The Annual Re-Ride of the historic Pony Express mail service will be conducted from June 11 through June 21 by the National Pony Express Association (NPEA). Photos courtesy of the National Pony Express Association (NPEA)

SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - The Annual Re-Ride of the historic Pony Express mail service will be conducted from June 11 through June 21 by the National Pony Express Association (NPEA).

The event, celebrating the 165th year anniversary of “the Pony”, will start in Sacramento and end in the city of St. Joseph in Missouri, traveling west to east this year.

Personal and commemorative letters will be carried in a mochila (a leather square that is placed over the saddle with four locked cantinas to hold the mail) by horse and rider relays from the Sacramento River to the Missouri River.

The first rider will depart Old Sacramento at 2 p.m. (Pacific Time Zone) on June 11, and the last rider is scheduled to arrive at the Patee House in St. Joseph, Missouri, at 7:30 p.m. (Central Daylight Time) on June 21.

The route will follow the Pony Express National Historic Trail, a component of the National Trails System. The mail will travel 1966 miles across California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas to Missouri.

Approximately 600 member riders from the National Pony Express Association’s eight state divisions will ride relay-style, 24 hours a day, until the mochila is delivered in St. Joseph, Missouri. Each rider will take the Pony Express Oath prior to riding with the mochila, just as the riders did in 1860.

The annual Re-Ride is a 10-day, 24 hours-a-day event honoring the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company. The company carried letters and telegrams from April 1860 to November 1861, between St. Joseph and Sacramento, proving the central route through Salt Lake City was passable year-round. Their intent was to win a federal mail contract, which unfortunately never materialized.

Are you interested in participating in the annual Re-Ride? Get your mount legged up to ride a leg in the annual Re-Ride. Reach out to a state president near you and find out about riding in this year's Re-Ride. Several states have ride sections available; come experience the thrill of being a Pony Express rider! For more information, visit the state officer directory online at nationalponyexpress.org/about/national-directory/.

Send a letter through the Pony Express! The commemorative letters carried this year will be a vignette of Pony Express history in Nevada. Letters can be purchased by the public for the 1860 price of $5 each. Personal letters are also available for $10 each. All letters will be carried on horseback from Sacramento to St. Joseph, Missouri. They will be stamped as having been officially carried by Pony Express and then delivered via the United States Postal Service. The letter application form can be obtained by downloading it from the National Pony Express Association website at nationalponyexpress.org/re-ride/send-a-letter/.

During the Re-Ride, updates and information about the progress across the Pony Express trail can be found at facebook.com/expressrider/. A Global Positioning System (GPS) device will be carried in the mochila that will transmit real-time location of the mail.

The National Pony Express Re-Ride 2025 schedule, with links to detailed state schedules, is available on the National Pony Express Association’s website at nationalponyexpress.org/re-ride/current-reride/.

The National Parks Service (NPS) will have an interactive map to follow the transmissions at nationalponyexpress.org/re-ride/follow-the-ride/. Status updates will also be posted on the website, photos and videos on the National Pony Express Association Facebook page.