The Abridged version:
- The annual Pony Express Re-Ride, organized by the National Pony Express Association, ended its journey in Old Sacramento on Thursday with the appearance of a riderless horse, honoring a longtime rider who died this year.
- Over the course of 10 days, hundreds of riders on horseback transported letters from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, re-creating the Pony Express route which operated for 18 months in the late 1800s.
- While many riders are returning participants, the organization added 10 new riders this year in California, nearly half of whom are under 25 years old.
For 46 years, thousands of horses have galloped day and night across eight states to reenact the Pony Express, the short-lived but revolutionary express mail service that employed young riders to transport mail from Missouri to California.
After 10 days, this year’s ride came to a conclusion on Thursday in California, passing through the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the early morning, traveling through Folsom and along the American River Parkway before ending at the Pony Express Statue in Old Sacramento, where a crowd gathered to welcome the final rider.
Throughout the journey, riders passed along a mochila, Spanish for knapsack, which carried over a thousand letters sent in by the public.
This year, the crowd in Old Sacramento witnessed something that does not happen often. Organizers brought in a riderless horse to pay tribute to longtime rider and Placerville resident Davey “Doc” Wiser, who had been involved with the National Pony Express Association for decades before his death in March.
About 100 people greeted the procession of California riders and their horses as they rode across the Jibboom Street Bridge to Old Sacramento. The riderless horse carried Doc’s hat.