A Cowboy of Chincoteague's Pony Express

It's all about the ponies at Chincoteague's Pony Swim and Auction, an annual event that takes place on Virginia's Eastern Shore in July. But while the four-legged youngsters made famous by Marguerite Henry's 1947 children's book "Misty of Chincoteague" are the stars of the show -- drawing approximately 40,000 to 50,000 tourists -- the Pony Swim wouldn't happen without the 50 or so saltwater cowboys who round them up.

These men, most of them firefighters, help the ponies swim across the narrow channel between Assateague and Chincoteague islands and herd them ashore, where they are auctioned to benefit the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company.

Eddie Thornton, a construction superintendent by day, has been a saltwater cowboy for the past 10 years. We caught up with Thornton, 46, to find out a little more about Chincoteague's saltwater cowboys and the pony roundup.

Where did the term "saltwater cowboy" originate?

Well, they used to call them "gumboot cowboys" because the older fellas used to go out on their horses and they'd have on the ol' rubber hip boots. And then somehow it got switched up to "saltwater cowboy."

Do all saltwater cowboys have to read "Misty of Chincoteague"?

[Laughs.] No. But I'm sure that most of them have!

What kind of training does it take?

There's really no training. I mean, you have to be capable of riding a horse and know how to control a horse. And really I'm in it because I'm a member of the fire company, and the fire company owns the ponies.

What's the single most important skill a saltwater cowboy must have?

You have to be a decent horseback rider. If you get someone who doesn't really know how to ride a horse, well, you can't round up the ponies.

So if someone who wasn't a part of the fire company wanted to be a saltwater cowboy, how would they go about joining the roundup?