The Pony Express Rides Again: 2015 re-ride underway
Submitted by Danielle Cook on Mon, 06/22/2015 - 10:26pm
Event Date:
June 24, 2015 (All day)
The Pony Express was in operation for just over a year and a half, but its legacy has proven to be a timeless testament to ingenuity and can-do spirit. In an era of limited transportation, a letter could leave St. Joseph, MO and arrive in Sacramento, CA ten days later. Broken into segments of five to twenty miles between stations, the Pony Express traversed eight states and 1,966 miles.
Operating like a relay, a rider would move his mail pouch, called a mochila, along to a fresh horse at each exchange station. Each rider covered about 100 miles, traveling between 10-25 miles per hour, ranging from a fast trot to a full gallop. A single rider would change horses eight to ten times per shift.
At its onset, a half ounce letter cost $5 to send, $126 in today’s dollars. The price eventually dropped to $1, but it was still cost prohibitive for all but the most important correspondence. From April 3, 1860 through October 24, 1861, the Pony Express delivered approximately 35,000 letters.
Today the spirit and memory of the Pony Express is kept alive by the National Pony Express Association, an all-volunteer, non-profit historical organization for the purpose of identifying, reestablishing and marking the original pony express trail through the eight states it served: California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri.
The Annual Re-Ride is a 10-day, 24-hour a day, non-stop event with over 600 riders and horses. This year the Re-Ride will be from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, June 15 - 25. In even numbered years, the ride begins in Sacramento.
The Pony Express will arrive in Carson City at some time around 7:30 a.m. on the morning of Wednesday, June 24 and make the exchange at 3rd and Curry. This is according to the official Nevada Pony Express Association, Nevada Division website. Local Pony Express officials say the exchange will be at the Nevada Day Store & Trading Post instead, located at 108 W. Telegraph St. It will then head to Fuji Park where another exchange will take place about 8:30 a.m.
They leave Carson City and head to Genoa where the exchange is going to take place at about 9:30 a.m. before heading up Kingsbury Grade and into Stateline. The mail will be passed off at the corner of Stateline Ave and Highway 50, in front of McP's, at approximately 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.
All times are approximate and as the pony and its rider get closer, times may change. Local ham radio operators are providing support along the route and reporting the progress.
For more information on the National Pony Express Association, go to their website here, or to the Nevada Division’s website here.
For a real-time map of the ride, you can go online here.
- Carson City
- $12
- 000
- 2015
- Announcements
- April
- CA
- California
- carson
- City
- day
- event
- Genoa
- highway
- Historical
- Horses
- information
- Letters
- local
- May
- Morning
- National Pony Express Association
- Nevada
- Nevada Day
- non-profit
- October
- online
- Organization
- Pony Express
- POST
- radio
- Rider
- Stateline
- Support
- Utah
- website
- Wednesday
- Fuji Park
