Breyer's Chincoteague Portraits

For hundreds of years, herds of colorful wild ponies have traversed the landscape of Chincoteague and Assateague Island in present-day Virginia. Their origins are muddled – some claim they are descendants of Spanish horses lost in a shipwreck, while others claim mainland farmers simply brought them over to the islands as they moved themselves – but their rich history has made them among the most famous feral equines in the world. Many horse lovers were introduced to the breed by Marguerite Henry’s 1947 novel Misty of Chincoteague, which continues to be a best-seller to this day. Breyer’s model of Misty is one of our most popular products of all time and she boasts the title of “longest-running Breyer model,” having been in continuous production since her debut in 1972.

The practice of “pony penning” – a controlled migration of the wild ponies to the mainland to select ponies for domestication – has been happening since the mid-1800s, but it wasn’t until 1924 that the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company made it an official event. 2025 marks the 100^th year of the festival, which remains largely unchanged to this day. Over a series of a few days, the pony herd is swum from Assateague Island to Chincoteague in front of a crowd tens of thousands strong. Once on Chincoteague, the ponies are evaluated by veterinarians, and a selection of foals are auctioned to the public to raise money for the Fire Company and its continued management of the herd. On the final day, the remainder of the herd is returned to Assateague.

Breyer has created a variety of Chincoteague Pony portrait models throughout the years, many of which have been based on characters from the world of Misty. The breed continues to inspire horse lovers to this day, and the ponies continue to be one of Chincoteague’s primary tourism drivers.

Misty and Stormy

The tale of Misty of Chincoteague has dazzled generations of children. The success of the 1947 novel spurred a whole series of sequels that perfectly blended fact and fiction with exciting, captivating stories. Misty herself was very real – she was born at the Beebe Ranch in Chincoteague in 1946. The real-life Misty did not live with the Beebe family; rather, she was purchased by Henry as a weanling and spent her early life living with her in Illinois. In 1957 she returned to Chincoteague and spent the remainder of her days at her birthplace.

While at the Beebe Ranch, Misty had three foals: Phantom Wings, Wisp O’ Mist, and Stormy, the latter of whom was her most famous descendant. Stormy was a main character in the 1963 sequel Stormy, Misty’s Foal, and also lived at the Beebe Ranch.

Breyer’s model of Misty was first introduced in 1972, and her pattern has gone through a handful of changes through the years. When developing the model’s pinto pattern, Wesley Dennis’s illustrations were likely a bigger inspiration than the markings of the real-life Misty. The final pattern, which has been in use since 1973, is a whimsical blend of the two.

Misty through the years

Stormy’s Breyer model was introduced in 1977 and, like Misty, has been in continuous production ever since. The pair have been sold in a variety of gift sets together, but also separately. Since 2007, the pair have been sold together with a paperback copy of Misty of Chincoteague included.

In addition to the regular run plastic models, there have also been a handful of exclusive, limited-run Misty releases, including a flocked Misty and Stormy pair, a cold cast porcelain Misty, and a collaborative piece with Hagen-Renaker that depicted Misty “shaking hands” on a stool. A Stablemates version of Misty and Stormy was also produced in 2019 as a bonus release for members of that year’s Vintage Club.

A selection of unique Misty models and gift sets

Pancho

It is unusual for “portraits” to be produced on Stablemates models, but that is just the tip of the iceberg of mysteries surrounding Pancho. The origins of this model are not well-documented, but it is assumed that approximately 1,000 pieces were ordered for the Chincoteague Miniature Pony Farm, a popular tourist destination, and sold in their gift shop. “Pancho the Wonder Horse” was a popular trick pony who could often be found performing for audiences at the farm. The release was generally under the radar of Breyer fans until a hobbyist bought out the farm’s remaining stock in 1997 and brought them to BreyerFest. Not only is Pancho one of the rarest Chincoteague models Breyer has ever produced, but he’s also one of the rarest and sought-after Stablemates models overall.

Photo by Andrea Gurdon

Sea Star

The first sequel to Misty of Chincoteague was 1949’s Sea Star: Orphan of Chincoteague, so it made logical sense for the next model in Breyer’s Misty lineup to be of the titular star. Sea Star was in fact not a real pony, but her story was inspired by an orphaned foal found on Assateague Island in 1948. Once again Wesley Dennis’s illustrations provided inspiration for the Breyer model, this time used as a reference by sculptor Chris Hess.

Phantom Wings

Phantom Wings was Misty’s first foal and her only colt, born in 1960. Although he did not feature in any of Misty’s fictional stories, his life was heavily-documented in 1976’s The Pictorial Life Story of Misty. Tragically, he and Misty’s second foal, Wisp O’ Mist, died in December 1964 after breaking into a cow field and getting sick off the feed. This left Stormy as Misty’s only living descendant.

Misty's Twilight

Marguerite Henry’s final book in the “Misty” series was Misty’s Twilight, published in 1992. “Twi” was a great-granddaughter of Misty and was half Thoroughbred, making her an excellent sporthorse. Her skills especially shone in dressage with owner Dr. Sandy Price, and her pinto coloring was an unusual sight in the ring at that time. Her model was introduced by Breyer in 1991 shortly before the book was published. Like the other books in the series, Misty’s Twilight is largely factual but does contain a degree of fictionalization.

Misty II, Black Mist and Twister

In 1996, Breyer introduced a special gift set featuring three of Misty’s descendants in model form to celebrate 50 years since the original novel’s publication. Misty II was Stormy’s fifth foal and therefore a granddaughter of Misty herself. After spending the first 13 years of her life at the Chincoteague Miniature Pony Farm, she was then purchased by the Allen family of Pennsylvania, where they found that she was actually a great show pony. She also proved to be an incredible breed ambassador, carrying on in her granddam’s hoofprints by visiting libraries, schools, horse shows, and even BreyerFest.

Black Mist was Misty II’s sixth foal, and the first to be born off the island after she had changed hands to the Allen family. Like her mother, she was ridden in the Chincoteague Pony Drill Team and succeeded in a variety of horse show classes including western pleasure and hunters.

Twister - officially known as "Misty's MayDay Twister" - was the following foal of Misty II, born in 1991. Like Black Mist, she succeeded under saddle with the Allen children and was also a Drill Team member. 

All three of these ponies attended BreyerFest in 1996 to celebrate the release of their commemorative set.

The Phantom and Misty

To celebrate 75 years since the original publication of Misty of Chincoteague, a special set was released featuring Misty as a foal with her dam, The Phantom. Like Misty, The Phantom was a real-life pony, although she was living in captivity at the Beebe Ranch rather than wild on the island as the book depicted her. Baby Misty’s coloring was also based on the real-life Misty’s pattern rather than Wesley Dennis’s illustrations for the first time ever, making this set a particularly unique release.

Surfer's Riptide

Although many of the world’s most famous Chincoteague Ponies are relatives of Misty, there are others who have gained fanbases in their own right. One such pony is Surfer’s Riptide, a striking flaxen chestnut stallion sired by the equally-popular Surfer Dude. Today he is a popular pony for fans to spot during Pony Penning, and he’s now going on to sire his own foals that are cherished by their buyers. Ponies like Riptide continue to keep the buzz and excitement of Pony Penning alive a century into its history.