Jaden White of Pinedale receives some last-minute tips from National Pony Express Re-Ride official Howard Schultz. Just a few minutes later, White and his paint mare Ridely were on their way, headed west for the Uinta County line.
Liane Lamb, of Green River, and her tall bay, Leonard, arrive in Granger during the Pony Express Re-Ride.
This year's Pony Express Re-Ride passed through Sweetwater County ahead of schedule Saturday, June 22, stopping to change riders and horses in Granger at 4:15 p.m., the Sweetwater County Historical Museum shared.
For 18 months, from April 1860 to October 1861, the Pony Express operated from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California. Lone riders, working both ways in relays, carried mail the nearly 2,000 dangerous miles in an average of 10 days across Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada to California. One hundred and fifty-seven relay stations were established across the country, including one in Granger, Wyoming. During its brief life, the Pony Express carried about 35,000 pieces of mail.
Headquartered in Pollock Pines, California, the National Pony Express Association (NPEA), a non-profit, all-volunteer organization, was founded in 1977. Each year, over 700 volunteer riders and their horses recreate the Pony Express's ride over the entire cross-country distance. The Pony Express route enters Sweetwater County about two miles south of the old Dry Sandy stage station site and runs from there to Little Sandy, Big Sandy, Big Timber, the Lombard Ferry Site across the Green River, and on from there to Granger.
The first rider left St. Joseph on June 17, and the last was scheduled to arrive in Sacramento on June 27.
For more information about the National Pony Express Association, the Pony Express, and the 2024 Re-Ride, go to the NPEA website at https://nationalponyexpress.org/ .
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