Arabian is one of the most common breeds that has been crossed into the Chincoteague Pony. Half and part Arabians have been part of the herds on Assateague for many decades. Their influence on the breed today is significant.

An article from 1916 described the early ponies on Assateague as Arabian and "Moorish Barbs". However, The Country Gentleman article's description of the early horses on Assateague is dramatic and fanciful.

An article from the Virginia newspaper Radford News Journal in 1977 stated that new stock was crossed into the feral herd every 9 to 10 years and Arabians were one of the breeds used. The Wild Horse Dilemma by Bonnie Gruenberg quotes a former Chincoteague resident that due to the decimation of the feral herds after the Ash Wednesday storm of 1962 select mares with good conformation were bred to stallions of other breeds including Arabian.

In November 1943 a visiting Humphrey S. Finney spoke with Clarence Beebe and arranged for an Arabian stallion to be sent the following spring to improve Beebe's stock. No more is known about this stallion and if he was sent or not.

August 1954 ad for an Arabian Chincoteague cross, Chronicle of the Horse.

Al-Marah Sunny Jim was donated to the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department in 1965. He was bred to Stormy twice, the resulting foals were Rainy in 1973 and Misty II in 1974. He was kept at a farm on Chincoteague and bred to mares from the feral herd. Some sources state he many have released out on Assateague for a while. He has currently untraceable descendants in the feral herd. Descendant Winter Moon, through Rainy, has lived feral on Assateague since 2018. The mare Country Girl was reportedly a daughter, however she has no known descendants.

Read a profile of Al-Marah Sunny Jim on Chincoteague Pony History.

Al-Marah Sunny Jim on Chincoteague

Skowreym was loaned to the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department in 1967. His owner Trish Hewitt had heard about the herd losses from the 1962 nor'easter. He was an accomplished endurance horse. Skowreym was kept on a farm on Chincoteague and bred to mares from the feral herd. He likely has descendants in the current herd, but none are currently traceable. His grey color did not pass down to the current herd.

Read a profile on Skowreym on Chincoteague Pony History.

Skowreym with owner Trish Hewitt aboard. 1963 stallion ad by Friendship Farms.

A bay tobiano stallion named Gordo was reporedly a half Arabian. Gordo was born in 1974 and died in 1992. He was pictured in The Assateague Ponies by Ronald Keiper. Gordo had multiple offspring kept for the feral herd and has many traceable descendants and likely more currently untraced.

Gordo in 1981. Photo courtesy of Deb Noll.

Buckskin stallion Gunner's Moon was also reportedly a half Arabian. He was put on the Assateague in 1982/1983 and had five daughters kept in the feral herd.

Gunner's Moon in 1993. Photo courtesy of Kathy O'Dette.

In 1995 the Arabian stallion Premierre was brought to Chincoteague by Stanley White of Grandeur Arabians. He was initially bred to mares at the Leonard Farm. Premeirre was later released out on Assateague where he died in 1999. He was named Premier by the Chincoteague Pony Association. The pick of the 1996 foals were kept and sold as buybacks in either the 1996 or 1998 auctions. View these ponies on the Premierre Offspring page. The mares Mooney, Vixen, and Woofie owned by the Leonard family on Chincoteague were sired by Premierre.

Read a profile on Premierre and the 1996 half Arabians at Chincoteague Pony History.

Premierre in the south corral on Assateague in the late 1990s. Photo by unknown.

The bay stallion Striking Cadet was loaned to the CVFC by Stanley White after Premierre died. He was named Striking Gold by the Chincoteague Pony Association. He was not released on Assateague but kept at the Carnival Grounds to breed mares from 2000 to 2002. His 2003 daughter WH Island Breeze is the ancestor of feral ponies WH Windy's Beach Boy, WH Night Rain, WH Summer Breeze, WH Sundance, WH Wildfire, WH Surf and Sun, SCC Misty's Sunburst, CLG Misty's Lunar Eclipse, Miss Holy Smokes, SCC Misty's Sunburst, SCC Misty's Hailstorm, and Wildfire's Phoenix.

Read a profile on Striking Cadet at Chincoteague Pony History.

Striking Cadet at the Carnival Grounds on Chincoteague in 2000. Photo by Jaye Okolovitch.

WH Island Breeze, daughter of Striking Cadet. Photo by Kelly Lidard.

Chincoteague mares were taken to Stanley White's Grandeur Arabians in Citra, Florida. Sweet Mischief, Seaside, and Mappy were photographed at the farm in 1998. It's unknown at this time how many mares were taken to Grandeur or what foals were produced. White also bred and raised half Arabian Chincoteagues from mares he owned. The half Arabian foals bred by White were not registered or considered as full Chincoteague Ponies.

Sweet Mischief/Twirling Lace, Seaside, and Mappy/Fiddle Faddle at Grandeur Arabians in 1998. Photo courtesy of Kathy O'Dette.

Two half Arabian stallions owned and bred by Stanley White were loaned to the Leonard Farm on Chincoteague. Both stallions were sired by the bay Arabian stallion Calistoe and out of Chincoteague mares owned by White. Misty's Dynasty sired foals at the Leonard farm in 2008 and 2009. A well known daughter is Martha. Martha is essentially a half Arabian as her dam is by Premierre. Grandeurs Thunder sired foals at the Leonard farm in 2012 and 2013. Several foals by Grandeurs Thunder were sold at the 2012 Pony Penning auction. Foals from these two stallions were registered as or considered as full Chincoteague Ponies.

Martha, a daughter of half Arabian stallion Misty's Dynasty