OVERTON, Neb. — Pony Express riders are carrying mail across the American West again, more than 160 years after the original service ended.
Riders stopped just south of Overton Wednesday as part of the National Pony Express Association’s annual re-ride, recreating the historic route between Missouri and California.
The Overton stop was one of hundreds of exchanges taking place during the 10-day journey, where riders carry mail around the clock across nearly 2,000 miles of the original Pony Express trail.
At each stop a rider hands off a leather mochila, a specially designed saddlebag carrying letters, to another rider and horse before the journey continues.
The annual event follows the original Pony Express route and brings riders through eight states, including Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California.
Wayne Howard is a longtime Pony Express rider and former National Pony Express Association president, who says the reenactment helps preserve a piece of American history.
“We do this re-enactment every year, generally sometime early June or mid-June,” said Howard. “It goes from St. Joe’s (Missouri) to Sacramento, and then vice versa the next year.”
Howard has participated in the ride for 47 years, starting with the organization’s early days.
“I started out with the original group,” Howard said. “It’s a way of preserving history and keeping the Pony Express alive.”
The original Pony Express only operated for about 18 months in the 1860s, but Howard said the tradition continues because of the connection riders and communities still have to the trail.
“Nebraska has the most mileage of any of the states,” said Howard said. “So it’s a very important part of the Pony Express route and the annual re-ride.”
The Pony Express relied on a relay system where riders traveled quickly between stations, replacing horses and riders along the route to keep mail moving.
Wednesday’s reenactment follows that same idea, with riders rotating throughout the day and night until the mail reaches its final destination.
More than 750 riders take part in the event each year, with around 1,000 letters mailed through the mochila during the journey.
The re-ride continues across Nebraska through the end of the week before riders continue west toward California.