses swim across the Assateague Channel when the tide is ‘slack calm’ so the young ponies, which are born during spring or early summer, are safe from any strong currents,” the site explains.

The event attracts approximately 40,000 people every year who come from far and wide to watch the ponies take their swim. 

For anyone worried about the safety of the ponies, it doesn't sound like it's a concern in the short swim. “We’ve never lost a pony in 98 years of doing the pony swim. It’s just something we do," Chincoteague Mayor Arthur Leonard told KBTX3 News. 

"We always look out for the ponies. They’re number one."