{"id":376969,"date":"2026-06-27T06:56:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T06:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/376969\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T06:56:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T06:56:06","slug":"pony-express-reenactment-gallops-into-old-sacramento-after-10-day-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/376969\/","title":{"rendered":"Pony Express reenactment gallops into Old Sacramento after 10-day journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Abridged version:<\/p>\n

The annual Pony Express Re-Ride, organized by the National Pony Express Association, ended its journey in Old Sacramento on Thursday with the appearance of a riderless horse, honoring a longtime rider who died this year.<\/p>\n

Over the course of 10 days, hundreds of riders on horseback transported letters from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, re-creating the Pony Express route which operated for 18 months in the late 1800s.<\/p>\n

While many riders are returning participants, the organization added 10 new riders this year in California, nearly half of whom are under 25 years old.<\/p>\n

For 46 years, thousands of horses\u00a0have galloped day and night across eight states to reenact the Pony Expre<\/a>s<\/a>s<\/a>, the short-lived but revolutionary express mail service that employed\u00a0young\u00a0riders\u00a0to transport mail from Missouri to California.<\/p>\n

After 10 days, this year\u2019s ride\u00a0came to a conclusion on Thursday in California, passing through\u00a0the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the early morning, traveling through Folsom and along the American River Parkway before ending at the Pony Express Statue in Old Sacramento, where\u00a0a crowd gathered to welcome the final rider.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Throughout the journey, riders passed along a mochila<\/a>, Spanish for knapsack, which carried over a thousand letters sent in by the public.<\/p>\n

\"Mailbags\"The mochila filled with U.S. mail carried by riders during the Pony Express Re-Ride. Riders add their signatures to the mochilla. (Martin Christian)<\/p>\n

This year, the crowd\u00a0in Old Sacramento witnessed\u00a0something that does not happen often. Organizers brought in a riderless horse to pay tribute to longtime rider and Placerville resident Davey \u201cDoc\u201d Wiser, who\u00a0had been involved with the National Pony Express Association<\/a> for decades before his death in March. <\/p>\n

About 100 people greeted the procession of California riders and their horses as they rode across the Jibboom Street Bridge to Old Sacramento. The riderless horse carried Doc\u2019s hat.<\/p>\n

\"Horses\"A riderless horse arrives in Old Sacramento during the Pony Express Annual Re-Ride on Thursday, June 25, 2026. The riderless horse pays tribute to longtime rider and Placerville resident Davey \u201cDoc\u201d Wiser, who died this year. (Martin Christian)<\/p>\n

A tremendous effort<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Re-Ride\u00a0is no\u00a0small feat.\u00a0It takes the work of hundreds of\u00a0riders, event organizers, and individuals on the trail \u2014 all of whom are volunteers\u00a0with the National Pony Express Association.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a lot of work for our riders,\u201d said Rich Tatman, California State President of the National Pony Express Association.\u00a0\u201cThe day of the ride,\u00a0they go out there, get the horse, get their trailer all ready, get their horse out of the pasture, wash him, clean him up, load him up, go get\u00a0fuel, drive to their location, wait for two hours, the ride comes through, they do the ride, then they\u00a0have to\u00a0take it home.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve\u00a0had doctors, lawyers, police\u00a0captains,\u201d he said. \u201cJust\u00a0an abundance of different types of people and what they all bring to the association, all the different people. It makes it\u00a0fun.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"WomanPam Dixon of Rio Linda completes her leg of the Pony Express Annual Re-Ride on the American River Parkway on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Martin Christian)<\/p>\n

Many have been\u00a0participating\u00a0for years. Others are first-timers.\u00a0Each year, about 600 to 700 riders participate in the event, riding segments of up to 4 miles each. They hand off the mochila full of letters to the next rider, who waits for two hours at their designated location.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year,\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0got 10 new riders.\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0going to have to say about six of them are under 25,\u201d said\u00a0Tatman,\u00a0who\u00a0qualifies\u00a0riders and\u00a0organizes\u00a0the ride schedule for\u00a0California.\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s\u00a0a positive thing. I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0know if\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0interested in\u00a0the history. I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0know if\u00a0they\u2019ll\u00a0just do\u00a0it for one year.\u00a0But,\u00a0they like the horses.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Riders\u00a0must\u00a0be at least 14 years old during the Re-Ride year.\u00a0The requirement reflects the young age of many riders during the original Pony Express, as the horses\u2019 loads had to remain light.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ManDanny Miller rides Coyote on their leg of the Pony Express Annual Re-Ride from the Nimbus Fish Hatchery in Rancho Cordova on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Martin Christian)<\/p>\n

Carrying on the history<\/p>\n

Gordon Crowder, who lives in Wilton in Sacramento County, has been participating in the reenactment for 15 years. This year, Crowder rode from Willow Creek in Folsom to the Nimbus Fish Hatchery, a journey that is 2.5 miles long and takes roughly 23 minutes.<\/p>\n

\"ManGordon Crowder rides Huckleberry on the Hazel Bridge in Rancho Cordova, finishing their leg of the Pony Express Annual Re-Ride on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Martin Christian)<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the ride, there\u00a0are no lights.\u00a0There\u2019s\u00a0no traffic. And\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0sitting on your horse and\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0thinking, so this is what\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0like back in 1860,\u201d Crowder said. <\/p>\n

He first came across the National Pony Express Association at a booth at the California State Fair. Crowder was introduced to horses by his wife and was a part of the Sacramento County Sheriff\u2019s mounted unit for 25 years, but looking for something more to do. <\/p>\n

Now 78, he continues to find the endeavor rewarding. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt always surprises us when at midnight there\u2019s people sitting in lawn chairs just waiting for us to come by,\u201d he said. \u201cIt kind of adds to the fun of it to see people who appreciate it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ManGordon Crowder removes the mochila full of mail from his horse Huckleberry on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Martin Christian)<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery\u00a0time\u00a0I drive across the\u00a0Sierras,\u00a0my thought is always about the Pony Express riders who had to traverse that without the benefit of roads and trails, as well as the people who came west in the wagons,\u201d said Crowder. \u201cWe owe a huge debt to those people,\u00a0and if we\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0do something to preserve that, like this reenactment, it fades from memory.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Woman\"El Dorado County resident Chris Zacha fastens the mochila to Rango on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Martin Christian)<\/p>\n

\"Horses\"Riders make their way into Old Sacramento during the Pony Express Annual Re-Ride on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Martin Christian)<\/p>\n

\"Horses\"A riderless horse in Old Sacramento pays tribute to longtime rider and Placerville resident Davey \u201cDoc\u201d Wiser during the Pony Express Annual Re-Ride on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Martin Christian)<\/p>\n

Shelley Ho is a producer with PBS KVIE and a visual journalist with Abridged.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Abridged version: The annual Pony Express Re-Ride, organized by the National Pony Express Association, ended its journey…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376970,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-376969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=376969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/376970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=376969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=376969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=376969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}