News From: NPEA Missouri Division
The Pony Express re-ride starts Monday afternoon at 3 o’clock from the Patee House in St. Joseph to begin the 10-day adventure to deliver mail to Sacramento, California.
Each year, the re-ride follows the original trail as close as possible using surrounding roads. This year 600 riders will take turns to transport the mail over one to five miles stretches of the trail.
In the 1800’s, it was expensive to hire the Pony Express, which was a high-risk way to send a sack of mail through wild and dangerous territory, said Gary Chilcote, director of the Patee House Museum, the starting point of the ride.