Last updated: May 13, 2024
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The Pony Express Re-Ride
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The Pony Rides Again!
About the Event
A lone rider gallops across a landscape of prairie grass and sagebrush and mountain terrain. The sound of approaching hoofbeats is heard from afar. Another rider and horse awaits in the shade of a tree. The incoming rider reins in and greetings are exchanged. Dismounting, the incoming courier lifts a leather mochila from the saddle. It is placed on the new horse and the fresh rider steps into the stirrup, swings into the saddle and begins a ride over the horizon and back into history!
Each June, members of the National Pony Express Association recreate the Pony Express in a Commemorative Re-Ride over a 10 days period. Letters are carried in a mochila over the original trail. The 1,966 mile, eight state event is conducted 24 hours a day until the mail is delivered to its destination. This national event is an opportunity for all young and old to ride the Pony Trail and to receive mail via the Pony Express!
Over 750 riders participate and around 1,000 letters are mailed each year. Riders come from all walks of life, but are all members of NPEA. You can participate in this exciting event
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How can I see the Pony Express Re-ride in person?
As the riders make their way from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California, there are scheduled exchanges were the riders will hand off the mochila and a new rider will continue the delivery. The ride takes place 24 hours a day so some of these happen in the middle of the night!
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Follow Along Virtually
Members Mount their Horses and Re-Ride History
Follow the Pony Express Re-Ride and the mail as they travel more than 1,800 miles between Sacramento, CA and St. Joseph, MO. The Pony Riders travel day and night to make the 10 day trip. There is a GPS that is carried in the Mochila, which “pings” every five minutes, to mark a Pony Rider icon on the map for you to track.
You also can check the National Pony Express phone Hotline at 1-855-809-8589. This Hotline is updated as soon as reports begin coming in from the trail. These reports come from riders, support staff for the riders, Radio Ham Operators and from the interactive map.