OVERTON — A lone rider gallops away on a fresh horse, saddle bags securely fitted as both set off toward the west.
This could just as easily be a scene from 1860, but in 2025, it was the scene of the Pony Express Re-Ride passing through Buffalo, Phelps, Gosper, Dawson and the surrounding counties as they commemorate those who rode in 1860.
The Re-Ride passed through the local area during the late evening to early morning hours, keeping in spirit with the 24 hours service of the original Pony Express.
History
The Pony Express was a private mail service which used horse mounted riders to transport messages, newspapers and mail in a dramatic attempt to capture a federal mail contract, according to the National Pony Express Association, NPEA.
Operated by the Central Overland California and Pike’s Peak Express Company, the Pony Express was in service from April 1860 to October 1861. Riders relayed messaged between St. Joseph, Mo. and Sacramento, Calif.
While it was operating the Pony Express managed to reduce the travel time from the Atlantic Coast to the Pacific Coast in about 10 days and was considered the most direct means of east-west communication for a time.
This was accomplished by 40 riders in the saddle at a time in each direction, 190 stations located along the route were maintained by 400 station keepers.
Riders were paid $25 a week, no small sum of money in 1860. They rode 10 to 15 miles before changing horses and 75 miles before being relieved, according to the NPEA.
Ironically, for all the fame surrounding the Pony Express, the mail service only lasted 18 months, with the introduction of the transcontinental telegraph, the need for the service dried up almost immediately.
Despite this the Pony Express has endured as a lasting symbol of the American West and has become romanticized over the years.
Famous advertisements allegedly read, “Wanted: Young, skinny, wiry fellows not over 18. Must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred,” have added to the luster surrounding this short lived mail service.
What seems to be the most enduring aspect of the Pony Express is its symbolism of rugged American individualism during Frontier times what the lengths people would go to find a solution to a problem.