FROM: Carol Hunt, Schellbourne Re-riders
PST
In White Pine County, there are 142 miles of 99% original trail. Remnants of several of the old “stations” which housed the horses and riders still exist. The Schellbourne Station on highway 93, about 35 miles north of McGill has a great exhibit and information at the rest stop. A huge silhouette of a Pony rider also marks the spot.
The group that carries the mail is named after the old Fort Schellbourne. There are usually about 22 riders to carry the mail across the 142 miles, the longest section of trail across the 1,966 mile route. We also have the highest peak, Rock Springs, at almost 8,000 ft. It is rugged, harsh trail. No “7-11’s” or cell phones, but HAM operators do escort the group!
We do have the convenience of trucks and trailers and haul the horses to their designated spot to get the mail and continue up the trail. We pick up the mail from the Eureka riders atop “the Diamonds,” a rugged mountain ridge dividing Eureka and White Pine. That usually is in the middle of the night, but we will have a partial moon. We have 18 hours to deliver the mail to the awaiting Utah riders (except last year we made up two hours and were early, and no awaiting rider)! This isn’t a “spectator sport,” but we do cross highway 93 at Schellbourne usually about 9 a.m. There locals and family are there to applaud the riders and encourage them to keep going. We have a refreshment of a “Brunch” but the mail does not stop. The rider had better have eaten and be ready when the mail arrives, and head east. (The direction of the mail reverses and every other year it goes east, or west. You might guess the riders get little sleep over the 30 hours they are out on the trail. No one seems to mind. They love the legend and history, and when we are out there on the historic trail we feel like we are a part of history. Maybe the ghosts of the Pony riders are with us, protecting us not from the Indians which were a threat in those bygone days, but the elements, the tough trail, wild horses that are at White Rock and sometimes the herd stallion attacks, but no serious problems in previous rides. Of course, we have the challenges of possible flat tires, other “interesting” attacks on vehicles, but the riders come together and help each other in a camaraderie that makes friends of strangers and riders who return each year to “pack the mail.”
Gene Ockert of Ruth is ride captain. We are signing up horsemen who would like to participate. You must have a reasonable conditioned horse and be able to go at least eight miles an hour. Faster is acceptable. Most mail transfers are at about two miles, but some areas dictate a few more miles.
Riders need to be 14 years up to ride, but they can ride at a younger age when escorted by an adult rider. This year my 13 year old granddaughter, Nicole, will get to ride along and learn what it’s all about It’s the youth who will be the mail carriers of the future. It’s good to get them started early. If you would like to ride the Pony, you can check with Wayne at the Chamber of Commerce, or call Gene at 775-296-0149.