The Pony Categorical is entrenched within the lore of the American West, but it solely existed for 18 months between 1860-1861. The horses and riders who travelled the mail route from Missouri to California – some 1,800 miles in ten days or much less – stay the stuff of legends. However the Pony Categorical was minimize brief by the arrival of the telegram machine which related the states extra effectively with a view to unfold information, particularly throughout the Civil Battle period.
Right this moment, there’s a group of passionate horsemen and ladies, referred to as re-riders, who mount up and reenact the identical route by way of the unique eight states – Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California taken all these years in the past.
The Nationwide Pony Categorical Affiliation (NPEA), based in 1978, organizes this annual tribute journey. The route is a part of an official path system referred to as the Pony Categorical Nationwide Historic Path that was established in 1992 by an act of the USA Congress.
This yr’s re-ride began on June 17 in St. Joseph, MO and can wrap up in Sacramento, CA on June 27. You may observe the re-riders and their horses, and skim updates and experiences, on the NPEA website right here. Great images and movies of the journey are posted on the teams’ Fb web page right here.