Mail to ride again on Pony Express Trail

Sunday, May 30, 1999 | 7:04 a.m.

The National Pony Express Association will stage its annual re-ride of the trail between St. Joseph, Mo., and Sacramento, Calif., from June 8-18.

More than 500 riders and horses will take part in the eight-state relay, which will be conducted 24 hours a day until the mail is delivered to Sacramento.

Dale Ryan of Carson City, association national president, said the event is designed to commemorate the Pony Express mail service of 1860-61.

The event is a thrill for participants and gives them a feel for what the Pony Express was like for the earlier riders, he said.

"It's great to be out there in the middle of the night waiting for the relay," he said. "Your imagination runs wild. It's dead quiet out there, then all the sudden you can hear the pounding of horse hooves."

The 1,966-mile Pony Express Trail traversed Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California.

The event will begin June 8 at St. Joseph, Mo., and reach Nevada on June 15. Riders will reach Carson City on June 17 and South Lake Tahoe, Calif., later that day.

Plans call for the event to end at noon June 18 in Old Town Sacramento with the unveiling of the Sesquicentennial California Gold Rush Stamp.

Riders will relay commemorative letters being purchased by history enthusiasts and others from across the country.

Federal protection was extended to the Pony Express Trail in 1992. Unlike the other states, most of the trail in Nevada and Wyoming still exists, Ryan said.

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