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Pony Express History |
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Trail Boss: Steve Grant - 480-488-9381 E-Mail: rockingranch75@yahoo.com
Assistant Trail Boss: Dan Cole: 602-639-1740
Ride Coordinator: Larry Snipes: 602-377-6387
Wranglers: Dusty Womack & Jim Murren
Public Relations: Win Ames: 623-764-0281
Mail: Phoenix JC Comancheros 2010 Pony Express Ride P O Box 16331 Phoenix, AZ 85011-6331 |
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This is what it’s all about!!! Griffin Hurley receives the Mail from the Horse’s Help Riders to start off the 2009 Comanchero Pony Express. |
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Howdy Folks,
It was a mere 150 years ago that the first recognized Pony Express saga was transpiring on the Great Plains and mountains to the west of the Mississippi River. Although it is only a memory, what a memory it is! The 1860-61 Pony Express has won a permanent place in the annals of American History. How unfortunate it was that close to a half a century pasted before this remarkable adventure was put to pen. The documentation was difficult as many of the Pony Express Riders had pasted to the Great Beyond without ever being able to share their version of this unique part of our American History. These men blazed a trail that displayed courage, endurance and their loyalty to a given task.
On Thursday, July 1st & Friday, July 2nd, 2010, we will once again prove our loyalty to a given task. That task is to carry the mail “Pony Express” style, from Phoenix to Prescott, Arizona and deliver the mailbags to the Postmaster at the Prescott Frontier Days Rodeo considered to be the “World’s Oldest Rodeo”. Sanctioned by the United States Postal Service, this year commemorates our 22nd ride of the Phoenix JC Comancheros Pony Express. What continues to make this such a unique event is that they are not carrying regular mail, they are carrying one of a kind commemorative letters. These letters are sold to raise money for children’s charity. You’ll want to thank the person that sent you this letter for in turn it was their purchase/donation that makes each ride a success. There were one thousand letters printed for this ride, and each letter is sold for $5.00, which was the price to send a letter during the 1860-61 Pony Express.
It is each rider’s responsibility to secure a sponsor for their “leg” and to assist in the sale of commemorative letters, which are hand-cancelled. The legs along the current route range between 1 to 3 miles, over the years it has taken between 20 to 80 riders to cover the assigned routes. Each year there are many riders that return for one more shot at being part of this re-enactment known as the Comanchero Pony Express. The longest one person has ridden in this event is 20 consecutive rides. The ride was first organized with 20 riders in 1976, in celebration of our nation’s Bicentennial. They rode from Prescott, the territorial capital, to the current capital, Phoenix, and they rode in late winter.
Currently the ride is from Phoenix to Prescott, along some of the city’s crowded thoroughfares, crossing the low, relentlessly hot deserts, climbing to elevations of 7500 feet and the Ponderosa and blue spruce pines. These men like their historical counter parts are focused on one thing, and that is to get the mail through, whatever the season, whatever lies on the trail. This is where their hearts and minds go at the moment they slide onto the saddle and prepare to receive the mailbags from the oncoming rider. The riders will have thoughts in this all to brief ride, that they are on a mission, they are giving something back to our community, our future leaders and history makers of tomorrow, the children.
The riders are bonded, even if they only make the ride one time, in the passion and wild romance of our Western Heritage. The Comancheros continue to make a place in their own history with this event. It takes months of dedication, planning and securing sponsors and donations. To ride in this event, you have to believe in the cause, the purpose, defined by the Comancheros motto “We Keep the Kids In Our Sights at ALL Times”. Once you see the mailbags passed onto the Postmaster for the final time, the whoops and hollers, the pounding of their trusty mounts as they dash toward the arena exit leaves a lasting impression. These men have completed their task, they are proud, they were courageous, they endured, but most of all they continue to believe, they have made a difference.
The Comancheros take great pride in the Pony Express Ride and hope you can join us on the trail. We thank you for your interest and dedicated support of this event, as will Horse’s Help, who once again is the main beneficiary of the net proceeds from this years ride. |
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