Assateague Island stretches for 37 miles along the eastern coast of the Delmarva Peninsula, playing host to pristine beaches, marshes, bays, and perhaps most notably, the one-mile-long Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. The island, which is partly in Maryland and partly in Virginia, is best known for its herds of feral horses—called Assateague Horses in Maryland and Chincoteague Ponies in Virginia.
In Maryland, the horses are managed by the National Park Service, and in Virginia, that responsibility falls to the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company. In order to maintain pony populations in the delicate ecosystem, the so-called Salt Water Cowboys round up some of the horses, who are then removed from the island and domesticated, through a process called Pony Penning.
The Delmarva Shorebirds, who play in the Maryland portion of the Delmarva (Delaware-Maryland-Virginia) Peninsula, will pay tribute to the famous feral horses and the Salt Water Cowboys who manage them when they play a game as the Wild Ponies in 2025. The brand, created by Brandiose, features a Saltwater Cowboy escorting a wild pony to shore. A wordmark reflects the rope that the cowboys use to wrangle the horses.
“The Shorebirds have and always will be a community-minded organization first and we thought what better way to honor Delmarva than connecting the Shorebirds brand with the Wild Ponies on Assateague Island,” said Shorebirds General Manager Chris Bitters in a statement. “This identity not only connects with our local Delmarva community, but worldwide as many families have come to the Eastern Shore just to see the Wild Ponies providing a great opportunity to increase the footprint and knowledge of this community attraction and our region in general.”
The Shorebirds, Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles in the Carolina League, will take to the field as the Wild Ponies May 17.
