Postmark Pursuit by Linn’s Staff
The National Pony Express Association (NPEA) is offering a postmark highlighting the organization’s annual commemorative re-ride of the Pony Express route between Sacramento, Calif., and St. Joseph, Mo. The special cancel features a postrider traveling along a linear trail map that includes some of the major stops on the original route.
Each June, over a 10-day period, members of the NPEA recreate the delivery of mail by couriers on horseback traveling through Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California. This year’s event marks 165 years since the founding in April 1860 of the express mail service. The 2025 reenactment took place from June 11 to 21.
As part of the yearly re-creation, letters are carried in a mochila (saddle bag) over the original 1,966-mile trail. The eight-state event is conducted 24 hours a day until the mail is delivered to its destination.