The Buyback Stud

Refuge Inn founder Don Leonard is pictured with three of his children, Carlton, Arthur, and Jane, along with the buyback colt that would become known as the original Don Leonard Stud.   What most people don't know: Don created the Buyback program as part of his role as Pony Committee Chairman for the CVFC. The purpose of the program is for CHINCOTEAGUE VOLUNTEER FIRE CO. to select the foals they want to keep, in order to maintain genetic diversity and good bloodlines in their wild herds, while allowing the high bidder to make a donation, name the foal, and return it to live out its life in the wild. Don donated this particular foal from his herd at the Chincoteague Pony Farm to the Fire Company, and had it sent to the pony penning auction, in order to start the buyback program.   Don's children bid and won this buyback colt for around $7,000-- a record at that time. They wanted the lineage of Don's ponies to exist wild and free on Assateague forever. When he realized his kids had the winning bid, Don was livid. They paid "all that money for a colt they could've had for free." But now, the lineage of the Don Leonard Stud is long-established on Assateague with "DLS I" pictured here, and his heir DLS II who has with his own band of mares and many foals each year. Don's legacy also lives on with the tremendous success of the Buyback program, which raises funds for the Fire Company each year. For some perspective, there was a record $100,000 donation for a single 2025 buyback foal. There's no telling how many hundreds of thousands of dollars his buyback program has raised over the last 30 years, but it's quite the legacy.   Read more about the legacy of Don Leonard and his children and grandchildren, including how ponies came to be a fixture at the Refuge Inn, on our blog: www.refugeinn.com/blog/our-grandfathers-legacy