One rider wore a Santa suit, while others wore traditional cowboy garb as the National Pony Express Association’s Sweetwater County chapter galloped 15 miles from Green River to Rock Springs on Saturday.
Inside the four official Pony Express mochilas and additional saddle bags were 625 Christmas cards — official mail that carried a special Pony Express imprint.
“We have a special Pony Express Christmas stamp that we stamp them with, and the cards have to be ready to mail with a (postage) stamp on them,” said Howard Schultz, Pony Express Association ride captain for Sweetwater County.
Schultz said this year was the 23rd holiday Christmas card ride, and it has grown in popularity over the years with area residents. People start asking about the event starting every Thanksgiving at the Green River Post Office.
This year, seven riders on seven horses, sometimes two at a time, carried the mail along the route. The route was broken into 2-mile sections and then a new horse and rider would take on the mail.
Because of the limited riders and horses and the number of cards, Schultz said he made sure all the cards were on a horse for at least one 2-mile leg of the route.
Saddlebags and mochilas not on a horse for partof the ride were kept in the caravan waiting for the next transfer.
Members of the Sweetwater County Chapter of the National Pony Express Association delivered Christmas cards between Green River and Rock Springs on Saturday. (Courtesy Abigael Hughes) 
Mochilas and saddle bags of Christmas cards were official mail delivered by the Sweetwater County Chapter of the National Pony Express Association. (Courtesy Dakota Riddle, Green River Star) 
Members of the Sweetwater County Chapter of the National Pony Express Association bring mail into Rock Springs on Saturday. (Courtesy Abigael Hughes)
Special Delivery
Once the riders reached Rock Springs, they received a police escort, and all seven horses and riders carried the mochilas and saddlebags of mail on horseback through the city to the post office.
Schultz said the idea for the Christmas ride came from a National Pony Express Association convention 24 years ago when a group from Nebraska talked about doing a Christmas ride. Schultz and his brother decided to start their own local version between the two Sweetwater County communities.
Cards were mostly from people in Green River and Rock Springs, but one of the riders who lives in the Red Desert area brought 120 cards from the Wamsutter post office to be carried as well.
Just like the annual Pony Express Association rides that highlight the special horse-based service that existed for 18 months starting in 1860, the annual Christmas event draws local interest from bystanders, young and old, who see the riders off in Green River and welcome them in Rock Springs.
Schultz said other Pony Express Association chapters in the state also do special Christmas rides for the season.
Once the cards were turned over to the Rock Springs Post Office, they were to be sent to Salt Lake City for normal sorting and back to the address on the card, Schultz said.
“It would be just like you sending it through the mail,” Schultz said. “Other than it gets to Rock Springs faster.”
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
