FROM: Christine Starr
PST
I just finished my second year as a Ride Lieutenant for the National Pony Express Re-Ride. I started in Tahoe at the State Line on Wednesday June 14th at 3:15 (left Placerville at 1:00), rider was coming in at 5:30 (we have to be in place 2 hours ahead when we are in the mountains), followed my different riders down the mountain. Normally I would have been done at XP Corral, but while we were in Tahoe waiting, my co-pilot Cinder & I decided we wanted to go the whole distance (Tahoe to Sacramento). Our only “break” in following the riders was when I had to get my daughter Chantel picked up for her ride. Poor thing, she was set for getting up at 3:30am to go up to the ranch & grab her horse & be ready to ride up to an hour earlier than her original scheduled time, she wasn’t quite ready for me to wake her at 2:30. Sure enough, her ride partner Dave (she was a tag-a-long, Dave was the main rider) & she took off from Abel’s Acres around 5:45am & arrived at Town Hall in Placerville just slightly ahead of schedule (their schedule, we were already ahead of the original schedule). Once we were done, we loaded Nino back into the trailer, took him back to the ranch, gave him a brush down, breakfast & dropped trailer, dropped Chantel off at home & back on the road. Caught up with the Riders & our Ride Captains & the new Ride Lieutenant at the El Dorado Y & followed along to Folsom. Once we got to Latrobe, we placed the Ride Captain, & the Mochila, on the train (back in 1860 & 1861, if a rider knew he wasn’t going to make it to Sacramento to get the mail on the steam boat, he would place the mail on the train & the train would get the mail to Sacramento), where they rode into Folsom to the larger train, we changed trains & placed our National President Dean Atkin & a couple of others from Pony Express along with our Ride Captain & the mochila and away went the train down to meet our rider at Humbug Creek. Once the rider had the mochila, she mounted up & rode away. My co-pilot & I took the National President & his co-pilot back to his vehicle where they followed us to Folsom Museum. By the time we got there, horse & rider were gone, so it was decided that we would escort Dean & his co-pilot Jack down to Old Sacramento where we would then meet the incoming riders. All in all, we had a great time. We have some amazing riders, not just in California, but throughout the other 7 states. I am happy to say, mail arrived on time into Old Sacramento with many folks there to greet our riders. A BIG thank you to our Ride Captain Jerry & Melba Leal for another great Re-Ride & thank you to our Riders throughout California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas & Missouri. I love being a part of history!!!