By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
The Pony Express rides again.
The National Pony Express Re Ride will come into St. Joseph this year tomorrow night at the Patee House Museum.
Museum Director Gary Chilcote says this is the 40th year for the re ride
“Each year they either start in St. Joseph or Sacramento, and this year they started in Sacramento, next year it will start in St. Joseph,” Chilcote tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.
Riders relay a mochila carrying commemorative letters across eight states, traveling more than 1,900 miles on horseback, just as they did in 1860.
Chilcote says it’s important to keep the history of the Pony Express alive because of how short lived the service was
“It was a temporary thing to permit the mail to be traveled to California within 10 days,” Chilcote explains. “They knew that it was going to be replaced by the telegraph, and also the stagecoach, but we commemorate it each year to keep the story alive of the Pony Express.”
Chilcote says ceremonies will start around 6pm, swearing in riders Penny Orrick and her family
“And that was the original oath that they gave the pony riders 166 years ago, and then we’ll do that, and they’ll drive over to Elwood and park their vehicles and get on their horses and travel back to St. Joseph,” Chilcote says. “So, it’s an interesting thing, they’re dressed in costume.”
Orrick and the riders will be in Elwood, Kansas around 7pm, before arriving back in St. Joseph around 7:30pm at the museum.
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.